Page 145 of The Edge of Darkness

Syros faced me next, placing the stone in my open palm. “Auren, Bringer of Light, daughter of Emil.” He paused, then, “Daughter of Karios.” The room grew achingly still as the audience soaked in the declaration. “Do you formally recognize your mating bond, therefore confessing your love before the gods and the fates, and vowing to uphold the duty and honor that comes with this bond?”

“I do,” I answered.

Once again, the rope flared, and a second symbol appeared, this time on the right side of the stone. Syros retrieved the stone and set it on the altar. Then, he reached for the dagger and handed it to Niall.

Niall turned to face me, rotating his hand beneath the rope so that our palms were touching one another.

Now, we would draw blood.

We pulled our palms apart just enough to fit the dagger between them. The blade’s edge hovered against my skin, threatening to slit my flesh apart with the slightest bit of pressure.

I stared up into Niall’s eyes, ready to bleed for him. For us.

His essence caressed my mind, shadows swirling around my light.

“You have bound your hearts before the gods and the fates, and your words have been set in stone. Now you will swear your oaths in blood. Do you both vow to place your mate above all others, to love one another without circumstance through every season of life, to never forsake each other, and to honor one another’s heart as your own, until the end of your days?”

The end of our days.

Days.

Days were so finite. So fleeting. That amount of time was nowhere near long enough to do our love justice. Our love would endure far beyond the end of our lives. So we smiled at each other, and spoke the words we’d rehearsed instead: “Until the end of time.” With the words, we pressed our palms together, gripping each other’s hand tightly around the dagger’s blade. The sharp bite of its edge struck us both, and warm streams of our blood flowed from where we were joined, turning the rope crimson just before it flared with light one final time, then vanished.

On the altar beside us, the final symbol—larger than both of our own—embedded itself into the center of the oathing stone, completing the binding ceremony.

The mating bond between us pulled taut, and I gasped as what felt like a thousand tiny strands of fibers knit themselves together in my mind’s eye, tethering me to Niall in a way I hadn’t previously known. It was far more intimate. Incredibly intense. And the sensation caused me to momentarily forget how to breathe.

Niall clutched the dagger tighter, cinching me closer to him. His lips parted, and a rush of breath escaped his throat, like his heart had jolted within his chest. The intensity on his face mirrored what was surely on mine. We locked ourselves in such a deep stare that I didn’t know how we were going to recover and come back to reality.

Silence.

Then . . .

Clapping.

I blinked. Somewhere, someone was . . . clapping.

Another clap sounded. Then another.

Soon the entire temple was in a clamor of approval.

That snapped us both back from wherever we had just drifted off to along the bond.

Niall removed the blade and placed it on the altar, allowing the cuts on our palms to close and heal instantaneously. Then, he lifted me in his arms, kissing me fiercely as he spun us around. I laughed against his mouth, kissing him back, committing the moment to memory.

It was done. The bond was sealed in stone and in blood. And my heart had never felt so full.

Niall set my feet back on the ground, grinning wildly, his eyes aflame in gold.

Behind the altar, Syros raised his arms in proclamation. “Behold, your High Lord and Lady of Calledan.”

The applause continued, more and more fae seeming to recognize the bond between us.

We faced the audience, and it was then that I noticed the Trium and the others standing in the front row, smiles proudly adorning their faces as they clapped. I smiled in return, but it faltered the moment I sensed the fluctuation of the wards.

Niall’s hand tightened around mine, and I heard his deep voice call out, loud enough for the entire room to hear . . .

“Going somewhere, Ramil?”