Page 25 of A Story of Mates and Temptation

I wordlessly take the box. I wasn’t expecting any of that from him. “Why?”

“This bond between us is only a fraction of what you have with Ziven, but I cherish it because you remind me to feel. To not dipinto the darkness and lose myself there. I used the bond between you and me, and I lost anything we could have had. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t wish I hadn’t. But I did and there will not be a day in my life that I do not try to be better. I’m sorry, and that is why.” He exhales slowly. “Enjoy your wedding, Story. The girl who reads, the girl who was broken and used, is becoming a fierce queen. The books you love will be written about you. They will write your story to inspire millions long after we have all left this world. I just don’t want to be remembered as a villain.”

“Thank you,” I tell him softly. I think this is the first time I’m seeing the real Daegan. “I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t done what you did. I might never be able to forgive you for all of it, but we were bound together in a way I’ll probably never understand. But for what it’s worth, I accept your gift, your token.” He walks to the door. “Please, do come to the wedding. You are invited. You are our guest.”

He nods his head. I catch a glimpse of a smile on his face before he slips out the door. I open the box, finding a bracelet inside—pure diamonds all the way around in a circle. Each one of them is shaped like a sun and a moon, side by side, as one. I clip it onto my wrist, sliding it so it fits perfectly, before looking at my reflection in the mirror just once. Peace. It’s a token of peace and it matches my dress too. I don’t spend another moment in my mother’s hut, because he is waiting for me. My king, my mate and my future. Outside, the lights are everywhere, above every house, twinkling like stars. As I get closer, I realise they’re moons, crafted out of glowing green fabric, but so bright they almost look white.

Mum walks on one side of me, Catherine on the other as we go down a path marked on the ground with petals. They sway against the bottom of my dress, and I can barely keep fromcrying more when we move toward the centre of town, where a large platform has been built with five archways forming a circle. The arches are covered in beautiful, vibrant blue flowers, and in the centre stands Ziven. The love of my life. So many people are gathered all around the arch, and Hettie is the only one standing on the platform under one of the arches. She smiles at me so widely, and my mother finally lets me go, glancing at me once before staying behind with Catherine.

I touch Hettie’s hand as I walk past, squeezing her fingers for just a second before stepping forward to Ziven, who waits in the centre of the circle.

He’s wearing a white shirt tucked into his rider trousers—clean, but the best he can do when clothes are rare here. But none of it matters when his eyes lock onto mine. His gaze travels slowly down my dress and back up, heat spilling through my body at the intensity of his stare. His eyes flicker to the bracelet for a second, but he says nothing. I step into the circle of flowers on the ground with him. He leans in slightly. “I cannot wait to get that dress off you, but you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I thought I saw the most beautiful woman yesterday when you woke up and smiled at me, but every day, you beat yourself in my eyes.”

“Charmer.” I blush under his stare, under the pressure of his gaze, and I know that will never change for us. “You’re going to have to tell me what to do,” I whisper, feeling nervous in case I do something wrong, as silence settles over the crowd like a wave coming in from the sea.

The officiant steps forward and I’ve never met him, but Ziven nods his head in greeting. “Greetings to you both. I heard there was a wedding, and I wished to offer myself as officiant as my family has done every marriage here, and I am fluent in theold rituals of dragon rider marriages and royals. Are you both ready?”

Ziven looks right at me, right into my soul. “I’ve never been ready for anything more than this moment.” Deities, I love this man.

The officiant waves to the circle in the centre of the platform. “Please stand facing each other and hold hands.”

Ziven shows me how, crossing our arms over and joining them in the middle. I realise he must remember this from the Moon Dynasty, from weddings so many years ago. I know he wishes his family were here, his parents and his sister. His eyes turn to Hettie for a second, and I squeeze his fingers. He has family here and, soon, I will be his family too. A single scale, one made of glittering silver, is pressed on top of our joined hands. Magic bursts from it, wrapping our arms in glowing red and black binds that look like smoke.

“We join together these two under the watchful eye of all the deities in the sky. We ask that their days be long and their nights be short. We ask that they know love, eternal and true. We ask that they be watched over, both in their health and in the days when they are closer to the deities than any fae would like.” I don’t look away from Ziven. “May time stand still as these two become one—one soul, one flight to the deities together, one entwined soul and one entwined life.” The red and black shadows spread up my arms, but to me, there is only him and me. Timeless, endless and everything I’ve wanted since I fell in love with him. Our relationship has always been complicated and messy, filled with so many trials that pushed us apart, but in the end, we fought together to win.

“Do you, Story Dehana of the Twilight Dynasty line, mark your soul to the Moon Dynasty king to serve as a royal, as a queen of the Moon Dynasty until your last breath?”

I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Then, King Ziven Moonsilver of the Moon Dynasty, do you take Story Moonsilver as your queen, now and forever?” he asks Ziven.

Ziven touches my cheek. “Until my last moment in this world.”

“Then may the deities and every living creature bless this holy binding of souls and royals.”

The officiant’s voice starts to fade away, but it doesn’t matter. The second the words are spoken, Ziven crashes his mouth onto mine, taking claim of every bit of me that is his. Cheers erupt from the crowd, along with music and laughter and joy, but I hold onto him. I hold onto my source of happiness like I plan to forever. I laugh as Ziven holds me tightly, joy and happiness flooding through my body. He lifts me into his arms and carries me through the crowd as they throw delicate flower petals into the air, drifting down around us like falling stars.

All I can do is look at my husband. There is music playing, laughter, and celebrations as he carries me through the town. But I can tell—he wants me alone, and I don’t disagree. He walks us straight back to our hut, and he closes the door behind us with a kick of his foot. “I could have stayed, danced, celebrated.”

“After,” he promises, dropping me onto the bed. “But first, I want to give you this alone.”

He pulls out a box, old and weathered with time, and he clicks it open to show me a ring—a beautiful ring. “Where did you possibly get that?”

“I couldn’t get your crown for today, but this is my mother’s ring. I always kept it on me, just in case you agreed to marry me. Please wear it and remember me every time you look at it.” I offer him my hand. Remember him? It almost sounds like he plans to go away somewhere, when there isn’t a chance I’m letting him go. He slides it onto my wedding finger, and I admire it in the firelight—the stunning black diamond surrounded by small, shimmering gemstones. Each gemstone is a different shade of grey and white, though I’m unsure of their exact name. Each is shaped like a moon, circling the diamond in the centre.

“It’s an heirloom of my dynasty,” he tells me as he touches it. “There was one more moment I wanted us to be alone for. Let me put the mark on you and finally take you as my mate.” My heart races. “Where do you want to put the mark?”

“Here.” I take his hand and place it directly at the centre of my chest. Closing my eyes, I trust him completely. All I feel is warmth, a slight sting, and then…something else deep within my soul as it clicks into place, like this was the irrevocable part of me I was missing. When I look down, a moon mark now rests on my skin, right next to my heart. It’s perfect. Like it was always meant to be there. Like I was always destined to be part of the Moon Dynasty.

He kisses me softly, gently, but the second kiss is not gentle at all as his hands find the lace at the back of my dress. He pulls at it, loosening it until the fabric falls from my body, pooling at my feet, leaving me bare before him. Ziven sucks in a deep breath as he watches me, his eyes dark with hunger.

“Mating,” he murmurs. “I gather you have no idea about the technical side.”

“You’re going to have to explain it to me,” I ask, heat pooling between my legs.

“It’s words said when we’re intimate, and an exchange of blood before. The old fae used to do it by biting. Even when there were no vampyres, that was our way of mating. I don’t want to ever bite you,” he vows, and I nod in agreement. Biting would throw me back to before, to my life I escaped, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do that. He turns slightly, reaching for something on the bedside table, and I grin as I see it. A black and red jewelled dagger. He’s thought of everything. “A cut on our hands will be better,” he continues. “We can join them together when you’re ready for this. For us.”

I reach up and take the dagger from his hands, dragging the blade lightly across my palm—a shallow cut, but blood pricks. He does the same with a smirk only Ziven can pull off.

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