Chapter 27
“Truce?” he asked me as we pulled up to an empty gravel parking lot. We were on the side of a mountain, a decent drive from the city.
It was cold outside, but the heat was turned on, and I peered out the windshield to look up at the clear night sky above. Every star was clear in the night, more clear than in the city.
I’d been quiet the whole way, just existing in his scent of midnight opium and the undercurrent of nerves from him in the bond. I’d never felt that before, and it was strangely comforting.
I pouted, glancing back at him. “You think you can just fuck me real good and I won’t be mad at you anymore?”
“I was hoping it was a start.”
My lips quivered with a smile. “I’ll allow a truce.”
He grinned.
I watched as he hopped out of the door, tugging open the trunk and grabbing a coat, which he handed me. I tugged it on, peering around. The light from the SUV was the only one in the whole space.
“It’s really fucking cold, and I didn’t think this through,” he said. “I just wanted to be somewhere other than the academy. Decebal said this place was great for being under the stars.”
It was possible to see right down and across the whole of New Oxford at night, right to where the city met the sea and the world turned to blackness but for a few ship lights. “It’s really pretty,” I whispered, hugging my coat tight around me as I glanced up to see the constellations above again.
“I don’t mind a bit of—” I cut off, everything wiped from my brain as I turned back to Dusk, to find him down on one knee.
Wait— “W-what are you doing?” I stammered.
He took a black velvet box from his pocket and my pulse went haywire.
What was he doing?
I glanced around the midnight field as it might give me answers. “D-Dusk…”
This was crazy.
No matter what a piece of paper had said, I was… I was gold pack.
Broken.
All wrong.
Dreams stayed in dreams for a reason.
“Will you claim me as your husband, Shatter Kingsman?” he asked as he cracked the box and showed me what was inside.
I tried desperately to blink away tears that sprung up in my eyes. Glinting in the dim light of the SUV was a ring.
The most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. It was made of three thin bands that fit together—one for each of them, and the diamonds upon it… They were…
Not only were the diamonds large, but in clusters of hexagons across the top, scattered in a haphazard way perfectly imperfect. Perfectly imbalanced.
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
Flashed in my head. Bright lights swimming in my vision.
I was broken.
A poison?—
“I’m sorry it’s so backwards,” he said.
Oh… bother…
I had just been standing here for an age, my mouth hanging open. “It’s um… it’s okay.” I was choked as I tried to shove back haunting memories, glad I could find my voice. “This pack is all backwards and upside down…”
He was still holding the ring out, still on his knees.
It must be cold.
I was making him wait.
I was supposed to… to answer or something. But I was mesmerised by the patterns across the ring. It was so beautiful. Something he’d chosen for me. But I was both mesmerised and terrified.
How could something as beautiful as that be for me?
I didn’t understand.
I reached out and took it, trying to grasp what I was looking at. He’d got this for me.
“I just… I need a moment.”
So.
That hadn’t gone quite as I’d imagined it would.
Her eyes had gone wide as she’d stared at the three-part ring—normal. She’d teared up—normal. Then she’d taken a step back like she was going to run—possibly… normal?
Then she’d re-engaged constricted omega pupils on the ring, let out a little whine, snatched it, and fled.
Definitely not normal.
Well. No. That wasn’t true.
It was very Shatter.
I found her in the back of the back of the SUV, buried under the spare blankets I’d packed for the drive.
When I ducked under to join her, it was to find her curled up with the glow of her phone as she cupped my ring in her hands, staring at it.
When she’d snatched the ring, she’d vanished in the bond. I don’t even think she’d closed it. I think she’d just… got lost. I could still feel her present, but she was nothing but a buzzing tangle of instincts and hormones.
She glanced up at me as I joined her, then returned her gaze to the ring she was cupping so carefully it was as if she thought if she moved too suddenly, it might burn her.
I think the little hexagon diamond design might have done her in. This was some Lord of the Rings level shit.
“Are you… okay?”
“Uh huh…” Her lip trembled though, the same quivering smile that I’d seen the day she’d found her registration card.
“I don’t believe you, Gem.” I needed to bench my nerves. This was a gift I wanted to give her, no matter how she received it. It wouldn’t be worth much if its value changed for how she responded.
“Well…” She swallowed. “I’m just focusing really hard.” She returned her gaze to the ring with intensity.
“On what?”
“Not crying.”
I smiled. “You can cry however much you want.”
“Really?” she asked, glancing at me. “It’s not… s-stupid?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Oh, thank God.” She burst into tears, hugging the ring close. “Because it’s the most… m-most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“So it’s… good tears?”
She dragged her arm from across eyes, fixing me with a wide-eyed stare, and sniffled. “Y-Yes.”
Okay.
Relief flooded my system. I don’t think I’d been this nervous in… well, ever.
She tugged the blanket back from over our heads and snuggled closer. I kept spotting her glance at the ring before ripping her eyes wildly away, as if she didn’t know how to look at it.
Fresh tears tracked her cheeks with that sweet smile.
“It’s… well, it’s from all of us. But I know Ransom wanted to do the shelves, and Umbra said it wouldn’t be proper if you didn’t get it all at once and that I had some…” I scratched my head. “Some making up to do.”
She giggled.
“Can I put it on?” I asked.
“You want to wear it?” She frowned, peering up at me.
I snorted, taking her hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. Her expression went from a smile to pure terror, but it fit perfectly.
I stared at the diamonds glinting beside the beautiful rich tan of her skin. A claim so far beyond the necklaces the academy provided.
“It’s…” Her breath caught and then she looked up at the ceiling again, expression crumpling. “It’s uh… it’s perfect. Like a little n-nest that goes with me everywhere.”
I couldn’t contain my smile at that as I tugged her closer. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it special the first time,” I breathed, holding her close. To be honest, I didn’t even think this was good enough. I’d just dragged her to a cold field in the middle of the night thinking it might be romantic.
She leaned up, and I felt her teeth pierce my neck, blowing our connection open wider than it was in the regular bond.
“What was that for?” I asked, though I wasn’t complaining. I could feel everything from her. Her joy soaring high above, and her insecurities, worry and fear pulling her down. I drew her closer, never wanting her to feel she wasn’t enough.
“You asked if I would claim you as my… my husband,” she whispered. “I did.”
I growled, pulling her into a kiss. When I drew away, her eyes were dancing. “I love you, my perfect wife.”