The walk home is long and cold.

I pull my jacket around me as I step onto my street. I smell a storm in the air. Definitely rain. Possibly snow. Does it snow where Ari comes from? Will I ever fall asleep beneath the light tap of rain on my window again?

I pause when I reach my house. Ari’s black car sits in the driveway. He’s back? Has he come for me already?

Should I make a break for it?

Before I can decide, the front door opens and Ari emerges.

The scales must be balanced.

My heart lurches. “What are you doing here?” I ask, fearful of what he left behind.

Or what he took from me.

He closes the front door. “Waiting for you.”

“Why?”

Ari slides his hands into the pockets of his coat. He stands still, strangely silent as he looks down. His face bleeds with somberness, one that crushes me down to the knees as I picture those cold, white faces beneath the dock.

Faces of my parents.

“Ari, what did you do?” I ask him.

“I messed up,” he says. “I was cruel and unfair to you, and for that, I’m sorry.”

I eye the door as I step forward. “You came here to apologize?”

He nods. “Yes.”

I swallow hard. “Then, my parents are... they’re okay?”

“Yes.” His eyes widen as he glances over his shoulder. “Oh, you think I—”

“Did you?”

“No.” He chuckles. “No, no. They’re fine. They let me sit and wait for you to get back.”

I exhale hard, dropping my head with relief. “Thank god...”

“I’d never...” He shakes his head. “I know what I said, but I’d never do that to you.”

“You scared me.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

I take another breath. “If you wanted to talk to me, why not just come find me?” I ask.

“I wanted to give you space.” He looks down. “Meeting the void is stressful enough as it is. Add in everything else... You deserved better. More time. A more...” He sighs. “A more thoughtful companion.”

Ari steps down off the porch and pauses in front of me. I struggle between looking him in the eye or glaring at his shiny shoes but the decision is made by my warm, racing heart.

I look up, feeling a tepid fire in my cheeks.

“Tannis, I’m sorry,” he says. “You’d think a man like me would have learned patience a long time ago.”

My lips twitch. “Well, I’ve heard that I tend to bring patience out in people, so...”

He smiles.

I breathe through a quake in my chest. “I have to go with you,” I say. “I know that.”

His face gently falls. “Do you want to?” he asks.

“I don’t not want to. If that makes sense.” I hesitate, torn between worlds. “I want to live and breathe and… love.” I look at him again and my heart skips. “But I don’t want you to be alone anymore.”

I step forward and pull my hand from my pocket. Ari watches with deep fascination as I rest my palm on his chest.

“And this…” I pause, feeling the charge pulse throughout my own heart. “I can feel everything. Your hope, your pain. This feeling between us is there for a reason… and I shouldn’t be scared of it anymore.”

Ari places his hand over mine and holds it against him. “Tannis…”

“In my sleep.” My lip quivers. “That’s the preferred way to go, isn’t it? Nice and quiet and…” My throat tightens. “Will it hurt?” I ask.

He cups my face and draws me in. He kisses my forehead, my cheeks, and my nose. “No need to think about that yet,” he whispers. “I still have one more promise to keep.”

I squint in question as he leaves a soft kiss on my lips.

“Close your eyes,” he says.

My eyes flutter closed as his mouth envelopes mine again. He pulls me against him, wrapping a strong arm around my back and holding me still as the ground disappears beneath my feet. I keep my eyes closed, easily comforted by his firm kiss.

Within moments, I feel the ground beneath me again but it’s not hard like the concrete sidewalk. It’s soft like dirt. My nose perks to the scent of the outdoors. A warm wind teases my skin — skin that was covered just moments before.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Ari says, placing his hands on my shoulders. “And stand... right...” He shifts me a side step to the left. “Here.”

I laugh beneath the sound of a bird singing in the trees. “Where did you take me?” I ask.

“Just a second.”

His touch disappears but I wait.

“Can I open them yet?” I ask.

“No.” His voice sounds far away.

I sigh. “How about now?”

“Okay,” he says, suddenly in front of me again. “Open your eyes.”

I open them to find myself standing in front of another porch. It takes a moment but I recognize the woods from before and the cabin we created to weather the storm together.

“What are we doing back here?” I ask, taking in the strangely warm weather.

I look at Ari and my heart pulses twice. He stands beside me in a jet black tuxedo and presents a small velvet box to me.

“I promised a wedding,” he says.

My breath catches as I notice what I’m wearing.

A sleeveless dress. Long, silk, and white.

“Ari…” I say, out of words.

Ari turns to face me and opens the box, revealing the old diamond ring sitting inside. “Your mother gave me this,” he says. “Said it belonged to your great-grandmother.”

I nod, recognizing it. “It was the only thing she had in her pocket when she came here from Greece,” I say. “Mom always said she’d give it to the man who loved me someday.”

He pulls the ring free and reaches for my left hand. “She told me…” I straighten my fingers for him, “that I should always listen and never shout. To always be respectful and never neglect. To always be strong but to never make you feel weak. I said those sounded like vows. She said you’re damn right, those are vows.”

I laugh. Leave it to my mother to school a god.

Ari slides the ring onto my finger. “I love you, Tannis,” he says. “I will spend forever making you love me back. As long as it takes.”

The ring shimmers beneath the sunlight and I bite down to smother the tears building behind my eyelashes.

“I don’t think it’ll take that long,” I say.

Ari smiles, that old amusement curling up his cheek.

The cabin door opens and my parents poke their heads out. Mom’s jaw drops as she gazes at the dress and my father hangs back, his eyes full of emotion but staying strong.

“Honey, you look beautiful,” Mom says, quickly walking toward me.

Ari steps off to the side as Mom throws her arms around me.

“Thank you,” I say. I smother myself in her, inhaling her scent while I still can.

“So damn beautiful,” she says, her voice strained. She leans back and sighs as she admires me, which only makes the lump in my throat nearly choke me.

Dad reaches for my hand. “Well, let us see it already — been waiting decades here.”

I laugh as I hold out my hand for them. They both take hold of it, one gripping each side.

“You guys planned a wedding?” I ask.

My mother sniffs quietly. “Oh, nothing fancy. Or even official. Just… this.” She looks me up and down again. “We really wanted to see you like this. Just once.”

I swallow hard.

“And…” Dad clears his throat, “we wanted you to know how proud of you we are. This hasn’t been easy for anyone — most of all you. And we are sorry for that, honey. We really are.”

“It’s okay, Dad,” I say, looking at Ari. “I don’t blame you. I don’t.”

“And we love you.” He flexes his jaw. “More than you could ever—”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Owen,” Mom says over him. “Please don’t make us all bawl before I can get a picture.”

He backs off, discreetly wiping his own cheek. “Sorry— I know—”

I chuckle as I step toward him and bury my face in his chest.

“And you.” Mom points a finger at Ari. “You remember what I told you.”

Ari nods. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And I don’t care if you are a god. If you hurt one hair on her head, I will hunt you down and murder you.”

He smiles. “I’m sure you could.”

She shifts on her feet. “And bring her home every so often,” she adds. “A girl always needs her parents.”

“I will.”

“And don’t…” Her lip trembles. “Aw, hell. Now I’m doing it.”

I hug her again and she squeezes me hard. “I’ll be okay, Mom,” I say. “I promise.”

Dad slams into my back, tightly sandwiching me between them and I hold my breath through the long group hug.

When they finally pull away, I glance at Ari again. He stands by without a hint of impatience, silently watching with a short smile.

“I trust him,” I say, meaning it. “You don’t have to worry about us.”

Mom composes herself and nods. “I know.”

“We still will, though,” Dad says.

“Oh, of course.”

He smiles. “But we know.”

They take another long look at me before stepping off to the side. Dad takes Mom’s hand and the two of them straighten up in respect as they turn to Ari.

“Ari,” my father says, “we release her.”

Ari steps forward to stand beside me. My heart races deep in my chest, driven by an adrenaline mix of excitement and nerves, but as I look up into his kind, gentle eyes, I breathe easier.

I have always been his queen.

Ari extends his hand to me.

And I take it.