Page 77 of Bound By Roses

“You would use him as a spy to help you slaughter his friends. My way is faster. We’re at war, in case you’ve forgotten.”

She turns away, as if looking at him is suddenly too painful. “You’re the one who’s forgotten. I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

For whatever reason, that seems to cross a line. “Do whatever you want with him. At least I’m doing something,” Jade says as he storms off down the hall.

I lean against the wall and slide down it with a huff. Abby joins me and pulls me against her. I revel in her warmth. “What do you think we should do?”

“Talk to him. But not tonight. We still have a wedding to get to.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

ABBY

There’s hardly enough time to calm down before I’m thrust into another ordeal. At least this time, it’s something quite a bit happier. The wedding is a simple affair, but I’d done my best to make it as whimsical as possible. After Petra told me where it would be held, I enlisted the help of Fern and the same little siren boy I’d given my fish to that first morning here. Together, we’d lined enough soil around the immediate area to allow for me to bring it to life.

Literally.

Vines snake up the few crumbling pillars that remain from the once vibrant city that floated atop the waves. Flowers in all shades of pink erupt from the vines where they dangle above the ceremony, adding small pops of colour that speckle the venue in elegance and warmth. And, more importantly—love.

Petra and Teagan chose this place because it was the spot that could best accommodate the fact that one is bound to land, while the other is bound to the sea. Choosing a place to commit your undying love to another person should be a sacred thing, but they were denied that. The least I could do is make the spot as special as they deserve it to be.

Teagan’s eyes are still alight with the childish wonder that refused to disappear with age. I can’t take all the credit for that, as her eyes keep wandering back to her mate, who stands proudly beside her. Teagan sits on a platform just out of the water, her gorgeous tail swishing beneath her and matching the colour of the flowers above. I doubt anyone is looking at her tail, though. Not with the stunning white dress with deep blue accents she wears. I don’t need to ask to know that the blue is meant to symbolize her ties to the ocean, while the white is traditional for brides in Lunae. Teagan may not have been born there. It may have been the land that destroyed her home, stole her away, and forced her into servitude—but it was a home to her.

I remember the time we stole a book from the king’s library that chronicled the grandest weddings in Lunae’s history. We’d giggled for hours as we tried to imagine us in place of those brides. I could never do it. Not fully. But Teagan? She always wanted the ridiculous white dress. Now here she is, looking as if she were never meant to wear anything else.

Petra, on the other hand, wears a gown of reds and oranges that flow together in such a way that resembles the eruption of a volcano. Long slits trail down its back, leaving room for her massive wings to protrude through the fabric—which is, apparently, customary for dragon weddings.

I glance over at the water and the sun that sinks deeper with every minute that passes. The wedding is happening early to allow Quinn more time in his human form, but as soon as it sinks beneath the waves, he’ll return to the wolf he hates so much.

I stand behind Teagan just as Merrick stands behind Petra. I haven’t been able to look him in the eye since Petra told me what he’ll make her do, and just the thought of having to dance with him has my stomach twisting. I push those thoughts aside and force myself to watch the ceremony. Thankfully, it’s easy toget lost in the joy of this moment. I may not have known Petra for very long—and she may have an attitude more often than not—but I can tell in this moment that there’s another side to her that’s reserved only for Teagan. I see it now, perhaps truly for the first time. Despite the hundreds of eyes on them, they’re alone in a world they’ve created just for them.

“I’ve never been a woman of many words,” Petra says, voice so low that I doubt many people can hear her. She leans forward and clips the golden ring onto the base of Teagan’s tail. I hadn’t even noticed they’d removed it, but I guess it’s all part of the show. “So I’ll just say that I love you now, and I’ll love you forever. Even if you’re bound to the sea for most of that.”

Teagan smiles, but I don’t miss the slight roll of her eyes. She has no need to speak with her hands because whatever needs to be said is only for Petra.

Petra bends down towards her and tilts her head so that Teagan can reach her ear. There’s no warning before she takes the single earring that matches the band around her tail and pierces it through Petra’s flesh. I have to look away because why did no one warn me about that? Judging by the grimaces in the crowd, I wasn’t the only one surprised. Though, to be fair, it’s not like either of them can wear a traditional ring. Not with Teagan’s webbed fingers and Petra’s quickness to summon her claws.

Petra doesn’t even flinch as Teagan secures the earring, and judging my her smile, I’m uncertain she felt it at all.

Aurelia steps forward and—is that a knife in her hand?

“As I am sure most of you know,” Aurelia says as she comes to a stop in front of the couple. “This is no ordinary wedding. The two who stand before us are bonded in a way that many of us could only dream…” Her voice trails off for just a moment, before she pulls in a shaky breath and resumes her joyous demeanour. “To accept a bond is to share your soul. Do you accept the bond?”

“Yes,” Petra says.

Teagan takes the blade from Aurelia and slices into Petra’s palm. Someone definitely should have warned me about this.

“And you?” Aurelia asks Teagan, who nods emphatically as she hands the bloodied blade to Petra and offers her own hand.

Teagan winces through her smile as the metal bites into her skin. In unison, she and Petra hold their hands out in front of them and then press them flat against each other, interlocking their fingers. They hold their hands pressed together as Petra speaks. “I will speak the words for both of us. Bonded by blood, we two are now one. As real as the breath in my lungs and the beat of my heart, as felt as the caress of an invisible wind off the waters and the mountains, and as unbreakable as my vow to you.”

The blood running down their wrists seems to pause a moment before it flows backwards. It travels up and over their hands, as if it were a rope meaning to tie them together. And then, just like that, it’s gone, as if it simply absorbed back into their skin.

They release each other for only a moment, and then share a kiss, once again, back in the world that belongs to just them.

Cheers erupt from the crowd behind us, only to be drowned out by joyous music. People scurry off the platform that is clearly meant to be where we’ll be spending the remaining of the evening dancing.

I turn away from the couple and spot Quinn in the crowd. He’s near the back, casually leaning against the side of a ruined building, hands clapping slowly, though I know his eyes were probably locked on me the entire time. I take a step towards him, but a hand clasps mine and spins me around into a too-warm, shirtless chest.

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