44. SEALED IN STONE AND BLOOD #2
I laced my fingers together in front of me, pushing my shoulders back, and daring to look every fae in the eye as I turned in a circle and spoke.
“I do not expect you to be without your doubts. But what Niall says is true. I am the first human to cross The Veil in over thirteen hundred years. And I carry the blood of the gods in my veins.”
My light pressed against my skin, and I called it forward, allowing my entire body to ignite with a brilliant white glow.
Calm and collected, I told my power.
The fae watched in astonishment, some brimming with shock, others staring with a flicker of hope behind their eyes. Their expressions spoke a thousand words.
I raised my voice ever so slightly. “My name is Auren, and my gift is the power of light. And when the fallen god returns, I will be the one to stop him.”
I continued to turn in place, until I spotted Killian and Ramil amongst the sea of faces.
They both appeared to be piecing things together, trying to figure out what was going to happen next.
I lifted my chin, enduring their scorn for another long moment before focusing on the room at large once again and letting my glow fade out.
“Your Elder has confirmed my bloodline and my mating bond. And I have made the climb to The Keep. Eathril has deemed me worthy of a place on your council and at your High Lord’s side.
” I locked eyes with several of the males that had protested—members of Niall’s council, no doubt.
Upon hearing the declaration, their jaw muscles seemed to relax, their shoulders settling as they shifted from defiant opposition to reluctant acceptance.
“But it is much more than that,” I continued.
“Your High Lord is my mate. I felt it the moment I first saw him. I denied it at first. I didn’t know what any of this entailed, or what my power was capable of.
But I know now.” This time I spoke directly to Niall.
“More than anything, I know that I love you.”
The tension in the room softened. Everyone watched as Niall came and took my face in his hands. His shadows swirled around my feet as if they were just as eager to get me in their grasp.
He lowered his forehead to mine. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. Until the end of time.”
I soaked in his words, fighting the burning sensation that was building behind my eyes.
Don’t cry.
Syros’s pleasant voice broke the silence. “I have given my blessing for this mating ceremony, and I stand by my word. Anyone willing to contest it will find themselves ill at odds.”
A veiled threat if I’d ever heard one.
I grinned, swallowing the emotional lump in my throat as Niall and I turned back toward the altar together.
With no further objections, Syros reached into his magical pocket of space, retrieving three objects and placing them atop the altar in a neat row; a stone, a rope, and a small dagger no bigger than my hand from hilt to tip.
“Are each of you entering into this ceremony on your own accord?” he asked.
“Yes,” Niall and I answered in unison.
“And are each of you aware that the mating ceremony consists of sacred vows that are not to be taken lightly?”
“Yes.”
“Very good. We shall proceed.” He lifted the centermost object first—the rope. “Your hands, please.”
Niall offered his left hand, and I my right, gently placing it atop his.
Syros took the rope and laid it upon our wrists, crossing both ends underneath and wrapping them over our wrists again.
“You’ve come here today, to join your lives together as one.
To bind yourselves to one another in love.
The bond you share at your core, gifted by the gods and the fates, is a gift that is to be cherished above all things.
For there is nothing stronger than love. ”
He secured the rope with a loose knot, then moved to the next item on the altar—the oathing stone.
He plucked the smooth black stone from the altar and placed it in Niall’s free hand.
“Niall, High Lord of Calledan, son of Calder, son of Arrien, son of Rickon, son of Evander, do you formally recognize your mating bond, therefore confessing your love before the gods and the fates, and vowing to uphold the duty and honor that comes with this bond?”
“I do,” Niall answered.
The rope that bound our wrists flared with light, and a mark suddenly etched its way across the left side of the stone Niall held. The mark of his vow.
Syros faced me next, placing the stone in my open palm.
“Auren, Bringer of Light, daughter of Emil.” He paused, then, “Daughter of Karios.” The room grew achingly still as the audience soaked in the declaration.
“Do you formally recognize your mating bond, therefore confessing your love before the gods and the fates, and vowing to uphold the duty and honor that comes with this bond?”
“I do,” I answered.
Once again, the rope flared, and a second symbol appeared, this time on the right side of the stone. Syros retrieved the stone and set it on the altar. Then, he reached for the dagger and handed it to Niall.
Niall turned to face me, rotating his hand beneath the rope so that our palms were touching one another.
Now, we would draw blood.
We pulled our palms apart just enough to fit the dagger between them. The blade’s edge hovered against my skin, threatening to slit my flesh apart with the slightest bit of pressure.
I stared up into Niall’s eyes, ready to bleed for him. For us.
His essence caressed my mind, shadows swirling around my light.
“You have bound your hearts before the gods and the fates, and your words have been set in stone. Now you will swear your oaths in blood. Do you both vow to place your mate above all others, to love one another without circumstance through every season of life, to never forsake each other, and to honor one another’s heart as your own, until the end of your days? ”
The end of our days.
Days.
Days were so finite. So fleeting. That amount of time was nowhere near long enough to do our love justice.
Our love would endure far beyond the end of our lives.
So we smiled at each other, and spoke the words we’d rehearsed instead: “Until the end of time.” With the words, we pressed our palms together, gripping each other’s hand tightly around the dagger’s blade.
The sharp bite of its edge struck us both, and warm streams of our blood flowed from where we were joined, turning the rope crimson just before it flared with light one final time, then vanished.
On the altar beside us, the final symbol—larger than both of our own—embedded itself into the center of the oathing stone, completing the binding ceremony.
The mating bond between us pulled taut, and I gasped as what felt like a thousand tiny strands of fibers knit themselves together in my mind’s eye, tethering me to Niall in a way I hadn’t previously known.
It was far more intimate. Incredibly intense.
And the sensation caused me to momentarily forget how to breathe.
Niall clutched the dagger tighter, cinching me closer to him.
His lips parted, and a rush of breath escaped his throat, like his heart had jolted within his chest. The intensity on his face mirrored what was surely on mine.
We locked ourselves in such a deep stare that I didn’t know how we were going to recover and come back to reality.
Silence.
Then . . .
Clapping.
I blinked. Somewhere, someone was . . . clapping.
Another clap sounded. Then another.
Soon the entire temple was in a clamor of approval.
That snapped us both back from wherever we had just drifted off to along the bond.
Niall removed the blade and placed it on the altar, allowing the cuts on our palms to close and heal instantaneously. Then, he lifted me in his arms, kissing me fiercely as he spun us around. I laughed against his mouth, kissing him back, committing the moment to memory.
It was done. The bond was sealed in stone and in blood. And my heart had never felt so full.
Niall set my feet back on the ground, grinning wildly, his eyes aflame in gold.
Behind the altar, Syros raised his arms in proclamation. “Behold, your High Lord and Lady of Calledan.”
The applause continued, more and more fae seeming to recognize the bond between us.
We faced the audience, and it was then that I noticed the Trium and the others standing in the front row, smiles proudly adorning their faces as they clapped. I smiled in return, but it faltered the moment I sensed the fluctuation of the wards.
Niall’s hand tightened around mine, and I heard his deep voice call out, loud enough for the entire room to hear . . .
“Going somewhere, Ramil?”