Page 104 of Sea's Secret

I sang,

Please, Creator of all, save this soul.

Dominick shifted, and his eyes fluttered open.

“Meria?” he asked, a small smile on his lips.

“I am here, Dominick. Are you alright?” I asked, wiping at my face.

He reached his hand up and caressed my cheek. “Do not cry for me, beautiful.” Then he placed his hand on top of my own, which was resting on his chest. He pressed our hands together, and without another word, he lost consciousness again.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dominick

When I awoke and my pain felt almost completely gone and warmth and peace flooded through me, I was sure I was in the Ancient Lands, certain I was dead.

I felt a warm wind on my face, warmth wrapped around my body as if I were in an embrace. I was hugging that warmth back, that peace, pulling it closer and closer to me. I buried my face in that warmth.

Then the warmth, that peace, made a sound. A small sigh of contentment, and I opened my eyes. It took me a few blinks to see the picture clearly before me. There, right before me, was the face of the most beautiful maiden I had ever seen, but she was all too familiar, although my memory seemed fuzzy around the edges. Her light blond locks in a tangled mess made me smile. I realized then that her arms were wrapped around me, yet mine were also wrapped around her. It was as if had we not latched onto each other, we would have both died.

What transpired? How had I landed in this situation?

I could not be upset because the pain was nearly gone, and without the pain, my negative thoughts were gone. All I thought about was Meria, her beauty, her grace, her heart, and her soul.

Can Meria and I sail the seas together? Will she want to? With me? After I have my revenge on my mother, can we be together?

“Dominick?” I heard her whisper, but her eyes were closed. She was still asleep, and she clutched me tighter.

Can I really be the one Meria clings to? Really be the person she wants beside her, day and night, for the rest of her life?

How wonderful that felt, even for a moment, even if it was fiction to imagine, it brought such a brightness to my soul.

“Dominick,” she gasped again as if in fear. The tremble of her lips, and the furrow upon her beautiful brow caused my heart to ache. It was the same reaction that most people had–what people did when I touched them.

Did I hurt her?

“Meria–” I whispered, untangling one arm.

“I need you, Dominick,” she said faintly into my chest, her face pressed there. I watched in awe as she tilted her face up, her eyes still closed.

I reached down to caress her cheek.

Is she real? Or is this a dream?

She whimpered in her sleep, and I wanted to take away the furrow from her brow.

“Meria, you are well,” I whispered as I moved some hair from her face. After a few minutes of my gentle words, her eyes opened. I would never forget that sleepy smile that came upon her face as she looked at me, the cursed, pirate that I was.

Did I truly kiss those lips? Will I kiss them again? I wanted to–how desperately.

“Dominick, how are you feeling?” she said faintly, untangling her arm to reach up and brush hair from my brow. I was surprised and frozen as she traced her finger over my scar, then to my ear, and touched my golden earring there. That was new. I wondered what she thought of it.

“I am well,” I said, barely even audible, and she continued to play with my golden hooped earring.

“I am so glad you are awake.”

“As am I. If I am awake, that is,” I said, caressing her cheek and her mouth as she smiled. “Ancients, you are beautiful, Meria.”