Oceans Call

Chapter 28: Return

The king turned around slowly. I stared, my mouth gaping. 

The green twinkling eyes were the same. The curly brown hair was the same. The jaw and set of his face were the same.

But... But Connor's dead. And even if he is alive... the king?

But this was Connor. I knew he was. "Am I seeing things?"

Connor smiled and it was the very same heart-stopping smile. "I may be good looking, but I'm not that good looking."

I was too confused to laugh. Connor opened his arms for me but I didn't go to him, as much as I wanted to. "I don't understand... You died. Everyone said you died... They saw you die..."

He let his arms drop awkwardly to his sides, smile fading. "No. They saw the submarine I was in explode. What they didn't see was the escape hatch open. I changed the course of the sub and aimed it at the ship next to me. I knew I had about fifty seconds to escape. I barely made it, but was able to get far enough away that the explosion didn't kill me."

A tear slipped down my cheek and I wiped it away angrily. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?" I asked furiously. "Did you really think it was okay to let everyone believe you were gone? To let me believe you were gone? You promised me you wouldn't leave and when I needed you most-"

His arms were holding me close like they so often did. He kissed the top of my head and stroked my back, his fingers barely touching me. I squirmed restlessly at his touch. Connor let me lean away slightly and tilted my chin up. Then he dipped his head and kissed me softly, slowly. A kiss that said sorry, a kiss that relayed every emotion he felt. A kiss that halted my tears in their tracks.

When he pulled away I whispered, "That explains it."

He laughed softly and bent to kiss me again, this time differently. More passionate, more intense. This was a hungry kiss, faster than a forest fire, everything I had was focused on that moment. I looped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His fingers skimmed my shoulders, my back, and my neck then reached up to trace my jaw. My hands trailed from his neck to his chest. I pulled away and bit my lip, meeting his lovely green eyes. "That makes up for it. You just got out of a heck of a scolding."

"Hm, that's a good strategy. Effective. I'll have to use it more often," he said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "Explain how you got yourself... in this position."

Connor looked at me quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"The king... You're the king, right?"

And then he laughed. My confusion and impatience prevented me from fully enjoying the sound and what it meant. Connor waved me into a chair and took the seat across me. He picked up my hand and began toying with my fingers distractedly. "The queen's final command was to make the captain of the Guard monarch until a more suitable ruler was found. As you probably know, most of the queen's Guard died, including her general. We didn't want to give just any soldier that kind of power, especially since Feales doesn't have much of a system of rank amongst their army due to its small size. The queen's council called a meeting with the Guard - and Trocien's. Since they have no captain, they took ours - which is me. I'm not really doing much anyway, just keeping things under the illusion of control until they find a permanent replacement." He lifted his gaze from my hand to meet my eyes. "I heard about your father. I'm sorry, love."

I shrugged. "It's my fault."

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything, you were too busy saving everyone else."