Chapter 15 Lorenth
LORENTH
The temple district sits in the heart of New Solas, where the marble spires gleam white against the endless blue sky and the air itself seems to hum with residual magic.
I guide Senna through the winding streets, my hand firm on her lower back, feeling the nervous flutter of her pulse through our incomplete bond.
She's dressed in one of my shirts—a simple linen thing that hangs to mid-thigh on her smaller frame—and a pair of trousers we had to roll several times at the ankles. Not exactly temple-appropriate attire, but we'll fix that after.
I couldn't wait any longer.
If she notices the curious glances from passersby—xaphan nobles and merchants who like to look down on others—she doesn't show it. Just keeps her eyes forward, chin up, like she's steeling herself for battle.
Brave. Even now, after everything, she's so fucking brave.
The Temple of Solis rises before us, all soaring columns and arched doorways carved with prayers in the old tongue. Sunlight catches on the gold inlay, making the whole structure glow. I've been here twice more this year than I go most.
I hate crowds. Hate the pageantry of it all. But this... this feels different.
This feels right.
I push open the heavy wooden doors and guide Senna inside. The interior is cooler, quieter, with shafts of colored light streaming through stained glass windows to paint patterns on the polished floor. The scent of incense hangs in the air—something floral and sweet that makes my head feel lighter.
"Lorenth!"
Serai appears from behind one of the massive stone pillars, white wings spread wide as she practically bounces toward us. Her pale gold skin seems to glow in the filtered sunlight, and those unsettling white irises fix on us with unmistakable glee.
"And you brought—" She stops short when she sees Senna, her grin widening. "Oh, the pendant found her! I knew it would. I knew it."
"It did." I nod, keeping my hand on Senna's back. Grounding her. "We want to complete the bond."
Serai's entire face lights up like I've just told her she's won every nodal in New Solas.
"Yes! Oh, yes. I could feel it the moment you walked through those doors—the bond is there, waiting, aching to be sealed.
" She clasps her hands together, prayer beads clinking. "When? Now? We should do it now."
I glance down at Senna.
She's looking up at me with those storm-gray eyes, softer now than they were at my house. Not afraid, exactly, but... uncertain. Timidly excited, like she's testing the edges of this new reality and isn't sure if it'll hold.
Something in my chest tightens.
I don't want her timid. Don't want her uncertain or afraid or looking at me like she's waiting for the other boot to drop.
I want her happy. Want her to know—bone-deep and without question—that I won't hurt her.
That I don't want to own her or control her or cage her the way that piece of shit in the village did.
I want her safe. Protected. Free.
"Senna?" I keep my voice gentle. "You ready?"
She takes a breath, steadying herself, and nods. "Yes."
Serai makes a delighted sound and gestures for us to follow. "Come, come. We'll do it in the sanctuary—it's quieter there, more private. The bond ceremony doesn't require witnesses, just the two of you and Solis's blessing."
She leads us deeper into the temple, through a series of corridors lined with murals depicting the god Solis in various forms—sometimes winged, sometimes wreathed in flame, always radiating light.
Finally, we emerge into a circular chamber with a domed ceiling that seems to open directly to the sky.
Sunlight pours down in a concentrated beam, illuminating a raised platform at the center.
"Here." Serai gestures to the platform. "Stand there, facing each other. Hold hands."
I step up first, then turn to offer Senna my hand. She takes it without hesitation this time, her fingers small and warm in mine as I pull her up beside me. We turn to face each other, and the sunlight catches in her dark curls, making them gleam like polished obsidian.
Fuck, she's beautiful.
Serai moves to stand just outside the circle of light, her wings folding neatly behind her.
"The bond is already forming between you—I can see it, a silver thread connecting your souls.
All we're doing now is sealing it. Making it permanent.
Unbreakable." She looks at me, then Senna.
"Are you both willing? Freely given, freely accepted? "
"Yes," I say immediately.
Senna's voice is quieter, but no less certain. "Yes."
Serai smiles, and begins to chant.
The words are in the old tongue—ancient and lyrical, rolling off her tongue like music. I don't understand most of it, but I catch phrases here and there. Souls intertwined. Life to life. Light to light.
Her hands begin to glow.
Not the harsh, burning gold of combat magic, but something softer. Warmer. Like captured sunlight given form. She raises them, palms out, and the glow intensifies until it's almost blinding.
Then I feel it.
The bond in my chest—that tight, insistent ache—pulls. Not painful, but undeniable. Like something essential is being drawn out of me and toward Senna. I gasp, my grip on her hands tightening, and see her eyes widen as she feels it too.
Serai's magic extends from her palms in twin threads of light—one reaching for me, one for Senna. They touch our chests, just over our hearts, and sink in.
The sensation is... indescribable.
It's not pain. Not pleasure. It's everything.
A rush of emotion and sensation so overwhelming I can barely process it.
I feel Senna's fear, her hope, her tentative joy all tangled together with something deeper—something that feels like me.
Like my soul is reaching out and finding hers, wrapping around it, intertwining until I can't tell where I end and she begins.
The threads of light connect between us now, glowing silver-white as they bridge the space between our hearts. I watch, transfixed, as they pulse once, twice—
Then sink into our skin.
The bond snaps into place.
I stagger, would've fallen if Senna hadn't been holding onto me just as tightly. The ache in my chest is gone, replaced by something whole and perfect and right. Like a piece I didn't know was missing has finally slotted home.
I can feel her. Not just the echo of her emotions anymore, but her. Her presence, warm and steady in the back of my mind. Her heartbeat, syncing with mine. Her soul, bound to mine so completely that nothing—not distance, not death, not the gods themselves—could ever truly separate us.
Serai lowers her hands, the glow fading. She's smiling, soft and knowing. "It's done."
I can't look away from Senna.
Her eyes are wide, lips parted in wonder as she stares back at me. I know she feels it too—this completeness. This rightness. The bond thrums between us, content and satisfied in a way it hasn't been since the moment we met.
"Lorenth," she breathes.
I pull her into my arms, crushing her against my chest as I bury my face in her hair. She fits perfectly, like she was made for this. Made for me.
Mine. She's mine now. Legally, magically, irrevocably mine.
And I'm hers.
The realization should terrify me—I've spent my entire life avoiding exactly this kind of entanglement—but all I feel is relief. Like I've been holding my breath for thirty-two years and can finally exhale.
"Thank you," I murmur against her hair, though I'm not sure if I'm talking to Senna or Serai or Solis himself.
Serai laughs, the sound bright and musical. "The bond thanks you. It's been trying to bring you together since the moment your souls recognized each other." She tilts her head, white irises gleaming. "Now go. Live. Love. Let the bond settle."
I pull back just enough to look at Senna. "You okay?"
She nods, a real smile breaking across her face for the first time since I've known her. Not a tentative one or a shy one, but something genuine and radiant. "I'm... yes. I'm okay."
More than okay, if the warmth flooding through the bond is any indication.
I brush my thumb over her cheek, marveling at how soft her skin is, how perfectly her face fits in my hand. "Come on. Let's get you out of my clothes and into something that actually fits."
The boutique district sits just west of the temple quarter, where merchant stalls give way to proper shops with glass windows and hand-painted signs. I guide Senna through the streets, my hand never leaving her back, hyperaware of every glance thrown our way.
Most are curious—a human woman walking beside a xaphan noble isn't exactly common in this part of the city. A few are disdainful, nobles wrinkling their noses like Senna's presence offends them.
Those ones get a look that makes them remember exactly who I am and what I'm capable of.
No one looks down on my mate. Not now. Not ever.
Senna seems to notice but doesn't comment. Just keeps pace beside me, her storm-gray eyes taking in everything with that same wide-eyed wonder she had at the Masquerade. Like she's seeing the world for the first time.
Maybe she is. How long has she been trapped in that gods-forsaken village?
I steer her toward a shop with elegant script on the window: Silken Threads. It's one of the nicer boutiques, catering to nobles and wealthy merchants, but I've bought gifts for Lora here before and the proprietor knows better than to turn away business.
A bell chimes as we enter.
The interior is all polished wood and plush carpets, with racks of dresses and tunics and trousers organized by color. A female xaphan with copper wings looks up from behind the counter, her expression shifting from professional courtesy to barely concealed surprise when she sees Senna.
"Lord Varyon." She recovers quickly, dipping into a shallow bow. "How may I assist you today?"