And the brash words hide her inner heart.
You don’t get a piece of me, says the twitch of her brow.
You don’t get that combination without some sort of abuse.
The only thing she’s done in the past three days that revealed any hint of her true self was to rescue Finn.
It’s the hope I cling to now. It has to be enough.
It’s also highly revealing.
She’ll protect others, but she thinks she stands alone. And her defiance is still skin deep. It consists of careless words, a breathless shrug and then those fists clenching as she prepares to endure. Convincing her to take this step with me was the hardest battle, because I’m asking her to fight back. I’m asking her to truly defy her mother. Not with words, not by locking her heart away where it can’t get hurt, but by risking everything.
Discovering the truth of her birthright was a shock, a punch to the face. It hurt, because it smashed my dreams to pieces. All I could see was Adaia.
I didn’t even think of what it would be like to be raised by that snake.
I barely know her.
But I know this: Hope.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
Vi lets out a shudder. “I’ll never regret this.” She lifts those midnight blue eyes to mine. “I want you to know that. This is the first choice I’ve ever made for myself. I will never regret it.”
It’s a knife to the chest.
The Darkness chuckles within me.
“Good.” I don’t know how I manage the word, but it’s clearly less than she expected, and I can’t explain….
“Do you, Thiago of Evernight, pledge your troth to the Princess of Asturia?” The priestess binds our hands together with a silken cord. It will stay bound until dawn breaks the sky. “In the name of Maia, in the name of the blessed light, do you promise to pledge your heart and soul to this woman?”
“I promise.” There’s no more doubt within me.
“Will you grant her forever by your side?
“I promise.”
“Will you shield her from darkness and allow only light into your heart?”
It’s harder to make this pledge, because the darkness is within me. But I’ll protect her from that. I won’t let them hurt her. I won’t ever give into the monster inside me, the one that hungers and yearns. I will be everything she needs me to be. And that is what I can promise.
“I promise.” Capturing Vi’s face with my free hand, I lean down and whisper against her lips. “You are my light in the darkness. You are everything I’ve ever yearned for. I will love you forever, if only you let me. I promise now. I promise thrice. Thus let it be said, thus let my oath stand unbroken.”
“I promise now. I promise thrice. Thus let it be said, thus let my oath stand unbroken,” whispers the Darkness.
There’s a shiver of heaviness in the air, a sense of something listening. It feels like there’s a storm on the horizon, the air thick with tension, but there’s no sign of any clouds on the horizon.
Even the priestess looks up from her book.
Maybe it’s the Hallow? There is power in these old places, after all. Or maybe… the Darkness spoke those words into the world and something heard them.
The thought rouses a shudder. Be gone.
Vi glances around as if she feels it more than me.
But I brush my lips against hers, and her distraction is shattered. She leans into me, kissing me back so softly it makes my heart sing.
I’ve won.
I’ve finally found her.
I’m never letting her go. Never.
The priestess turns to her. “Do you, Iskvien of Asturia, pledge your troth to the Prince of Evernight? In the name of Maia, in the name of the blessed light, do you promise to pledge your heart and soul to this male?”
“I promise.” Iskvien whispers, and then she promises twice more.
“Now, you’re mine,” I whisper. “And nobody can ever take you away from me. Ever.”
This time, I take my time in kissing her.
Because now, we have forever.
12
Iskvien
Hours later, we lie entwined in each other’s arms. I can still feel Thiago inside me, and his kisses mark my skin, but there’s something to be said for this moment. It was always easier to pretend this was nothing more than lust, and yet it’s these moments that steal into my heart and threaten it.
He says he feels the same way, but….
Everything has happened so fast.
It’s not love. It can’t be love. Can love even be forged in a mere three days?
But it’s something.
I just don’t know what to name it, precisely.
“What are you thinking about?” he murmurs, kissing my shoulder from behind.
“Nothing.”
A pair of fingers grip my chin and then he’s turning my face toward him in order to meet my eyes. “Oh no, Vi. None of that here. Not between us anymore. Only the truth now.”
Rebellion brews in my heart. The only way I’ve survived these past eight years is by locking my heart away and not daring to give voice to the parts of me that matter.
I did that once.
I loved. I begged for love in return. I was loved.
And that door was slammed shut in my face as though it never existed.
“Talk to me.” It’s not a demand.
“We barely know each other.” I can’t help feeling the weight of that choking me. “Everything’s happened so fast.”
“Precisely my point. Talk to me.” Thiago shifts a little, until my head is resting on his chest. It’s difficult to manage with our wrists still bound together, but he’s patient. “Let me know you. This doesn’t work if we can’t learn how to share ourselves.”
Share ourselves…. My hand stills over his heart. I don’t even know if I can
