The Veiled Descendants

by Sophia Menesini

  Jo just about kisses her right there, Caen be damned. But she keeps herself steady, her eyes glittering with unshed tears, and focuses on the woman staring back at her uncertainly.

  “I love you too,” Jo reassures her.

  Shea chuckles and squeezes Jo’s hands.

  “Well then, the rings.”

  Jo turns to Caen, confused, but he extends his palm out to them and in it she sees Shea’s ring that she proposed with and another band.

  This one is simple, gold and elegant with dolphins wrapping around the ring riding on waves. It’s absolutely beautiful, and oddly familiar. She wonders how Shea could have gotten something so perfect so quickly.

  Shea takes the dolphin gold band and Jo takes the ring she had commissioned for Shea made of white pearl.

  “Before the crew, family, friends, and the gods themselves, I bless this union. Exchange the rings.”

  Shea reaches for Jo’s left hand and Jo gladly gives it. She carefully slips the ring onto her finger, and as the gold shimmers from the lanterns, Jo examines the intricate dolphins around the circumference. She realizes where she’s seen this ring before. Around Beck’s neck. This is his mother’s ring.

  Jo looks back at Beck.

  He continues to play but catches her eye with a smile and a nod. That’s enough of a blessing for her.

  Jo reaches for Shea’s left hand and easily slips her ring back onto her finger. They rejoin their hands, and both are bouncing in anticipation for what comes next.

  “Now you are bound one to the other. With a tie not easy to break, may the bond always be strong, and may your union see calm seas ahead. I pronounce you partners before those you love; you may now kiss your wife,” Caen declares, and the garden erupts in applause.

  Jo steps closer and slides her hands around Shea’s waist. She pulls her practically off her feet, and as Shea wraps her arms around Jo’s neck, Jo kisses her wife.

  Their hearts beat together as they pull each other closer and their lips meld.

  Jo has kissed Shea before, but it’s different now, it’s a forever kind of kiss and it takes her breath away.

  She uses all of her strength and picks Shea up, spinning her around, and Shea breaks the kiss laughing in surprise.

  She puts her down at her wife’s insistence, and suddenly they’re swarmed by Dari, Aster, and the rest of the crew.

  Congratulations fly, hugs are exchanged, and Shea is being dragged off inside for the reception, with Jo being pulled behind. She tries to slow the march and allow herself a moment to take in the garden one last time. This is the place where her life is now forever changed, and she doesn’t wish to forget a single moment of it.

  Chapter 33: The Last Dance

  Beck

  The dome is full of laughter and music. A band that Dari had collected from the marketplace plays music of all kinds.

  The crew and naval officers dance together, sustained by good food and drink. The floor is covered in stunning pink blossoms, and Beck smiles as Dari flitters around the room either replacing food on the dining table or replenishing people’s drinks.

  Aster and James catch Beck’s eyes, as James timidly twirls Aster across the dance floor while the younger man laughs at him.

  There’s a general feeling of happiness and goodwill in the air.

  Caen is with Phoebus singing an old ocean shanty, encouraged by their many glasses of wine, and lanterns float in the air above, casting a warm glow on the evening.

  Beck knows how he must look, lurking in the shadows near the center tree with a goblet in hand, watching as Jo tries to stop Shea from wiping her finger across the wedding cake icing, which only ends in Shea drawing a line of blue down Jo’s cheek.

  They kiss and Beck barely flinches.

  It hadn’t been an easy decision giving Shea his mother’s ring, but something about it had felt right when he had visited her in her chambers before the wedding.

  He’d presented it down on one knee and when she accepted, he tried to pretend it was her accepting his own proposal.

  He shakes the somber thoughts away.

  Everything he told Jo was true: he knows they belong together, he knows this is what is meant to be. But fate can be cruel, so he takes a heady sip from his goblet, letting the alcohol warm his chest.

  Surrogacy. He figures Jo meant it as a kindness, but all he can think is that it will always be a reminder of what he’ll never have.

  Shea and he would share children, but they would be Shea and Jo’s first. Jo would get to be there for Shea. Jo would raise his child, and he would be nothing but a distant relative.

  Not true.

  The words echo through his mind and he sighs reluctantly because he knows his thoughts are wrong. Jo isn’t like that and that’s why she deserves her.

  He’s staring into his goblet at the swirling dark liquid, lost to the world, when a hand on his shoulder surprises him. He turns to find its owner and is shocked to see Poseidon standing next to him.

  “What are you doing lurking in the shadows? You should be out there enjoying the party,” Poseidon tells him, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Beck raises a brow. “I could say the same about you. Father of the bride and all.”

  Poseidon wipes a hand over his mouth and shakes his head with a dark chuckle. “No…No, I’ve lost my place among them. But you’ve gained a special place in their hearts, you’re a part of them.”

  “You’re wrong. It’s not the same. I’ll always be on the outside of what truly matters.”

  “And? Do you think you deserve more? In a love like yours, there’s usually a winner and a loser. Although you didn’t win, you certainly haven’t lost like most. They love you.”

  “So, I just accept that I’ll have her in some ways and not in the ones that are really important?”

  “Isn’t that enough? If you truly love her, if she’s truly who you believe you belong with, isn’t even a small piece of her enough?”

  Beck stands quietly thinking about Shea, and his conversations with Jo. He thinks about his stolen glances and heated sparring matches with the red-haired elf, he thinks of how he makes her laugh and how her eyes sparkle when he talks about his adventures with his father.

  He thinks about their heated kiss on the pinnace that night surrounded by mermaids.

  Then he imagines brown-haired children with those same brilliant green eyes, and he sees Jo there. He sees the three of them in the throne room in Arethusa or the state’s hall in Oceanus, smiling, childish laughter filling the air, and it feels…like family. Something he no longer has.

  He opens his eyes, but instead of finding Poseidon beside him, he finds Shea standing in front of him.

  The music has slowed to a softer tempo and he thinks he recognizes the melody.

  She’s gorgeous. Her dress flows enchantingly around her and the light catches on the pearls scattered through her lush red hair. Her hand is extended out to him and she casts him a shy smile, countering her confident personality.

  “Care to dance?”

  Beck looks around, making sure there’s no one behind him. When he finds no one there, he returns Shea’s soft grin with one of his own and takes her hand, following as she leads him onto the dance floor.

  Crewmen, naval officers of varying genders, even Dari and Caen, are slow dancing to the elegant melody.

  Beck catches Jo’s eyes from across the room.

  A nervous tightening clenches his stomach in fear that she’ll be unhappy, but Jo is smiling. She gestures for him to move along before turning back to Aster and taking his hand to dance.

  Shea and Beck come to a spot, separated from the rest of the crowd, and face each other. Beck bows respectfully and Shea does her best with a graceless curtsy.

  He steps closer and places her left hand on his shoulder and takes her right with his left. He quickly realizes that he’s going to have to lead as she stumbles a few times through the traditional waltz and after the fourth smack to the shoulder because o
f his giggling, he takes control.

  “Should I be worried I’m going to come out of this with broken toes?”

  That earns him another smack to the shoulder.

  “Jo never complains.”

  Beck laughs. “I highly doubt that. So, if you can’t dance, why’d you ask?”

  “I don’t know,” Shea deflects the question, trying to pull away. “We can stop if you like?”

  Beck holds on to her, though, and uses his arm around her waist to pick her up off the floor. He casually spins her around before setting her back down, her joyous laughter filling his ears.

  “I’m fine. In fact, this may be the best moment of my life,” he whispers, letting his chin rest aside her head.

  “Beck…”

  “I know. Just for this moment, be here with me, okay?” Beck asks.

  He looks into her eyes and Shea looks back wistfully before finally nodding.

  He puts his chin back near her head and enjoys the feeling of her closeness, her warmth, her heart beating next to his.

  “This is nice,” she says.

  Beck silently agrees.

  “Am I crazy?”

  Shea pushes away from him enough to meet his gaze.

  “What do you mean?” she asks.

  “Did I imagine it all? You, me, us? Do you even have feelings for me?”

  “Beck. I just got married,” Shea starts, and Beck sighs.

  “Right, sorry.”

  He goes to pull away and leave her on the dance floor, but she stops him with unanticipated strength because he’d almost forgotten who she was for a moment under that dress.

  “Please. Stay.”

  “Tell me I’m crazy, tell me everything I’ve felt, everything between us this past week, was nothing.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “But it could be,” Beck objects. “Because, Shea, when I look at you, I see possibility, I see a connection I’ve never felt with anyone else. You and I are connected somehow, and I just wish…”

  Beck stops himself before he can say more.

  “What?” she demands.

  “I wish I had met you first. Because I care more deeply for you than I ever thought possible, and I can’t help but wonder if you could have loved me the way you love her. If you had met me first? Could I be the one you’re married to?”

  He goes to leave again, and she almost seems to let him go but at the last second, she grabs his arm again and turns him to face her.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes?” Beck breathes.

  “Yes, I could have married you, loved you. I think in some ways I already do. But we didn’t meet first; destiny brought her to me instead. And she’s…she’s my everything.”

  “I know,” Beck sighs.

  “But I also know that I don’t want to let you go, because I do feel for you. So…I’ve been making a lot of promises today, and now I’d like to make a promise to you.”

  Beck looks around warily, waiting for Jo to appear, and Shea must see his expression because she laughs awkwardly.

  “Don’t worry, I have permission. It seems you’ve found a way into my wife’s heart too.”

  “She’s an amazing woman,” Beck admits.

  “Aye, she is.” Shea smiles.

  “So, a promise?” he prompts.

  “Yes. There are conditions to my marriage to Jo, I recently found out, and one of them involves children,” Shea begins, and a faint blush fans her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

  Beck blushes too. “Jo mentioned.”

  “Seems she’s already a step ahead,” Shea mutters, but continues, “Jo and I are married, we’re bonded, but she, somehow, understands my connection to you. Maybe it’s a royal thing or maybe…She just knows me. And she’s recognized that it doesn’t affect my loyalty or promises to her. Beck, what I feel for you, there’s no label—love, platonic or romantic, it’s there and regardless of what may happen, I can’t lose you. You’re somehow a part of me, and I have permission to give you a piece of me too.”

  “You want me to be the father of your heirs?”

  “I want us to be a family,” Shea answers honestly. “Could that be enough?”

  Shea is staring him down earnestly and the words run through Beck’s veins.

  Is it enough?

  Next thing he knows, Jo is standing beside Shea. She takes Shea’s hand and reaches out with her other for Beck’s.

  “I don’t understand what we are,” Beck murmurs, mostly to himself, but Jo speaks up anyway.

  “We’re a team. I think the three of us could do anything. But I need you to know that if you accept, if you’re with us, I’m a part of this too.”

  “A family?” Beck repeats.

  “Family.” Shea smiles.

  He looks at both of them and there’s so many emotions tied to them, he can’t possibly name them all. But one emotion stands out clearly. Want. He wants this. And it’s more than most would get.

  “So, what do you say?” Shea asks.

  “Yes.”

  ​Beaming smiles appear on both of their beautiful faces, and Beck knows deep down he made the right decision.

  ​“Of course, children won’t be on the table for a while,” Shea voices, and Jo kisses her wife’s cheek.

  ​“Yes of course,” Jo teases.

  ​“Considering we have no idea how we’re going to defeat Perses or if we’ll survive the encounter,” Beck chimes in, and he’s surprised when Jo leans over and places a kiss on his cheek too. For the first time he notices she’s a couple inches taller than him.

  ​“I choose that for tonight and for tonight only, I have faith. Complete faith that the three of us together will stop Perses. That we can take back Nereid and we will win. I have faith in us, and for one night let’s pretend you do too,” Jo tells them both.

  ​Shea looks at Beck and Beck gazes back at her; their eyes meet and they both sigh. There’s no point in trying to resist the queen, so they nod in agreement.

  ​Jo grins. “Good! Now,” she announces loudly so everyone can hear, “I believe this is my wedding and a night to celebrate! So, maestros, can I get an Oceanan jig if you please?”

  ​The musicians readily accept her command and the room is entranced by a familiar tune. Jo holds out her hands to the both of them, which they take easily.

  ​The crew begins to clap, and others take to the floor to dance.

  ​The next thing Beck knows, he’s spinning around the room, with two beautiful women on his arms and the beginning of a new family in his life.

  Chapter 34: First Night

  Jo

  “You’ll make sure he gets to his room,” Shea laughs as Aster and James take the weight of Beck on their shoulders.

  ​Aster gives them both a thumbs-up as the last of the party retires for the night.

  The dome is a mess, but a wonderful mess, as Jo examines the last pieces of her wedding to Shea. The musicians are drunkenly passed out on their instruments, various crewmates and officers lay scattered across the floor.

  Caen stumbles with a sleeping Phoebus in his arms and Dari smacks him, whispering loudly for him to be careful as they retire for the night.

  ​Jo could barely drink a drop; she wants to remember it all.

  ​After their dance, Beck had gone back for another drink, which had turned into a few celebratory glasses, with the end result of him being carried out of the main living quarters by Aster and James.

  ​Jo can see the hesitation on her wife’s—wife’s—face as Aster heads off with James alone, toward bedrooms and dark hallways. She places a hand on Shea’s shoulder and the captain turns to her with a glowing smile.

  ​“It’s fine,” Shea says as the three boys disappear down the hall and out of sight.

  ​“I know,” Jo agrees. “So where will we be retiring?”

  ​Shea pretends to think about it before she grabs Jo’s hand and leads her down the same hall the boys left through. Except instead of leading her toward the
guest chamber Dari had prepared, Shea takes her back to a familiar door and opens the way into her old bedroom.

  ​“My clothes are in here,” Shea explains and Jo chuckles.

  ​Lanterns have been lit in the corners of the room, casting shadows on the mural walls.

  Jo loves this room; she loves every memory she’s had in here and the memory they’re about to make.

  The bed has been pulled down as if Dari had expected they might return here. Jo sees Shea’s clothes have been neatly folded on the vanity, and the mirror reflects all the light, making the room look brighter than it actually is. The stars burn overhead, and the moon shines.

  ​Shea is standing just before the balcony, looking out at the garden, the light catching the pearls in her hair, shimmering. Her blue-and-white wedding gown still flows delicately over her fit frame and Jo can see the deep slit in the back vividly.

  The blue faded throughout the dress enhances the blues and greens in Shea’s tattoo. Her muscles flex under the ink, the massive wings reaching toward her shoulders highlighted by candlelight.

  The dress falls just above her round bottom, covering the small of her back and the black talons of the Lionbird.

  Jo’s mouth waters with desire. She notices two glasses and a wine decanter have been placed on a short table close to the mouth of the balcony. She makes her way to it, pouring the red wine quickly before handing it off to Shea, who takes it easily.

  Shea sips the lush liquid, leaving a stain on her bottom lip. She licks it away gracefully, and Jo melts.

  ​She places her glass down, and while Shea looks out at the gardens, she undresses. She unbuttons her dress jacket, letting it fall silently to the ground. She smiles as it goes unnoticed. She works the pants down next, toeing off her boots silently.

  ​Shea notes some things about the garden, and Jo hums either in agreement or acknowledgment, letting the captain ramble.

  ​Finally, she slips her undergarments off and reaches for her braided hair, untangling the strands and letting it fall loose past her shoulders until she stands completely naked off to Shea’s side.