Page 102 of Winds of Ruin
“I’m certain—there is no world I want to live in without my betrothed.”
“Very well,” Astros said and approached the sunstone, lighting three candles. His hand shook, as though hesitant.
Our vows flew out in a frenzy of Brennac, one of the lost languages. Dritan fumbled over the pronunciations, and I translated the verses in his mind as we spoke them.
Finally, Astros asked us to stand and face one another.
We exchanged rings, and tears spotted our cheeks.
When Dritan kissed me, a flash shone through my closed lids. When I opened my eyes, the sunstone was illuminated with a golden light. Every sconce on the temple walls burned hotter and more fiercely.
My skin prickled, and my Shadows vined around us. Dritan’s Source power encased us both in rays of golden flames. Darkness and light melded; the weight of our power threatened to knock me off-balance. I collapsed against Dritan’s chest as Astros completed the ceremony.
When the light flickered out and my Shadows retreated, only the glow of three candles lit the room.
A parchment fell from thin air at our feet—our marriage contract. Astros no longer stood with us.
I glanced around and found Hurley huffing with fear, his palms plastered to the stone wall of the temple. “What thefuckwas that?”
A laugh burst out of me, and I let my head fall onto Dritan’s chest as he snaked his fingers through my hair and caressed my scalp. His chest rose and fell, steadying me.
“That was a Source Origin binding us,” I answered.
When Dritan leaned down, he asked, “Does this mean you are now my wife?”
“Yes.” I met his gaze and bit my lower lip. “Hello, husband. When should we tell the family?”
Hurley huffed a sound of disbelief from behind me, still clearly shaken. “For the sake of your hides, never, Lark. Never.”
“He’ll come around,” I whispered to Dritan.
We left the temple with proof of our union in hand. Hurley trailed us, like an on-edge watchdog.
I’d leave tomorrow to tour the Corridor Capitals with Aunt El and King Mattock, but only after spending the night with my husband.
Chapter 41
Elsedora
The kitchen prepared me a bowl of oats and freshly sliced plums. Utility often defined my eating habits.
Compared to the savory, decadent dishes Emmerick whipped up for dinner, the spoonful of grain landed blandly on my tongue. I frowned into the bowl, suddenly disappointed in the thing I’d been eating every morning for years.
I had risen early to prepare for the day, and a kettle bubbled on the hearth. After pouring myself a cup, I let the tea leaves steep and leaned against the butcher block.
The phantom sensation of hands on my sides, lifting me onto the counter, overtook my ability to think of anything else. The night prior had been a reckless tiptoeing at the edge of a cliff—no, leaping from the cliff. It marked the first time I’d come undone with anyone in the room with me in years.
Biting my lip, I worried that maybe I’d sullied the first good thing to cross my path in just as long. What a harebrained idea. Albeit afunharebrained idea.
I hadn’t yet fully dressed, but I’d thrown on a thick wool robe to fight the chill of the morning. Shuffling sounds in the parlor pulled my attention to the doorway.
When Emmerick appeared, he looked dead tired. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot. He ran a hand over his face before stretching; the motion caused his tunic to lift, exposing muscle that I tried to ignore. But, now, I knew what his body looked like tightly coiled and ready for release…
“Morning. How did you sleep?” I asked.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he shook his head.
He hadn’t.
