Chapter 35
Garrion POV
After retrieving my mother’s ring from the vault, the weight of it heavy in my pocket, I find Soma waiting in the gardens. She stands with trays of candles stacked in her arms, her eyes alight with purpose.
“I was thinking we can put the candles everywhere,” she explains, her voice brisk but warm. “Create a path to the arbor where you’ll wait for Cora.”
I glance at the trays, at the sheer number of candles. “That’s a lot of work,” I mutter, though the idea already stirs something in me.
“Yes,” she replies without hesitation, “and we’d better get started if you want to take her breath away.”
So we begin. Hours pass as we place candles along the paths, nestling them into snowbanks, hanging them from branches until the garden glows with the promise of magic. My hands grow numb from the cold, but the thought of Cora walking through this light keeps me moving.
Eventually Mika joins us, his presence as steady as ever. He watches me for a moment before speaking. “Have you thought about what you’re going to say?”
I pause, the question striking harder than I expect. “I don’t know,” I admit. “How did you propose to Soma?” My curiosity is genuine, I want to understand, to compare, to measure my own fumbling heart against theirs.
Soma laughs, interjecting before Mika can answer. “Trust me, it wasn’t as romantic as this.”
I raise an eyebrow, waiting.
Mika chuckles, shaking his head. “We were in the throes of passion, and I just told her we were getting married.”
I stare at him, incredulous. “And you said yes to this fool?” I scold Soma, though my tone is softened by affection.
She only smiles, walking up to Mika and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t you know, my lord? The best ideas happen in bed.”
With that, she turns back to her work, her laughter lingering in the air as she resumes placing candles.
I shake my head, but a smile tugs at my lips. Their bond is effortless, unshaken by circumstance. And as I watch them, I know with certainty, I want that same ease, that same joy, with Cora.
The sun begins to sink, painting the sky in shades of crimson and gold. The garden is ready, every candle lit, every path glowing like a trail of stars. I stand amidst it all, my heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread. I hope she likes it. I hope she says yes.
All day I’ve tried to shape the words I’ll speak to her, rehearsing lines in my head, but every attempt feels hollow, borrowed, already spoken by men before me. Nothing seems worthy of her.
“Just speak from your heart, Garrion,” Soma tells me, her voice calm, certain.
I nod, swallowing hard. She’s right. Cora deserves truth, not rehearsed poetry.
“It’s time,” Soma says softly, and with that she turns to fetch Cora, leaving me alone in the glow of the candles.
I walk to the arbor, wrapped in light, and take my place beneath it. My hands tremble as I touch the ring in my pocket, the heirloom heavy with generations of promise. I draw a breath, steadying myself.
I’ve fought men twice my size, faced battles where steel and blood decided fate. Yet none of that has ever terrified me as much as this moment, waiting for Cora, wondering what she will say when I ask her to choose me freely.
The garden is silent, the air sharp with winter, and I stand beneath the arbor with my heart laid bare, bracing for the most important battle of my life.
I hear her footsteps approaching, light against the stone path, and my breath stills. When she comes into view, her eyes are wide, alight with wonder, reflecting the glow of the candles as though they were stars meant only for her.
She is breathtaking. Her white hair catches the flickering light, each strand shimmering like silver fire, cascading around her face and shoulders until she looks almost otherworldly.
The radiance of her presence eclipses the garden itself, every candle, every shadow, every carefully placed flame pales beside her.
I forget the words I’ve rehearsed. All I can do is stand in awe, struck by the beauty of the woman who has already claimed my heart.
I reach for her hand, my grip firm but betraying the tremor I cannot hide. Drawing her closer, I press a kiss to her lips, gentle, tender, yet unsteady. My body betrays me, shaking with nerves I have never known in battle.
She pulls back just enough to search my face, her voice soft, concerned. “What’s wrong?” she asks, and the question hangs between us like a fragile thread.
I take a steadying breath, tightening my hold on her hand as though it is the only anchor I have. My heart pounds, but I force the words out, each one carrying the weight of everything I have held back.
“Cora,” I begin, my eyes locked on hers, “we were forced into this marriage by the king. I never expected it to become what it has, something sacred, something that has changed me in ways I never thought possible. I love you, with all that I am, with all that I will ever be. And you…
you deserve more than a union born of duty and command. You deserve a choice. You deserve a wedding that is yours, not one forced upon you.”
The words leave me raw, stripped bare. Slowly, I drop to one knee beneath the glow of the candles, the cold stone biting through my cloak. From within its folds, I draw the ring, my mother’s ring, the heirloom I have guarded for years.
I hold it out to her with trembling hands, my voice thick with emotion. “Will you choose me,” I ask, “as I am, not as Lord Darkmoor, not as a man bound by obligation, but simply as Garrion? Will you wed me of your own free will, and let this bond be ours, chosen and cherished?”
The garden is silent, the candles flickering like stars around us, and I wait, my heart laid bare, for her answer.
She drops to her knees before me, closing the space between us, and the sight nearly undoes me. Tears shimmer in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks, and I feel my own breath catch as the weight of my words settles into her.
Her trembling hands reach for mine, and when her voice breaks through, fragile, breathless, yet certain, I hear the single word that changes everything. “Yes.”
The sound of it is more powerful than any victory I’ve ever won. My heart pounds so hard I think it might break free from my chest. Relief crashes into me, mingling with joy so fierce it leaves me trembling.
She presses her forehead against mine, her tears damp against my skin, and whispers again, “Always yes.”
I close my eyes, holding her as though I will never let go, knowing that for the first time, she has chosen me freely.
With trembling hands, I reach for her left hand.
The gold band that marked our forced union glints faintly in the candlelight, a reminder of duty rather than choice.
Carefully, I slide it free. In its place, I set my mother’s ring.
It gleams darkly, catching the firelight, transformed now into a promise between us.
I bow my head and press a kiss to her hand, sealing the vow with reverence. My knees ache from kneeling on the cold stone, but before I can rise, Cora moves instinctively, her hands steadying me, helping me to my feet. The simple act undoes me, it is not just acceptance, but partnership.
Once I stand, I cradle her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing away the tears that still cling to her cheeks. Her eyes shine, luminous in the glow of the candles, and I feel my heart swell until it threatens to break.
“I love you,” I whisper, the words raw and unguarded, stripped of title, stripped of duty.
Then I kiss her, no hesitation, no restraint. I pour everything into it: devotion, relief, longing, the fierce joy of being chosen. The world falls away, leaving only the warmth of her lips and the fire of her embrace.
She shivers against the night air, and I wrap my arm around her, guiding her back inside where the warmth of the keep embraces us. The glow of the candles fades behind us, but their memory lingers in my chest like fire.
Soma and Mika are waiting just beyond the doors, their impatience written plainly across their faces. Mika exhales dramatically, throwing his hands up. “Finally. I thought I was going to die of old age waiting for you two.”
Soma promptly elbows him in the ribs, silencing his theatrics. She steps forward, her expression softening as she bows to us both. “Congratulations,” she says, her voice gentle, carrying a sincerity that cuts through Mika’s jest.
I incline my head in gratitude, then lead Cora down the corridor toward our chambers. My heart is still racing, my body alive with the echo of her answer. I am eager, desperate, to seal her choice with more than a kiss, to make this night ours in every way.
As we walk, I glance back once more. Mika and Soma remain in the hall, watching us with quiet smiles. I give them a thankful nod, a silent acknowledgment of all they’ve done to help me create this moment. Then I turn back to Cora.
Once the door closes behind us, the world falls away. I press her back against it, my body aching with the need to be close, my mouth claiming hers in a kiss that is desperate, consuming, and unrestrained.
“I’m not going to be gentle, Cora,” I murmur against her lips, my voice rough with urgency as I reach for her cloak.
Her hands find mine, steady and certain, and with a swift push she sends the cloak sliding from my shoulders. Her eyes burn with the same fire I feel, and her answer comes without hesitation, fierce and certain.
“Neither am I,” she breathes, her words striking me like a challenge and a promise all at once.
The air between us ignites, and I know there will be no restraint tonight, only the raw truth of what we both feel.
I spin her, pressing her against the door, the closeness between us charged with urgency. My fingers work at the ties of her corset, each knot loosening until the fabric slides free, pooling at her feet. Her back is bare beneath my hands, smooth and warm, and I lower my lips to her shoulder.
The taste of her skin, the sound of her breath catching, the way she moans my name, it all sends a shiver through me.
I pull her hips to mine and slide my dick into her. Her back arches against me, and the sound that escapes her lips is raw and unrestrained a moan.
I take her hard and fast, pushing her chest against the door. She is so tight and I'm so close to my release already. She starts to move her hips to match my rhythm. "Gods, Cora" I moan against her neck and bite it hard.
"Release for me Garrion" she orders me and my body responds instantly. I pull out of her and spread my seed all over her back.
I spin her around and drop to my knees and run my tongue through her folds.