Page 86 of The Shadowed Oracle
Ingrid came to a stop. Whether it was simply culture shock or the first sign of an approaching vision, she couldn’t help the emotion surging through her. She arched backward to take in the tattooed pair of females once more.
“That’s what they call it?” she asked. “Eternal matrimony?”
Dean nodded. “Yes… and?” His smirk was punctuated by a devilish beam in his eyes.
“I was just saying,” Ingrid scoffed, trying to hide how affected she was. “There’s not like, a more informal term? Likehitchedor something? Eternal seems so dramatic.”
“Right.” Dean choked back a laugh. “You were just saying.”
“And don’t get it twisted.” She rounded her face in front of his. “Now, please, go on.”
Dean pinched his eyebrows in an animated, mocking way, like he was thinking. “I don’t remember what I was saying.”
Ingrid didn’t fall for it. “The markings!”
“The what now?”
“The marriage bonds!”
“No, no.” Dean made his mouth a small circle, goading her. “Say the actual term.”
“Why?”
“I liked how it sounded coming out of your mouth.”
Ingrid was annoyed, but not nearly enough to keep her from doing as he’d asked. She liked this side of him. The perfect blend of the seriousness he showed when in the presence of everyone else, and the whimsy he seemed to reserve just for her.
He watched her closely, then, as her lips parted, Dean focused intently on the motions of her mouth.
“Eternal matrimony,” Ingrid said begrudgingly.
“There it is.” Dean hummed, satisfied. “That was even better the second time. Right, so, as I was saying. Those markings.” He nodded to the couple again. “They’re from the sacred texts. The Book of Pax, made up of accounts from followers and advisors of Queen Izadora. The symbols bond the couple together with old magic, creating a direct line from one soul to the other. Meaning they can hear each other’s thoughts.”
Ingrid balked at that. “Really? I don’t think anyone would want a direct line to my thoughts. Most of the time,Idon’t even want to be in there.”
Dean smiled. “Don’t be so sure about that.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Ingrid shot back, pressing a finger into her temple. “I bet you couldn’t last a single night inside here.”
“So the weddings off?” Dean asked.
“Definitely.”
He held up his hand, pleading. “But I didn’t tell you the best part yet. A marked couple can communicate between worlds. Give and take power when needed. And most importantly, the markings ensure the two will find each other in the afterlife.”
Ingrid fought the wonder at that, stifling another rush of empathic emotion. “It’s… it’s beautiful.” The commitment. The outright and absolute dedication to sharing every ounce of oneself. To essentially break off a piece of one’s mind and soul and gift it to their spouse. It was terrifying, perhaps a little self-destructive, but?—
She couldn’t finish the thought.
Suddenly, something clicked into place. She looked back at her table, at her friends. At Callinora. She remembered what the princess had said about Queen Enitha of the Isles, how she’d poisoned her husband Arryn into believing hewantedto be there. Miles and miles away from his eternally bonded partner.
“Did Queen Enitha break their bond?” Ingrid asked succinctly. “Can she do that?”
“She can only influence someone to break theirownbond,” Dean said. “I’ve never heard of anyone powerful enough to break another’s marriage mark.” He shivered slightly, thinking about the process. “Arryn must’ve done it himself. Think of it like cutting out your own heart and cauterizing the chest cavity yourself. Then having to do that every day for the rest of your life. That’s how painful it’s said to be.”
“Did Callinora feel it too, then?”
Dean blinked slowly. “If one half breaks, the other vanishes too. And in the same agonizing way.”
