Page 118 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Beloved family and honored guests." Toven's voice carried without the help of a microphone. "Tonight we gather to witness a reunion thousands of years in the making.

"Five thousand years ago, Annani and Khiann stood before the assembled nobility of their city and spoke vows to one another, believing they would hold until the end of time. That city and its people are gone, and the very language in which those vows were spoken is known today to only a handful of souls, nearly all of whom are seated tonight in this hall. Everything that stood witness that day has crumbled into dust. Everything, save for the bond of love between this goddess and this god.

"I have lived a very long time, and I have heard poets, priests, and ordinary lovers speak of love that outlasted death. They said it because it sounded beautiful and offered comfort, and because no one could prove or disprove the claim. I know it is true now. Annani carried a vow to love no other across five millennia, through the rise and fall of empires and civilizations. Khiann rose from stasis with no memory of his life before it, and he still chose Annani again. Not because he remembered her, but because he looked at her and knew she was his one and only."

He turned to look at Khiann, then at Annani. "Today you will renew your vows before all of us, so that this time the witnesses will remain, and this time nothing will be lost."

He turned to Khiann.

"Your vows, please."

The hall was so quiet that Khiann could hear the candles flickering on the tables.

Annani's eyes were glowing, and she squeezed his hand once, then let go so everyone could see that he was standing on his own.

"Annani, my love, my beautiful flower," he said in English.

The murmur started at the nearest tables and spread through the hall like a ripple in a pond.

He had drilled the sounds for three weeks with Vrog and Esag until they no longer felt like stones in his mouth. His accent was still heavy, but everyone could understand him, and that was what mattered.

"I do not remember our first wedding. I have seen it in a dream, as a spectator from the back of a crowd, and I envied the man who stood where I am standing now. I thought he was the luckiest man in the world, and so did he."

Annani's lips parted.

"That man was me. Five thousand years of stasis robbed me of my memories, and the only reason I have seen that day at all is that you have painted it in my mind with your words while I slept, so that when I woke I would have something of it. And now I stand before you, ready to give myself to you again."

He drew a breath.

"I vow to be worthy of the ring on my hand and of the one I am about to place on yours. I vow to learn you anew and to create memories that will last forever this time. I was granted a second chance, and I find every moment with you a blessing. I thank the Fates for it every day. I vow to be your husband, your mate, and your best friend. I vow to support you in every way I can and to celebrate every victory by your side. I vow to love you fiercely, passionately, and unconditionally for all the days of our lives. You are everything to me, my beautiful flower. My Annani. You are my reason for being, and I promise to spend every moment of our lives cherishing you, honoring you, and loving you with every beat of my heart." He turned to Esag, who stepped up beside him and handed him the ring. "I, Khiann, son of Yaeni and Navohn, take thee, Annani, daughter of Nai and Ahn, as my mate, to love and to hold forever in this world and beyond."

As Khiann slipped the ring on Annani's finger, in the old tongue, he said the seven words that were cut inside it.

"Now and then, for eternity and beyond."

42

ANNANI

Now and then, for eternity and beyond.

Khiann had said it in the old tongue, and the words were still in the air between them when Annani looked down at her hand, where the new ring sat on her finger, and those words were carved inside the band, where no one but she could read them.

"Annani," Toven said.

She realized everyone was waiting for her to recite her vows.

She had not written anything. She never did. She had stood where Toven was standing, looked at two people, and known what should be said to them. The words had always come, and she trusted they would come now as well.

She looked at Khiann.

He stood tall and proud, without a crutch or a cane, just as he had vowed he would. His beard was trimmed. His hair was long. His eyes were bright and fixed on her.

The words came.

"Khiann, my love. My life." She said it in English because he had chosen to deliver his vows in English and had done so beautifully. Besides, she needed the entire clan to hear her, and not everyone was wearing translating earpieces. "You do not remember our first wedding, but I do. I remember the weight of the silly headdress, the length of the stairs, and the way you laughed when my train caught on the step. I remember every word you said to me that day, and I have carried those words for five thousand years. I will tell you now what I have never told anyone." She smiled conspiratorially. "A little secret."

He smiled back.