Chapter 66 #2
“I just think his ego is hurt,” I murmured, conscious of their remarkable hearing.
He hummed. “If he keeps looking at you like that, he will be hurt in worse ways.”
Reagan didn’t bother with speaking low, almost as if he wanted to be heard.
A flash of purple silk drew my attention as the Lord and Lady of Erisea entered the ballroom, but before I could look properly, Cerridwen appeared before us.
“Well,” she said briskly, “since you asked for an express ceremony, you may both come with me. Reagan, where is your jacket?”
“I got the sleeve stained. Had to get rid of it,” he explained. I bet it was a lie. He just hated wearing jackets.
We followed her towards the far end of the ballroom, where golden sconces lined the way.
“So you will be bonded in a shirt and vest?” she asked, letting out a long, irritated sigh.
“Jane likes me better in fewer clothes,” Caedmon said, grinning crookedly at me. I couldn’t help but smile.
Guests parted as we passed, so many eyes following us that my stomach fluttered.
At the far end waited a woman in white embroidered robes, auburn hair cropped shorter than Finn’s. Next to her, Magister Nova Malory waited, her hands folded in front of her as they watched us approach.
Cerridwen stepped aside and faced Reagan. I thought she was about to chide him for the jacket again, but she simply put her hands on his shoulders.
“They would be proud of you,” she said, sounding content.
Caedmon dipped his chin but didn’t speak. It brought my father to mind and a pang to my chest. I searched the crowd behind us. Joy stood at the far corner, now inside the ballroom. She was here.
Cerridwen’s gaze moved to me then. “I know you would have liked to have your father here. Perhaps it will serve as a small comfort to know that, before he left, he told me he always knew you wanted to fly higher. He knew you would, Jane.”
Something tugged in my chest. I hadn’t known that she’d spoken to him, but knowing Cerridwen, I imagined she would have done so to offer him some kind of reassurance.
I hugged her briefly. “Thank you.”
Cerridwen let us pass, and we took the final steps towards the Druid Matron and the magister.
Caedmon inclined his head in greeting, and I repeated the gesture.
“Matron Maelthine,” he said. “Your Honour. Thank you for coming today.”
The Druid’s face remained impassive, black eyes gentle as they moved between us. “Lord Reagan,” she replied, her voice lyrical. “This shall be an unconventional rite.”
My head cocked to the side, but she offered no explanation, and there was no time to ask.
“Congratulations,” Malory said stoically, her eyes settling on me “Miss Darling, do you mind?”
A low, narrow table stood between us and two imposing figures, a quill, ink and our official bonding paper resting upon it.
Inhaling, I finally gave the magister the proof she had been waiting for, that I could wield my mana at will. I had been informed that it could be something simple, so I merely lifted the quill, summoning it to my hand and returning it to the table. The flap of familiar wings greeted my ears.
Malory dipped her chin. In an instant, the sentence mark on my arm faded, releasing me from her sentence.
Using the ink, Caed and I signed our names on the judge’s paper, the official confirmation that our bonding had been approved under mage folk law.
“May both of you bring stability to Mountheim,” Malory said as she retrieved the paper.
But before the magister left, I spoke with a small smile on my face. “Your Honour, you might want to bring an umbrella to court tomorrow, if you’re planning to work late.”
Her eyes narrowed, her thin white brows flattening. Reagan shifted beside me, leaning closer. Malory studied me for a moment before walking away, offering no reply.
Reagan exhaled. “Did you have to show off?”
“I’m just giving her another proof,” I murmured, shrugging one shoulder. “If she doesn’t like that I have information about her and her future… well, there’s nothing she can do. And you don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
Caed nudged me so we faced one another, his eyes pinning me in place.
“What is bonded shall never be unbonded,” Matron Maelthine said, her voice loud enough for the whole room to hear. “We bear witness to your union today where you’ll choose each other. You shall not abandon one another, sever this bond, nor die by the other’s hand.”
I pursed my mouth in a poor attempt at humour. His lips twitched, but the intensity of his eyes remained unmoved. Reverent. The warmth of it spread across my skin.
“Thus, the sigil shall not be borne upon hand or chest, but upon the forehead. You may now speak your vows.”
Caedmon inched closer to me, taking my hand in his. We were meant to pledge ourselves by speaking the vows at the same time.
“Before Zara and Godric, I offer myself as gift. And accept the gift returned. In suffering, I will be your fortress. In peril, I will be your shield. I am yours, and you are mine. From this day until the end of my days. I am bound.”
The sting in my forehead was swift, warmth following as a drop of blood slipped free. Caedmon brushed it with his fingers and licked them.
The same bonding sigil appeared upon his forehead, two crossed lines cutting clean in the centre, glowing ice-blue like his eyes. I reached up for the bead of blood, wiped it with my thumb and lifted to my mouth.
The warmth of his blood was exhilarating, leaving my body humming. Keeping still took effort as an urge built, a restless pull that demanded I move closer to him.
Caed showed no such restraint. He surged forward, and before I knew, his mouth was on mine, stoking that unknown feeling I couldn’t explain if I tried.
This wasn’t a small kiss. It was a claiming kiss. A promise.
When he broke away, he did so reluctantly. As far as I knew, the kiss wasn’t part of it, yet the Druid before us remained unfazed. “Jane Darling, please kneel and repeat after me your Ladyship oath.”
A strange, peaceful calm settled within me as I knelt. The Druid Matron uttered the oath, and I repeated after her.
“I swear to protect the realm, to guide the people to prosperity, to wield great power with wisdom, and to act for the good of the many.”
“I, Druid Matron of Magekin, do hereby name, Jane Darling, the Lady of Mountheim.”
The sting in my forehead warmed.
“Rise, My Lady.”
I gathered my skirts and took Caed’s hand as I stood, meeting the Druid’s black eyes.
“From this day until your last, you are Lord and Lady of Mountheim,” the Druid declared.
A flap of wings surged through my mind in response, my hair stirring by a gentle wind coming from the balcony doors.
“Now, at the Mage Lord’s request,” the Druid went on, “you shall now pledge the human rite of union.”
My attention snapped to her as startled murmurs rippled through the gathered guests. A mischievous grin spread across Caedmon’s face, and he winked, far too pleased with himself.
My heart pounded.
“You will have to forgive me if I do this incorrectly,” Caedmon murmured.
“Joy wasn’t too patient to teach me.” His voice was assured and entirely unlike the swarm of emotion he’d just set loose in me.
“I commit myself to you, Jane, as your husband, in joy and in sorrow, in health or in illness, to love and to cherish, till death parts us.”
Warmth swelled in my chest, and he smiled.
“I like how thorough this is. And how pink it made you,” Caedmon murmured, sounding entirely delighted. “Your turn, love.”
With some difficulty, I found my voice. “I commit myself to you, Caedmon, as your wife…”
The words spilled freely after that, and I forgot we were not alone. I saw nothing but him, his devastating smile, and a future that looked far more thrilling than my boldest dreams. I would not try to see it before it arrived. I would savour the present.
Once I was done, I realise I had no idea what came next.
“What now?” I asked him.
Caedmon smiled. “Now, I take you to dance.”
THE END