Page 112 of Bound

The ones who stayed after the Village burned.

The ones who came back.

An older Bachman steps to the altar.

He wears no robe. Only a dark tux these men are so fond of.

His voice carries over the water. “The law witnessed a marriage tonight.” The boat moves beneath us. “The world witnessed a marriage tonight.” He looks around the circle. “But family witnesses something else.”

Lucian takes my hand.

The man continues.

“The Bachman name has never meant blood alone. It is a promise. Protection. Loyalty. It is the choice to stand when standing costs something.”

I glance at Lucian.

His eyes are on me.

Am I ready to become one of them?

To join this family?

A family that is violent and ridiculously kinky and too wealthy and complicated enough to require flowcharts.

A family that rebuilt a Village because home mattered more than ashes.

There is a small red leather box in his hand. Bachman’s written in gold on the top.

He opens it.

Inside is a delicate gold necklace. A small sword pendant dangles from the chain. Light blue stones line the blade.

“It’s beautiful.” I touch my throat.

He steps behind me. His fingers brush the back of my neck as he fastens it.

His mouth comes close to my ear. “You still want this?”

“Yes.” I smile through tears. “And ask me when I’m ninety.”

“I will.”

He moves back in front of me.

The older man lights one candle, sharing the flame with someone else. The flame moves around the circle until the deck glows with dozens of small lights.

The river wind should extinguish them.

Somehow it does not.

The older man raises his candle.

“Bachmans, do you accept Erin?”

“We do.”

The voices roll across the water.