Resonant

Chapter 33 - End

Fen

"Do you want more tea? I'm going to get another cup," I said after draining the last cold sip of the cup I had been nursing for the past two hours.

Luin gave me a dry look but had the grace not to laugh at how absurd I was being. "No thank you, Fen."

He also had the grace not to point out how late it was getting. We had been in Alterra all day and I was sure Luin was ready to get home to his bond mate. They didn't get a lot of quality time together these days, since they spent most of their time running a hospital to support the war efforts that were still raging on between Seelie and Unseelie. I wasn't surprised at his lack of complaint; Luin had always been a generous friend.

It made me feel really bad for taking advantage of that.

I sighed and admitted that it was time to go home. Or... back to Earth. I didn't really have a home at the moment. With the school year over, Zale and Astrea had moved back to the castle. I had my old room at Luin and Arrowan's house back for as long as I wanted it, but staying there didn't feel right. It was just less scary than living in a castle was.

"Fine, let's go," I said, sighing again.

Luin cracked a smile and said, "Are you really that nervous?"

His eyes flicked down to the tattoo I'd gotten this afternoon. It was twin to the one on Luin's right arm, one that was gotten in honor of your bond mate. It was a gift of devotion, and was a physical representation of the bond we shared. Scrolling text wrapped around my arm in Old Alterran, an ancient language that was rarely used except on high holidays, on official documents, and in traditional applications like this one. It had an old poem, once a lullaby and now an oath of devotion, and it had Zale's name.

I moved my arm slowly, watching the way the light played with the ink. It was imbued with magic, so it looked like living metal shining through my skin. I was supposed to have it bandaged, but Luin had assured me Arrowan could heal it for me once we got back to his home, so I wasn't too worried about babying it.

"Fen? Are you really that nervous?" Luin asked again.

"I don't know how Zale feels about tattoos. What if merfolk look down on tattoos? What if people think less of him because I did this?" I really should have thought this through. Or at least, I should have asked my tutor about how it would be perceived before I did it.

Luin looked unconcerned. "He loves you, Fen, and this is an expression of your commitment to him. How could he be upset? As for the rest, who cares? You could always just wear long-sleeved shirts. But I don't get the sense Zale will care what they think. Maybe you shouldn't either."

Luin had a way of cutting to the root of an issue and making it seem like I'd just been overthinking things again. The trouble was, all the doubts he had dispelled would inevitably come back after a while. His comfort wasn't a cure-all.

"I guess," I acknowledged reluctantly.

"Good. Now, how about we get back?"

I offered Luin a smile and a hand so we wouldn't get separated. There was a lot of recordkeeping that went into our visits to Alterra. We were required to check in at the portal on entry, and we had to check out when we left. It could take a while, depending on how many people were coming and going.

Thankfully, there weren't many people at the guard's station and we made it through quickly and without incident. We stepped through the portal back to Earth and in a few disorienting seconds, we were back.

"I should go see Zale," I said. "He'll want to know I've returned."

Luin reached out and grabbed my hand. "After Arrowan heals your arm."