Page 120 of Unveiled

Connor’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Then we face the consequences together.”

Adrian’s fingers curled into the table. “What if our vow makes things worse?”

Connor reached out and took Adrian’s hand, warm, solid, and certain. “Every time your mark surged,” Connor said quietly, “every time the valley shook, every time you were pulled under, do you know what steadied it?”

Adrian shook his head.

“You holding on to me,” Connor told him. “And me holding back.”

“You saved me in the Spiral Grove,” Adrian said. “I felt myself slipping, fading, and you dragged me back.”

“You did the same,” Connor murmured. “That grove would have swallowed me whole if you hadn’t pulled the mark through us both.”

Their foreheads touched. The tablet between them glowed faintly.

Adrian sighed. “So what do we say?”

Connor let out a shaky breath. “Xiathen said vows shape the bond. They aren’t magic words. They’re truth.”

“Then tell me our truth.”

Connor pulled back slightly so he could see Adrian’s eyes. “Our truth,” he said, his voice low, “is that they marked you because you’re strong enough to shake two worlds.”

Adrian blinked.

“Our truth,” Connor continued, “is that I would tear the Veil apart with my bare hands before I let them take you.”

Adrian’s fingers clutched his tighter.

“And our truth,” Connor said, “is that together, we are stronger than the First Two ever were because we know what’s coming.”

Connor touched Adrian’s mark. “So say it with me.”

Adrian stared at him. “Say what?”

“A vow that belongs to us.”

Adrian swallowed. “Connor, if we vow incorrectly—”

“There is no incorrect vow,” Connor said. “Only an honest one.”

“Very well,” Adrian said. “Let’s speak our truth.”

The room seemed to shift. Connor nodded once. “Repeat after me.” He grinned. “I had some time to think about this so let’s hope my words aren’t a pile of shit.”

Adrian laughed. “You’re no poet but I trust your honesty.”

Connor’s voice dropped to a soft rumble, primal and intimate. “I stand with you.”

“I stand with you.”

“I guard your life.”

“I guard your life.”

“I take your burden.”

Adrian hesitated. Connor squeezed his hands.