Midnight Eclipse (Paranormal Viking Romance, Completed)

Chapter 9: Red Sky, Blue Waves

Greenland, present day

The world outside is marvelously huge. It's like I've been living in a snow globe and first now, in Greenland, do I dare to step outside of my sheltered bubble to gaze up at the vast sky. Miles upon miles of blue nothingness stretch out above me. I almost get vertigo from trying to comprehend the scale of it.

The sun approaches the horizon and its golden sheen turns the freezing waves into warm amber. Mikk's hand still envelops mine as we sit down on the rocky shore, overlooking the constantly moving sea. It feels right to be here, between clucking water and whisking air, as I divulge the impossible tale that has been taking over my mind.

"Here." Mikk gently puts a blanket over my shoulders. I recognize the bear pattern from the other night when he saved me from a creature much more terrifying than the cuddly creatures dancing on the fabric. "I brought this from the car in case you got cold. It takes a while to get used to this climate, even in summer."

"I'm fine," I reply but still pull the fleece item snug around me. The scent of Mikk lingers on its fibers: fresh paint and salty air. "I'm from Sweden, which is hardly a tropical paradise. I can handle a bit of cold."

I smile and he smiles back. My heart wobbles in my chest.

I didn't come here for this... I didn't...

My mantra from this morning echoes in the back of my mind, fainter and fainter each time. Because what does it matter what I came here for? I'm here now. With him.

Red sky. Blue waves. Warm eyes. It's not what I came for but it's what I found.

"I suppose you're right about Sweden," Mikk chuckles. "Although most places are tropical paradises compared to Greenland. Not that I've been anywhere else though. I've only seen sandy beaches and tropical heat in movies."

"You never left the island?" I ask, flabbergasted. It's just so far from my own hectic life of conferences in Tokyo and weekend getaways to London. But I suppose when you live so far from everything, it's not exactly easy to leave. Besides, it's not like my travels really brought me anything more than jetlag, passport stamps, and Instagram posts, as I was too busy and self-possessed to truly take in anything I saw, just like those tourists Mikk bus around daily.

He shakes his head in reply, looking down into the clear water. Perhaps my surprised reaction embarrassed him. I squeeze his hand to try to show him that I'm not judging him. If anything, I judge myself for my frivolous traveling, which isn't exactly climate smart.

"It's not like I planned it that way," he mumbles. "It just hasn't happened. Many of my friends went to Denmark for uni, but I wasn't smart enough for that."

"You speak three languages," I counter. "Most people who call themselves smart can't master that."

"True..." he admits, hiding a blush behind his fur-rimmed hoodie. "I guess I don't think about it that way. I just picked them up because I had to. I never even finished gymnasium, or whatever you would call it in English, high school?"

"I think so," I reply. "Although gymnasium is the same word in Sweden, so I know what you mean."

"Well, I didn't see the point of graduating, since I wasn't going to uni anyway. So I got a job in the harbor--most of my English and Danish skills come from there rather than school since many of my coworkers didn't speak my language--and started to save up money, to perhaps travel abroad someday. But then my grandma got sick and I stayed around for her. I suppose there's nothing stopping me now... but maybe I'm just too set in my ways."

"It's never too late," I reply, preventing myself from throwing out an invite to come see Sweden with me. That's probably too early. But I can't help but imagine him by my side as I show him my Sweden, a place I have almost forgotten myself. We would visit the red-painted cottage with white trimmings where my family spend our summers. We would watch the blossoming cherry trees in Kungsträdgården. We would walk the shoreline of Kungsholmen toward City Hall, breathing in the sea air and watching the boats go by.