Chapter 30
Seraphina
Iwoke to warmth and silence, buried in furs and with the solid presence of Thavros wrapped around me.
The air was thick with the scent of pine resin and embers, and his hand was splayed across my belly like he was trying to anchor me to the earth itself.
For a few suspended breaths, I let myself believe that this peace was permanent.
That no darkness would ever touch us again.
He woke with a low rumble in his chest, nuzzling behind my ear. "Good morning, little flame," he said as he pulled me close.
I could feel his hard length pressing between the cheeks of my ass. I couldn’t help myself. I arched back into him. His yawn turned into a groan as he held me tight and rocked his hips into mine.
"You keep that up and we'll miss the day entirely because I'll never let you out of this bed."
I turned in his grasp, looking up into his deep brown eyes. "Would that be such a bad thing?"
"No, my little mate, it would be a wonderful thing. The only problem is the next time my cock is in this delectable little cunt, it is taking my knot, again and again and again. The mating caves are best suited for that," he said, before kissing me in a deep, claiming kiss.
"Why do we have to get ready separately? I don't think I can stand to be away from you."
And I meant it, the thought of time away from him, even for just a few hours, made me want to cry. It's not a feeling I was used to, but I needed him close. I needed to see him and feel him.
"It will only be for a while. Then we need never be parted again," he said as he brushed a strand of unruly hair behind my ear.
I want to soak up every corner of this new life—our life.
"Knock knock," sang a feminine voice from the door. "Is everyone decent?"
I turned to him with a pout on my face.
"She's not going away, so unless you want her walking in and watching me get dressed, you'd better call to her, little mate," Thavros said as he stood.
"Uhh... one moment," I managed to get out as I watched Thavros get up from the bed in all his splendid nakedness. Now I really didn't want him to go.
I got out of bed, slipping into the shift as he finished getting dressed. I crossed my hands over my chest in a pout.
"Don't make that face at me. I can't bear it. I will be with you tonight and forever after," he dropped a kiss on my lips before heading to the door.
Callie arrived first, cheeks pink from the cold and arms full of fabric. "I brought backup," she announced, breezing into the room like sunlight in winter.
"I will see you all later," Thavros said before leaving.
Frema followed right behind, clutching a basket of braid-ribbons and a sharp-eyed smile that said she meant business.
"Leave, brother. Khuldruk waits for you," she said with a sibling smirk. But then she couldn't seem to help herself and threw her arms around him before touching her forehead to his and whispering something I couldn't hear. Finally, she turned her attention to me.
"I hope you're ready to be plucked, polished, and painted," Frema said, already pulling a stool over behind me. “Orcs may be fearsome warriors, but we still like our brides to look stunning.”
Callie giggled and began spreading out the dresses. “I figured we’d go for the deep red today—powerful, passionate, the color of fate and fire.”
I laughed, more from nerves than humor, but I didn’t protest. It was impossible to feel anything other than loved in their company.
Frema's fingers were deft and sure as she braided my hair, weaving in thin strands of crimson ribbon. “You’ve got good hair,” she murmured. “The kind that doesn’t argue back.”
I smiled at her, unsure of what to say. These women and the orcs in this mountain had come to mean a great deal to me in such a short amount of time.
Midway through the primping, a trio of orcling children tiptoed in, giggling behind their hands. One, barely more than a toddler, stepped forward and handed me a bundle of frost-laced winter blooms—small, delicate things with curling petals and pale blue veins.
“For the pretty lady,” he whispered, then scurried back to his siblings.
My throat tightened. “Thank you,” I said, blinking furiously. “They’re perfect.”
Frema smirked knowingly behind me. “Don’t worry, tears are traditional.”
After the bustle, they left to help ready the archway and final touches. I found myself alone with my reflection, staring into the small mirror above Thavros’s washbasin. My hands pressed lightly to my belly, the winter bouquet resting beside me. Everything felt too still, too perfect.
And that’s when the words returned.
You still have a job to do.
You were meant for the other brother.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Not today,” I whispered. “Not now.”
I tried to inhale, tried to anchor myself in the feeling of my hair braided by friends, the warmth beneath my hands, the scent of Thavros still clinging to my skin. This was real. This was mine.
When I opened my eyes again, I looked past the woman in the mirror and saw not fear, but the future I could have. The life I could build with Thavros here in this mountain with these orcs. I could still choose.
After a while, Frema came to get me. She guided me through the hallways to the very spot last night I had tried to escape and out into a meadow.
The crowd outside had gathered in an arc, the snow-packed courtyard humming with energy. I stepped out, breath catching in my throat as I saw him.
Thavros stood beneath the ceremonial arch—tall, proud, and devastating in his best armor, its dark leather and polished silver gleaming in the pale winter sun. His tusks glinted, his expression fierce and unmovable…until his eyes found mine.
And then he softened.
He smiled—not his usual smirk or cheeky grin, but something reverent, like he couldn’t quite believe I was real. My feet moved on instinct, drawn toward him like a tide to shore. The murmurs of the crowd fell away. There was no past, no prophecy, no weight of what might come.
Only him. Only now.
I reached him, breath unsteady as he extended his hand.
Thavros didn’t say anything at first. He simply took my hands in his, turning them over gently before pulling a thick red ribbon from his belt. It was intricately woven, flecked with golden threads and tiny carved beads. The symbol of binding.
He dropped to one knee, and the world stilled.
"I give you my strength," he said, looping the ribbon around our hands.
"I give you my fire," I whispered back, barely audible.
He brought our bound hands to his forehead, closing his eyes. Then, in a deep rumble, he spoke the vow in ancient Orcish. I didn’t know the words, but I felt them ripple through my bones. It wasn’t just language—it was magic, soul-deep and undeniable.
When he looked up at me again, his eyes shimmered. “You are mine,” he said in a rough voice. “And I am yours. In every season, in every storm, until the stars burn out.”
“I choose you,” I said, tears catching in my throat. “In every life. Every time.”
Khuldruk stood at the edge of the courtyard with Callie tucked against his side, their fingers intertwined. When Thavros and I turned to leave the arch, they stepped forward to meet us.
"The last mated pair brings the new one home," Callie said, her smile warm and her eyes a little misty.
Khuldruk clapped Thavros on the back, hard enough that it made him grunt, and then winked at me. “Good luck,” he rumbled, entirely too amused.
Callie slipped her arm through mine, and we began the walk together toward the path that led to the mating dens. The crowd parted around us, cheering and tossing winter blooms in our wake. Someone started singing and others joined in, off-key and raucous.
I laughed, breathless with joy. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so light.
Thavros’s fingers brushed mine until I took his hand fully, twining our fingers together. His skin was warm, calloused, and grounding. We passed beneath carved stone arches dusted with snow, the corridor quieter now, lit only by soft torchlight.
He bent his head, close enough that his tusks brushed my temple. “You are the light in every dark place I’ve known,” he murmured.
I stopped walking. My breath hitched, throat tight, and I turned to look at him fully.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I whispered.
“You survived,” he said. “And you stayed.”
I pressed my forehead to his and let the moment settle around us, soft and sacred. For the first time since I awakened in this world, I felt whole.