Chapter 10 Norah
Ten
Norah
The forest floor is soft beneath my boots, and the mist-shrouded trees sway gently above me in the breeze.
Rowan’s hand grazes mine as we walk towards the dig site, and I slip my fingers through his.
He gives them a warm squeeze, making the bond hum quietly between us.
I look down at where our hands are joined, and it feels surreal that just a week ago, I thought Rowan would only ever be a crush to me.
Now, he’s mine, with a matching magical bond mark and everything.
Life comes at you fast, as they say.
As we arrive at the dig site, a couple of students glance up from their work, eyes zeroing in on our joined hands.
They whisper to each other, but neither Rowan nor I pull our hands away.
A few others stare at us. The staring makes me blush a little, but it doesn’t seem to faze Rowan in the slightest.
Neither of us wanted to hide what we are to each other.
I don’t think we could’ve if we’d tried, honestly.
The bond makes it difficult to go long periods without being near each other, and the closer we are, the closer we want to be.
Touching, holding hands, me sitting in his lap.
We’re doing our best to keep things professional on the dig site, but… well, it’s been a challenging few days.
This morning, he woke me up with his mouth between my thighs, and I bit my lip to the point of pain trying to stay quiet.
Not that I’m complaining.
The only thing I regret is that Rowan won’t be my thesis supervisor any longer.
The department rules are clear on that. I’ll have to transition to conducting my research under a different professor, but Rowan has promised that he’ll help smooth the transition, and although I’ll miss working directly with him, it’s worth it a thousand times over if it means we’re allowed to be together.
His thumb traces over the back of my hand and warmth flickers through me.
“We should have a proper wedding,” he says suddenly, our boots scuffing underfoot as we walk.
My eyebrows inch up. “You mean something that isn’t ancient words chanted in a forest at dawn?”
He grins, and I go all melty. “Yes. I was thinking something a bit more modern, but no less romantic.”
I bump my shoulder into his. “Sounds perfect to me, Dr. Vale.”
“I agree, Mrs. Vale.”
“Oh, I think I’m going to hyphenate,” I say, and his smile widens.
“Even better. Norah Marlowe-Vale. Sounds very academic. Quite posh.”
“Glad you like it.”
We spend several hours working at the dig site, and then head to Maeve’s cottage to let her know that we don’t need to break the bond after all. But when we get there, we’re greeted by a tall man with thinning white hair and half-moon glasses.
He sweeps his watery eyes over us in an assessing gaze, his eyes catching on the matching marks around our wrists.
“You must be Cormac,” says Rowan, moving forward and extending his hand. Cormac shakes it, gaze flitting between us.
He nods and lets out a low, warm chuckle. “I see that I’m too late,” he says, pointing at my wrist. “The bond is already permanently sealed.” He lets out another laugh, this one louder than the first. “Just couldn’t help yourselves, eh? That Vaelthir magic is powerful stuff.”
“I’m sorry that we’ve wasted your time,” says Rowan. “But we decided that we didn’t want to break the bond after all.”
Cormac smiles. “Good. Because Vaelthir soul bonds don’t happen to just anyone, and they certainly don’t happen by accident. Magic that rare only answers to destiny.”
I frown slightly, not entirely sure I follow. I’m about to ask what he means, but he continues.
“You were always meant to find each other. The bond doesn’t create anything. It only reveals and strengthens what already is.”
I inhale sharply and look up at Rowan. My heart feels so full that I can hardly breathe around it.
The bond didn’t force us together. Rowan and I…we were inevitable, apparently.
“Written in the stars,” whispers Rowan, so softly that the breeze almost snatches his words away.
“I was always going to be yours,” I say quietly, nodding.
He turns to me and presses his forehead to mine, a glorious smile lighting up his handsome face.
I feel the warmth of the bond pulse inside my chest, a second heart beating alongside my own.
And in that moment, I know that we both understand the truth of what’s happened.
We didn’t fall in love because of the magic. The magic happened because we fell in love.
Hello amazing and wonderful reader! Thank you so much for reading Norah and Rowan’s sweet (but still spicy) and magical story.
If you’re not ready to say goodbye to them, you won’t want to miss their bonus epilogue, where Norah visits her husband during his office hours and some very naughty research occurs. Click here to download it!
For more Accidental Marriages, be sure to check out the entire series! You can find all of these slightly unhinged instalove stories here.
Still craving more unhinged magical chaos?
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