Page 111 of Bound

My public husband.

But I understand now why he said one more ceremony.

This is not about the law.

This is about belonging.

The boat pulls away from shore.

New York becomes light behind us.

The upper deck has been cleared.

No tables.

No flowers except a few white roses along the railing.

At the center stands a narrow altar of dark wood.

On it rests a sword.

Not a weapon.

A symbol.

I stop.

Lucian looks at me.

“Nervous?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I narrow my eyes.

He almost smiles.

“You told me nervous and excited are the same emotion.”

“You remember too much.”

“Everything about you.”

We walk forward.

The family forms a circle around us.

Men and women whose names I’m still learning.

Some I met today.

Some I have known through stories.

The old families.

The new ones.