Page 80 of The Blood Crown

The plates were cleared instantly, but a hunger for something else was in the depths of his gaze as he slid the table out from between them and prowled toward her.

Her heartbeat thudded in her throat, every thought emptying from her mind as his deep voice rumbled through her chest, licking fire down her spine. “Because I plan to occupy the rest of your evening,” he drawled, his body towering over hers as he placed his hands on either side of her chair, caging her in. “And the entire night.” He kissed the sensitive place below her ear, the tips of his fangs grazing her neck and sending a fresh wave of goosebumps across her skin. “And tomorrow morning if you’ll allow it,” he whispered against her throat.

“I seem to remember something about a rug . . .” she murmured.

Chapter 38

Snow glistened where the forest’s edge met the black rock of the mountain. Floating lights dotted the air, suspended by magick just beneath the lowest branches of the surrounding pines.

The outskirts of the rugged keep were full of surprises, stone bridges that spanned brooks and natural springs, and caverns such as this one—half-exposed to the natural beauty around them and half-tamed by its inhabitants.

The black stone arch spanning above Aurelia had been carved into delicate relief. Scrollwork and etchings of an elegantly scrawled tongue. Ancient and reverent.

Being beneath them, as she was now, made her feel insignificant to the span of time that these mountains had witnessed. A part of something so magnificent that it was difficult to find the words to fit her emotions.

Ven stood at the edge of the cavern, moonlight flecking his brow, turning the dark strands of his hair silver.

The hour was late, but neither of them wanted to wait any longer to make their bond permanent, and it seemed their family had guessed the same.

Nira had whisked her away to her and Embra’s shared chambers and the rest had been a blur until this point.

And now, she and Ven stood before their friends. Their family.

Embra was already wiping away tears as she leaned into Nira, who offered her a handkerchief with a doting smile, as if she had expected as much. Karro and Seth stood off to her other side, a proud grin across Karro’s face, and a reassuring smile on Seth’s. And between them stood Asher, already quite at home with the Wraiths, much to her dismay and her relief—she couldn’t quite decide.

Her brother stepped forward to meet her, offering his arm. A small thread of her old life weaving her into this new one. She took it, thankful for the anchor keeping her feet attached to the ground, feeling unworthy of the love and the absolute perfection of this moment.

Gold shimmered across her arms like dappled sunlight. Sheer sleeves dotted with crystals making her feel like she’d been dipped in constellations, ending in cuffs of pure gold at her wrists. The neckline of the dress followed the curve of her collarbone, falling into a vee along the swell of her breasts.

WhereEmbra had found this masterpiece on such short notice, she could only guess.

Her shoulder blades were exposed where the dress hugged the curve of her lower back before trailing away into a skirt that sighed and whispered as she walked. Every movement reflecting and refracting the moonlight as the train floated across the ground.

Asher gave her hand a gentle squeeze where it rested on his forearm before stopping where Ven stood before them.

He wore the black uniform of the Wraith Commander, the white crest of a raven on his chest and the black jeweled dagger at his hip—the one that was a twin to her own.

Herclaimed.

The word still felt foreign to her—even in her thoughts. The Blood Folk seemed to use the terms interchangeably.Wife, husband, claimed. But what was between them went much deeper than whatever title they chose.

Nira extracted herself from Embra, and Karro wrapped his arm around the female’s slender shoulders reassuringly as she continued to dab at her russet eyes. He dropped his chin on top of her head, an unabashed smile stretching across his face as he murmured into her thick juniper braid, “Does this mean I’m allowed back into the greenhouse?”

Embra gave a thick laugh in response, swatting him affectionately. “We’ll talk about it,” she mumbled into his chest, hastily wiping her cheeks.

Nira took her place before them, a warm smile as she glanced at Aurelia, then Ven.

Ven removed his dagger, slicing his palm.

Offering her the blade, she did the same, watching the ruby drops well in her upturned hand.

Nira's voice carried over the small gathering of their family as she spoke the ancient tongue of the Blood Folk. And though Aurelia didn’t understand the words—she knew their meaning as if they were imprinted in her very veins.

A blood oath. Unbreakable even unto death.

Ven stretched out his hand, eyes finding hers.

Even now—if she refused him, if she changed her mind—she knew he would have let her walk away from this.

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