Kingdom of Ash

A delicate, warm arm looped through his,
and a head of brown-gold hair leaned against
his shoulder. “It’s freezing out here,” Yrene
murmured, scowling at the wind-whipped
waves.
Chaol pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“The cold builds character.”
She huffed a laugh, the steam of her breath
torn away by the wind. “Spoken like a man
from the North.”
Chaol slid his arm around her shoulders,
tucking her into his side. “Am I not keeping
you warm enough these days, wife?”
Yrene blushed, and elbowed him in the
ribs. “Cad.”
Over a month later, and he was still
marveling at the word: wife. At the woman by
his side, who had healed his fractured and
weary soul.
His spine was secondary to that. He’d spent