Page 38 of Asher

Melanie clears her throat. “Right. Let’s get this done.”

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Garrett

This is it.The moment I’ve been excited about for months.

The demon marriage ritual.

Officially and legally, Asher and I are married. And our ceremony was… well, maybe not lovely, but definitely memorable. I might even let Alistair live, since he was trying to prevent disruption when he disrupted proceedings.

But this ceremony feels so much more special, and not just because it’s a millennia-old social ritual I’ve never been able to witness. There are descriptions of it, of course, written by others, but this type of ritual is private even among demons, so I’ve never been able to see one.

Most of our guests are already mingling and drinking cocktails, but our parents and Damaris—as head of Asher’s family—have joined us in the small parlor my aunt said we could use. If I were a demon, the head of my family would be here too. When Asher told me my parents would be a part of this, I called them to make sure they were aware of how important it was. They’re both thrilled to be included and have solemnly promised to treat it with the gravity it deserves.

Damaris holds out a hand to each of us, and Asher and I put ours into hers. She smiles, something I don’t see often from her. “Today we invite our ancestors to witness the joining of Asher and Garrett. It gives me so much pleasure to welcome you to our family, Garrett, and to join you with us for all the years past to see.”

I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for me to thank her, so I nod and smile. She releases our hands, and I mimic Asher as he crosses his arms at the wrists and puts his fists to his collarbones.

“Do you both pledge to guard each other’s back from any harm?” Damaris asks.

“We do,” we reply.

“Do you both pledge to support and care for each other?”

“We do.”

“Do you both pledge loyalty to each other, above and beyond anyone else?”

I meet Asher’s gaze and remember how he went toe-to-toe with his cousins, his lifelong best friends, because they said something hurtful.

“We do.”

His left arm still pressed to his chest, Asher reaches out to me with his right hand. I take it with mine. His palm is warm, and as our fingers twine together in this ancient, sacred ritual, I can’t help but think how good it would be to always be able to hold his hand.

“With the blessing of all our ancestors and the love of your families, your marriage is sanctified. Live long and happily together.”

* * *

I squeezeAsher’s hand for about the millionth time. He’s looking a bit shell-shocked, but that’s par for the course since we’ve been accepting congratulations from my relatives for the last twenty minutes. Honestly, part of me is surprised he didn’t back out when Alistair pulled his stunt during the first ceremony.

But he didn’t. And we’re legally married now.

“…best marital advice you’ll ever receive,” one of my great-great-uncles is saying, and Asher’s face is so visibly strained that I’m glad I didn’t hear the rest of it.

“That’s very kind of you, Uncle Horace,” I say, giving Asher a second to catch his breath. “But we mustn’t keep you, or you’ll miss out on the hors d’oeuvres.”

He slaps me on the shoulder in his usual bonhomie-old-boy manner. “Indeedy yes. You’re a good lad, Garrett, even if you are a little reserved. Come find me later when it’s time for dancing, and I’ll show you how it’s done.” He ambles off, loudly hailing a cousin, and Asher lets out a quiet sigh of relief.

“What did he say?” I ask. “I wasn’t listening.”

My brand-new husband groans and closes his eyes for a second. “Don’t ask me to repeat it. Please. I… there were dolls… and cheese… I just can’t.”

Ohhhh. “I’ve heard that one before.” Many times. He likes to give advice, and it’s not always pertinent to the situation. I’ve become immune to the trauma. I pat Asher’s arm. “Don’t worry, your brain will adapt to protect you.”

We seem to be done with my relatives, but the demons are all hanging back still. My guess is that they’re waiting to be sure the hellhounds have all moved on and it’s safe to approach. Even though most of the adults have been out and about in the world and interacted with other species, they do live mostly with only demons, and they’re not used to hellhounds. It just makes me more determined to make Hortplatz a multispecies village.

Before I can work out a way to assure Asher’s friends and family that it’s safe without making it seem like I think they’re cowardly, Sam comes over to us, Gideon half a step behind him.

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