Book 9: Chapter 62: In the Wake of…
Sen reached down, plucked Ai from the ground, and swung her up into his arms. She was yelling and smiling and, in a few seconds, he would start to listen. Before that, though, he just let himself breathe. He let himself feel the impossibly soft strands of her hair brush his face in the gentle breeze. He reassured himself that she was, in truth, safe. He’d known that she was since Auntie Caihong and Fu Ruolan would have built a monument made of corpses as a warning to future fools brave or stupid enough to try anything. But that intellectual knowledge was not the same as the visceral truth of wrapping the single most precious thing in the world in the protection of his arms. He realized that Ai wasn’t speaking anymore and he looked down at her. She was staring up at him with deep concern in her dark eyes.
“Are you sad, Papa?” she asked.
“No, Orchid. I’m definitely not sad. I’m very, very happy to be home with you.”
Her face scrunched up like she was trying to solve a hard problem.
“Why are you crying?” she asked.
Sen reached up and felt the wetness on his own cheek. Well, damn, he thought. He gave her a bright smile.
“Sometimes, when people are completely full of happiness, they cry.”
Ai gave him a look of such deep suspicion that he burst into laughter. He kissed her forehead and then carried her over to where Auntie Caihong was watching them with a little smile on her face. He pulled Auntie Caihong into a one-armed hug and whispered to her.
“Thank you.”