Page 198 of Sworn to the Shadow Throne

The word ordained hit my chest like a physical blow. The bond tying me to Owain ignited with heat and pressure in a sudden and undeniable surge that nearly shocked me out of the poised stillness I was maintaining.

My hand tightened involuntarily on Owain’s arm. The crowd was hearing this at the same moment I was, and there was nothing to do but stand very still and breathe through it.

Camrick let the silence hold for a moment. From where I was standing, it looked less like he was waiting for objections and more like he was daring anyone to make one.

My eyes drifted to the crowd. To my surprise, people were smiling.

Owain, the crown now resting on his head, lifted one hand to signal that he wanted to speak.

Camrick’s calm reaction and slight smile were too understated, as if he’d anticipated the interruption.

Owain said, “But only if she will have me. Lady Lunette, will you marry me?”

The crowd went still, breath held, waiting.

Owain looked down at me, eyes soft and hopeful. The moment his dark eyes met mine, the assembled lords and foreign dignitaries seated in their gilded chairs disappeared.

In that moment, he was the man who’d thanked me for helping him without being asked, who’d endured pain to defend my honor, who’d safeguarded my village even after they called him a demon—and who’d never once asked anything of me for himself, other than my love.

Shadows danced in his eyes as his fingers tightened around mine. “I’m grateful every single day that the injury nearly ended me,” he said at last, his voice low enough that the words felt meant only for me, even though every soul in attendance was holding their breath to catch them. “I know what the bond says. I know what the gods have ordained.” His jaw tightened with the effort of restraint, and the working up toward its opposite. “Fate has had a heavy hand in our lives. But I need you to know that what you want is the only thing that matters, moonlight.”

My throat had closed entirely. Pressure grew behind my eyes.

His gaze remained fixed in a fierce, unblinking certainty that had unnerved me during our first meeting and continued to undo me.

He said, “I never want you to be small again. Not for a kingdom. Not for me. I never want you to feel isolated or valued only for what you can give.” He exhaled slowly as if he were allowing himself to feel something he would once have locked away.

“You are my superior in every way that matters—and you have never once let me forget it. Or myself,” he said. “Your magic. Courage. Stubbornness.” A flicker, like a phantom smile, played at the edge of his lips. “You’ve given me an identity and steadied me when I needed it the most. You suffered my worst and not only forgave me for it but helped me grow past it even when it would’ve been easier to let me stay broken.”

Then he, a king, kneeled—against protocol, against expectations. I heard at least one gasp from the crowd. He bent his head over my knuckles, and when he lifted his eyes to mine again, there was nothing of king or demon or Dread Reaver left in them. Only Owain. “I’m not asking you to be useful to me, Lunette. I’m asking you to be mine. And I am offering myself—all of me, the darkness and the duty and the rest—to be yours.”

The hum of the bond set a warmth flowing from him to me. It kept the chill of the air at bay like sunlight finding a room it had never reached before.

“I can’t imagine doing this without you. So…” His thumb traced across my knuckles, the touch so careful it made my chest ache. “Will you marry me?”

The gathered crowd waited. So did he—patient as ever, as if he had all the time in the world and would give every second of it to me.

Six months ago, my life was well-managed, but small and lonely. I hadn’t expected a broken stranger wearing armor to show up on my front porch. I certainly hadn’t expected him to turn out to be my prince—or, least of all, my mate.

Together we could change things for the better. We could save Selmont. Larethia. No, even more. We could save Avanfell.

My voice, when I found it, didn’t shake. That surprised me because I was trembling under the heavy fur cloak. “Yes, Owain, I will have you.”

As if I’d have it any other way. It didn’t matter what name or title he carried, what he had been, or what he would become. He was mine just as I was his—body and soul.

The pressure behind my eyes became tears before I could stop them. They streamed freely down my face, without warning or dignity. I blinked hard.

It didn’t help.

Owain looked to the side and nodded once to a servant. Muffin rode on Anne’s shoulder, looking dapper with his velvet collar. She presented Owain, still kneeling, with an ornately carved box.

Camrick almost smiled when Muffin ran down Anne’s arm to lick Owain’s hand, but kept it contained behind a general’s dignity. He announced, “Even in these dark times, we will celebrate the return of the bond that once lifted Larethia to the height of her power. I can’t help but believe that this is a sign from Fate herself that our kingdom will rise above her enemies and prosper…more than ever.”

I prayed to the gods every day that it would be so.

Through wet eyes, I saw Owain open the box and pull out a ring. At its heart sat a rectangular emerald encircled by a halo of sparkling diamonds, all cradled within a gleaming gold band adorned with a detailed leaf etching. It was gorgeous.

I’m sure I looked quite the sight with tears streaming down my face and mouth agape, but Owain just smiled up from where he still kneeled like it was the happiest moment of his life. For a split second, I forgot what I was supposed to do and just stood there staring at his handsome face.