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Cullen had agonized over this for weeks. It was his and Morgynn’s first Satinalia as a married couple. The ceremony had been four months before Satinalia, which was when he’d originally meant to propose. He had planned to take her to meet his family and propose to her by their home in South Reach. Mia’s home had a nice little forest behind it with a picturesque clearing. But he’d seen her playing with the mabari at the Winter Palace, looking at him like he was the sun, and the proposal had slipped from his mouth. She’d stared at him, slack-jawed, for several minutes as he sweated under his formal wear, before leaping into his arms and peppering his face with kisses. The ceremony had been just the two of them, along with Mother Giselle. While it hadn’t been exactly what he’d planned, it was still perfect.
Now he and his wife—his wife—were staying with Mia and his other siblings for two weeks. His sister had set them up in the spacious spare bedroom at the back corner of the house. All of his siblings had immediately loved Morgynn, just as he knew they would. He knew she was still getting used to living with only one arm, but other than that, she seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, cuddling up to him whenever they had a moment alone. He had caught Morgynn and Mia whispering in the kitchen several nights in a row, making him wonder if everything was all right. Morgynn assured him it was, but Cullen knew something was going on. It made him even more determined to make sure her Satinalia was perfect.
As soon as the sun shown through the curtains, Cullen was awake, gently shaking his wife’s shoulder. Morgynn grumbled in reply, burrowing further into the army of blankets and pillows. They really didn’t need this many, but Rosalie had insisted. He had caught her a few times after they’d arrived dumping even more pillows on the bed. “Wake up, love.” Cullen pressed a gentle kiss to Morgynn’s hair. The sunlight that slipped through the curtains made her hair shine a brilliant red as he ran his fingers through the locks.
“It’s Satinalia,” she protested, her voice raspy from sleep. “We’re supposed to sleep in.”
He chuckled. “I have a surprise for you.”
She slowly opened one eye to look at him and he couldn’t help but laugh. The image of the fearless inquisitor, hair sticking up at odd angles, peeking at him with one squinty eye, was hilarious. “What is it?”
“Get dressed and come to the clearing with me and you’ll find out.”
She sighed, but smiled and complied. They were the first ones up, much to Cullen’s relief. He had been afraid that Mia and Branson’s children would come jump on their beds wanting to open presents before he had a chance to sneak away with his wife. His nieces and nephews of course loved her and she was fantastic with them. Rosalie was a good deal younger than all of them and yet to have children, although she had hinted she was seeing someone without giving too many details.
Cullen reached for Morgynn’s hand as they made their way through the forest behind Mia’s house. His hand grabbed empty air where his wife’s left hand used to be and he saw her shoulders sink in the dim morning light. He wanted to slap himself; Satinalia had barely started and he was already mucking this up. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, kissing her hair.
After several more minutes of quiet—and Cullen remembering to grab the correct hand this time—Morgynn asked, “Where are we going?”
He shot a smile back at her. “Almost there, love.”
Morgynn paused once they reached the clearing. The tiny lake glittered in the rising sun and a blanket lay out on the grass with a basket on top. A tiny firepit that Cullen had dug the night before stood just next to the blanket to drive away the cold. His heart warmed as she beamed at him. He smiled in return before getting the fire going, sitting next to her and pulling her against his chest. They enjoyed a quiet breakfast, speaking of anything and everything, like they always did whenever they had the chance. He could talk to her for hours and never get bored.
Eventually, all the food was gone and Cullen knew his nieces and nephews would be waking. Mia hadn’t wanted to open presents without them, so he and Morgynn packed up their things and stomped the fire out. Snow had gently started to fall and Morgynn shuddered. Cullen shook the dirt off the blanket and wrapped it around his wife’s shoulders, leading her back to Mia’s with his arm around her shoulders.
Mia’s house was a flurry of excitement the moment Cullen and Morgynn stepped in the door. Everyone had been waiting on them and without even so much as a glance up, the children attacked their presents as soon as they crossed the threshold. They earned a scolding from their parents, but Cullen and Morgynn merely laughed and waved them off. After the ground had been littered with wrapping, the adults exchanged their own gifts. Cullen watched with baited breath as Morgynn opened the box that held an assortment of the type of tea she loved from Val Royoux, a few books she’d been wanting and a new set of daggers that had her initials engraved on the blade (her old daggers had become quiet dull over the past few years). Her smile was wide as she traced over the M.R. with her finger. “Thank you,” she breathed in his ear before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
Cullen laughed at the low chorus of “Eeeeewwwww” from the children and answered just as quietly, “You’re welcome, love.”
“Now open yours.” She plopped a box and an envelope in his lap. “Open the box first.”
He raised a curious eyebrow, but set aside the envelope for the moment. He snorted as he tore open the lid. Several months ago, when Morgynn had asked him if he wanted anything for Satinalia, he’d jokingly replied, “A book about us by Varric.” Lo and behold, there lay a thin book with a badly drawn picture of Morgynn closing a rift and Cullen standing a few feet behind her with hearts for eyes and their mabari, Gregor, eating the bottom part of his mantle. The title read Dodge, Not Catch, the lesson he kept trying to teach Gregor without success. He flipped through the pages, scanning a few of the sentences before laying it off to the side, face-down.
“Is that you on the front?” Mia reached to grab the book, a wide smile on her face.
“No, you’re not getting that.” He held it far out of her reach, making sure the cover was still facing away from her. Morgynn laughed, twisting to reach to undoubtedly hand it to Mia. He feigned the best look of betrayal he could. “Stop that!”
She giggled and Mia fell back into her seat, disappointed. Morgynn pointed inside the box. “There’s more in there.”
Cullen chuckled, setting the book back on the couch next to him, safely tucked away from his wife and sister. Under a layer of protective paper, Cullen found what he at first thought was a coin. On closer inspection, he saw a lion engraved into the tiny circle of metal, the word “persevere” making a border. The opposite side held the same lion, but said “strength” instead. It was attached to a thin chain, just like the coin he had given to Morgynn all those years ago. Warmth bloomed in his chest as he smiled at his wife.
She blushed and looked away. “I thought we could match.” She pulled her own coin out from under her shirt for emphasis.
He merely kissed her in reply, letting his lips linger on hers despite the second chorus of disgusted noises from the children. “Thank you, darling. I love it.” He slipped it over his head, smiling at Morgynn and taking her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. His chest felt it would burst, he was so happy. He hadn’t thought he would ever be this happy or even deserving of half the things Morgynn had given to him.
“Open your envelope,” she said, a hint of nervousness crossing her gaze.
“Oh!” He’d nearly forgotten, reluctantly letting go of her hand to tear it open. He unfolded the piece of paper inside, ignoring his siblings’ questions as he read his wife’s messy scrawl: You have another present coming, but it won’t be here for another nine months. He stared at the message for several more minutes, reading over and over again before turning to his wife with blurred vision.
“What’s wrong?” Mia asked, moving to get out of her chair. “Cullen—”
He held up a hand to stop her, eyes still on Morgynn. “Are you pregnant?”
She merely nodded and smiled.
He laughed, shooting up from his seat and lifting Morgynn with him. He picked her up and spun her around, burying his face in her hair as his siblings cried out their congratulations, the children too enraptured with their new toys to take notice.
He laughed breathlessly. “You’re pregnant.”
She nodded into his shoulder. “You’re going to be an amazing father.”
He pulled back to look at her, cupping her cheek in his hand. She reached up to wipe away the tears that he hadn’t even realized were falling down his cheeks. “Happy Satinalia, love.”