Page 67 of Shut Up and Bite Me

Calmly, he cuts his hand in the same way I did, the blood dripping into the chalice. A bubble emerges from the bottom, and as it floats to the surface, the color changes to a deep maroon.

Autumn takes the blade from Greyson before handing him the cup. “Wonderful. Each of you needs to take a drink from it and then hold both hands in front of you, facing each other.”

He holds my stare, raising the chalice to his lips before taking a drink and swallowing. “Mmm. Delicious.”

“Is it?” I chortle, accepting it from him.

He purses his lips and shakes his head like he just sucked on a lemon, and I can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me, earning an award-winning smile from him.

Lifting the cup to my lips, I take a mouthful of the tart, musty, and floral-tasting potion, swallowing it with ease, knowing that this is the next step in granting me forever with Greyson.

After handing it back to Autumn, she sets it back on the fountain. Greyson turns, taking my hands in his, and a shock runs through me from his touch.

She rests a hand on each of our shoulders that are closest to her. “A reminder to you both that you must say it with true intention, or the spell won’t work.” She pauses briefly, turning her attention to Greyson. “Greyson, look her in her eyes and repeat after me… I vow my life.”

His stare burns into mine as he recites the words. “I vow my life.”

Autumn feeds him the next line. “I vow my forever.”

He repeats each word with passionate emphasis. “I vow my forever.”

Autumn continues. “I vow my soul.”

He wet his lips before saying, “I vow my soul.”

She gives him the last line, and he repeats it, lightly squeezing my hands. “I bind myself to Vivian Barlowe from this night forward, for all of eternity.”

Something stirs deep in my chest, like a door appearing that wasn’t there before.

“Beautiful. Perfectly done. Now, Vivian, we’ll move to you,” she says, the moon glowing above us in the starry night sky.

She reads me the first sentence, and I recite it wholeheartedly. “I vow my life.” And the next. “I vow my forever.”

Greyson sniffles, his cheeks burning bright red as Autumn feeds me the word. “I vow my soul.”

“I vow my soul.” My voice is thick with emotion as I complete the final phrase, feeling that door inside of me cracking open. “I bind myself to Greyson Gilmore from this night forward, for all of eternity.”

Autumn removes her hands from our shoulders to our hands, one of hers on top and bottom, sandwiching them together. “I, Autumn Ashwood, honor this binding and unite these souls for eternity.”

The door in my chest blows wide open, and my head flies back, my neck craning completely toward the sky.

Every cell in my body is vibrating like a mini earthquake is tearing through each one, building it back together with a piece of Greyson sewn inside.

I wince as the most blinding light erupts from our hands, growing brighter and engulfing all of us.

My mind calms uncontrollably as my body feels lighter than air, like I’m levitating off the ground.

Seconds, minutes, days pass me by as we float in this stream of light. The connection I felt to Greyson before is dying inside of me, the tether that tied us together cut in half.

Now, I don’t have to tug on an invisible string to sense him. I can feel him as easily as I can feel myself, aware of his presence the way I’m aware that my feet are dangling above the pavement.

The light begins to dim, and we levitate back down to Earth, energy pulsing through me in waves, and it takes a moment for me to recognize that it’s Greyson’s, moving through me as freely as my own.

Forcing my eyes open, I take the deepest breath I ever have, the world around me feeling brand-new. The air is crisper, the colors sharper, like I’m seeing everything in ultra detail.

I feel invincible, like nothing could come close to challenging my strength. If I already feel like so much has changed within me, I can’t imagine what Greyson is feeling right now.

His face is soft and relaxed, his eyes racing back and forth beneath his eyelids.

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