Flames, page 22
“But you don’t feel that way anymore?”
“Well, it’s become abundantly clear that you’ll do anything to keep me, even let yourself get possessed by an evil mage, so I don’t think you’re going to leave. And as for loving you making me weak? No way. It makes me strong. When I think of all the things that I did to save you, I realize just how capable I am. I’m stronger when I’m fighting for you, and I’ll always fight for you.”
“You know I’ll always fight for you too, right?”
I nodded.
“So, you’re okay with moving in?” he said.
“Yup,” I said.
He grinned. “You want to get married?”
I gulped. “What?”
“Too fast?” he said.
“Uh…” I sat up in bed. My heart had suddenly picked up speed and it was bouncing around in my ribcage like crazy.
He sat up too. “I mean, I can do this better. I can get a ring and hide it in a cupcake or something in a really fancy restaurant, and then get down on one knee, and all of that, so if it’s that—”
“Yes,” I said.
“Yes?” He raised his eyebrows. “Meaning ring in a cupcake or yes that you’ll marry me?”
“Yes, I will marry you,” I said. “Yes. Definitely yes.” I let out a noisy breath. “Oh my God, I can’t believe that just happened.”
He pressed his lips against mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. Breathless, giddy kisses. Then I pulled away for a second. “Oh, but I want the ring and the down-on-one-knee thing too, I think. But maybe not the cupcake and the fancy restaurant.”
“Noted,” he whispered, and he kissed me again.
* * *
“I just… I wanted to tell you,” I said into the phone. “I wanted you to hear it from me. I thought that you deserved that.” I was pacing in the master bathroom, and Naelen didn’t know I was on the phone. I wasn’t trying to hide the conversation from him, and I’d tell him once it was done, but I also thought that it was a conversation that should just be between two people.
Logan was quiet on the other end.
I looked at myself in the mirror over top of the sink and made a face at myself. Maybe it had been a bad idea to call him.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“You mean that? Because you sound…”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t want you to say anything. I just thought—”
“Clarke, you know what would have been nice is if you would have called me to tell me that Naelen was no longer Jacques, and that the world wasn’t in danger, and you weren’t in danger. But you don’t tell me that kind of stuff. You just call me to tell me you’re engaged. So, uh, mazel tov. I hope you have a wonderful life together.”
I sighed. “You’re mad.”
“I’m not mad,” he said. He sighed. “I just… I’m not your boyfriend anymore.”
“I know that,” I said. “Believe me, I know that.”
“But you called me to tell me this, anyway.”
“You didn’t want to know?” I was so confused.
“If I were any other ex, would you call and tell me you were engaged? Is that the kind of thing you call and tell your ex?”
I was quiet.
He laughed gently. “Hey, I really am happy for you guys. But you can let me go, okay? You don’t need to worry over me anymore. I’m not your boyfriend. Let me go.”
I bit my lip. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just… you know, be happy. Both of you guys. That’s all I ever want for you, and you know that. I want you happy.”
“Thanks, Logan. I want you happy too.”
“I am,” he said.
I laughed a little. “Really?”
He laughed too. “Well… I will be. Someday. When I find the person I’m supposed to be with, just like you’ve found your person. Then I’ll be just as happy as you and Naelen.”
“Okay,” I said. “If you’re sure about that.”
“Positive,” he said, and he was smiling. “I’m hanging up now, Clarke.”
“Goodbye, Logan,” I whispered.
“Goodbye.”
I took the phone away from my ear and let out a long, slow breath. Let him go. Right. Okay. I could do that.
* * *
“Well, we have to go shopping for dresses,” Reign was saying. “And you two need to be thinking about where you want the wedding to be, and what kind of guest list you’re talking about, and all kinds of stuff like that.”
Reign, Gina, and I were sitting out on Naelen’s deck. The ocean was lapping at the shore as a calming background noise and Naelen was at the grill, flipping over steaks.
“I don’t know about all that,” I said. “Who would Naelen and I even invite to a wedding?”
“It could be intimate,” said Reign. “You should still have an awesome dress.”
“Definitely,” said Gina.
I eyed her. “Wait, you’re on board with this? I would have thought you’d think it was all overblown.”
“No way,” said Gina. “It’s not every day that my baby sister gets married.” She put her finger in my face. “But you are not choosing my maid of honor dress. I am picking that out myself, all right?”
I laughed. “Okay, fine.”
“Wait,” said Reign. “What if we don’t match?” She turned to me. “I assume I’m in the wedding too, aren’t I?”
I kept laughing. “Uh, yeah, you know, how about you guys plan this thing, and I’ll just show up?”
“No, sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep,” said Reign.
“Yeah, sorry,” said Gina. “If you really want to pick my dress—”
“No, I’m serious,” I said. “All that stuff is really not my thing. I just want to show up and get married. So, if you guys have ideas? Cool. Do it, and I’ll be fine with it.”
Gina and Reign glanced at each other and shrugged.
“Okay,” said Gina. “If you really are cool with that.”
“Yes,” I said.
“What about Naelen?” said Reign.
Naelen perked up. “I heard my name.”
“Gina and I are planning the wedding,” called Reign.
Naelen came over from the grill. “You don’t want to plan the wedding, Clarke?”
“No,” I said. “We’re going to be too busy killing vampires and any stray rogue dragons we happen to find.”
“True,” he said. “That is what we do, after all.”
I grinned at him.
He grinned back. “Well, the only requirement I have for the wedding is that there should be a lot of booze. Any of you guys need a drink?”
“What if we have the wedding on the beach?” said Gina.
“Does that mean Clarke is in a bikini?” said Naelen.
“No!” I said, making a face. Then I considered. “Does that mean Naelen would not be wearing a shirt?”
“Okay, nix the beach idea,” said Gina.
“Yeah,” said Reign.
“No,” I said. “Let’s revisit that idea. Why not?”
“You two are going to be fully clothed,” said Gina.
“Yeah,” said Reign. “You have a hard enough time keeping your hands off each other as it is.”
I looked up at Naelen and grinned. “What can I say? He’s kind of gorgeous.”
He leaned down and kissed me. “You’re the gorgeous one.”
I shut my eyes and basked in the goodness around me. I could never have expected how much my life would change that day when Naelen had shown up at my apartment. I still remembered the way I’d shut the door in his face, how hard I’d tried to get rid of him. Thank goodness he was so stubborn that he was intent on getting his way, because I didn’t know how I could possibly live without him these days. Now, my life was full. I had a future to look forward to, and everything was just about perfect.
I opened my eyes and looked out over the horizon at the place where the sky met the ocean. My happiness was bursting inside me. I was with the people I loved, and I was home.
* * *
Thanks so much for coming on this journey with me!
I currently do not have any plans to write more books in the Slayer Chronicles series, but I have learned never to say never. I can promise a few spin-offs in this universe, including one that will feature Naelen and Clarke’s wedding, and definitely a story about Logan, but I don’t have a date on those yet.
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Val St. Crowe, Flames
