Epilogue
PATIENCE
One Week Later
I’ve only attended this ceremony one other time, when I was five years old and too young to think much of it. The second time a Sigma Sin President was sworn in, I was thirteen and refused to go.
Thankfully, my mother didn’t want to risk my attitude making her look bad, so she left me at the house. Alex let himself be paraded around for both of us, and I was grateful to be left out of it.
Now, after turning twenty-one two days ago, I stand at the doorway to this room for a second time, ready to walk the long path to the altar at the front. People fill every seat, and candles add light to the otherwise dark walls and fixtures.
The doors close, waiting for the ceremony to begin, and I press my hands to my stomach, trying to settle my nerves in the dim hallway.
“How did I get so lucky?” Jacob’s arms wrap around me, snaking in from behind. “Angels shouldn’t be allowed to walk these halls.”
“Lucky for you, I’ve already fallen.” I turn in his arms, winding my arms up behind his neck and looking up at him.
“You look stunning.”
I smile. “Thank you for the dress.”
He left it hanging in the bathroom before he went to meet with the Council earlier.
It’s solid black with beads that shimmer like stars in the night sky with my every movement.
The fabric is formfitting all the way down to the floor.
There’s no slit at the leg and three-quarter sleeves to hide my scars like he knows I prefer.
He might know about them, but I’m not ready to show them to the world.
While the dress is mostly modest, it hugs every curve and dips lower than my belly button in the front, showing off the swell of my breasts. I’ve never felt sexy with how I’m always covered neck to ankles, but he managed to find the perfect dress that did just that.
“My queen.” He leans down, kissing me on the forehead. “I should have made you a crown.”
“That might be a bit much.” I smile, but he shrugs.
His fingers toy with the end of my braid. I’ve sprinkled poppies along it just for him. A secret between the two of us.
“Are you ready?” I look up at him.
“Are you?”
“With you beside me?” I take a deep breath and sink into his hold. “Always.”
This isn’t the role I ever saw myself taking. I never wanted a man in the position Jacob is about to accept. But after shedding the doubt my mother ingrained in me, I finally feel strong enough to take on anything.
“Shouldn’t we go in?” I ask when Jacob has been standing staring at me for what must be too long, given how long everyone has been waiting.
“Let them wait while I appreciate my beautiful wife for a second.”
My cheeks are on fire as he lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. My belly swims. No matter what others demand of his time or his attention, I’ve never felt second when it comes to Jacob. He always puts me first.
Jacob holds my hand to his lips and closes his eyes, breathing deeply. And I get the sense that he isn’t just pausing for me, but for himself. The immense responsibility he’s about to take on must be overwhelming. So I brush the back of his neck and try to reassure him.
This is going to be a big adjustment for both of us.
Jacob has resigned from his teaching position at Briar to devote all his time to the House. And while I won’t put my degree on hold, I’ll reevaluate my course load next semester to make sure I have time to travel with him as much as I can.
So long as we are in this together, I truly believe we can create a different path than what was expected of us. House or not.
Jacob lowers my hand, straightening his shoulders.
“Ready?” I smile, and he nods.
He laces his fingers through mine, and the men at either side of the door finally swing them open. The moment they do, the weight of a hundred eyes is on us. I pin my shoulders back and take the first step with my husband into the future.
This is our vision now.
The walk to the front of the room feels endless. We never had a wedding, but this might as well be it. My roommates are here with their men. Alex and Mila are at the front of the room on the side I’m designated to stand. At Jacob’s side is Maddox.
Kole and Violet are in the front row with Declan and Teal. My chest tightens with the support beaming from their eyes.
At the altar is a man too unholy to be considered a priest, but he’s dressed like one, holding the Sigma Sin bible. When we stop at the front of the room, he lays it flat for Jacob to place his hand on it.
The ceremony begins, and most of what’s recited is familiar, but some of it is new. Jacob and Declan have been working with the members to rewrite the old rules of the House to make them more modern.
My eyes roam the room while Jacob reads his presidential oath, and I take it all in. Flickers of candlelight draw out the letters of the Sigma House oath, which is carved into the wall beside us. The air smells like oak and melting wax.
“Everyone, stand,” the man performing the ceremony directs. “Your hand, Mrs. Stone.”
Jacob keeps one hand on the book while he takes mine with the other.
“Will you stand at your husband’s side through all that must be done for the House?”
“Yes.” It comes out a little choked, so I clear my throat. “I will.”
The man nods. “Do you understand that your husband is now one with the House. And as his bride, you shall be the same. Until death.”
“I do.”
Jacob’s eyes sear into me, the same way they did when I said those vows at our wedding.
“Very well.” The man looks at Jacob. “You may recite the final Sigma House vow.”
Jacob looks into my eyes, not breaking gazes while he takes his final oath.
“For our brothers, we live.
We die.
We honor.
To our grave and into the afterlife.
Take from the House, we take from you.
Give to the House, it gives to you.
Loyalty. Honesty. Sigma House above all.
From sin we are born, and through sin we are revealed.
Unto death and into the after.”
We.
Not just him and the House. I finally understand the depth of that vow—of those words. Through blood and family. Life and death. We are all Sigma Sin, and we are all in this together.
We are ushering in a new era.
The man lowers the book and reaches for a knife on the table behind him. The Sigma House insignia is carved into the handle.
“You have chosen to take your mark at your wife’s hand, is that correct?”
Jacob nods, and the man hands me the blade.
My hand shakes as I wrap my fingers around the handle. Everything is foggy as I try to steady my breathing and remember the image I’ve drawn a hundred times this past week so I get it right.
Mila even let me use her knives to practice. But skin is a lot more fragile than blocks of wood, so I need to be careful.
Jacob stretches out his forearm for me, trusting me fully as I bring the tip of the blade to his skin.
Slowly, I draw the Sigma S, followed by the roman numeral I and an N.
Finally, I cross the last line of the N with a horizontal line to make a cross of it, representing the presidential seal of the fraternity’s insignia.
Blood drips from his arm onto the floor, but he doesn’t so much as flinch.
When I’m done, I’m still shaking as he takes the blade from me. I roll my sleeve back enough to reveal my full forearm and offer it to him.
It’s rare for the president’s wife to be marked with her husband, as it represents complete devotion. By taking the mark, I hand over my life to the House. There is no walking away from it or him. And I do so willingly. I look into Jacob’s eyes, and I don’t second-guess my decision.
This is our fate.
Just like he promised.
Jacob is careful as he draws the same mark on my arm.
I flinch twice, and he pauses when I do. But I manage to make it through. Finally, as Jacob finishes the last line, he hands the knife back to the man and pulls me closer.
“I love you, Patience Stone.” He lifts my arm to his lips and places his mouth over where I’m dripping blood, drinking me down.
My life flows into him, and when he drags his tongue over the wound and my knees wobble, Jacob catches me.
I look up, and to the sound of the Sigma Sin chant, I smile at my husband. “I love you too.”
At that, he claims me in a bloody kiss, sealing our promise.