Page 83 of Mate Night Snack
The potion tasted like honey and lightning, sending warmth cascading through her system.
Callum approached next, carrying a smooth river stone that hummed with earth magic. "For strength to weather any storm," he said, pressing it into their joined hands.
The stone was warm, pulsing with the same steady rhythm as the Heartstone where she'd first been accepted into this community. Through it, she could feel the bedrock of their relationship, solid and unshakeable.
"The cord, if you please," Varric said gently.
He began winding the silver rope around their clasped hands, speaking words in a language older than English, older than any human tongue. With each loop, Katniss felt the bond between them strengthen, not the magical mate connection theyalready shared, but something deeper. A choice made manifest, a promise given weight and substance.
"By earth and air," Varric intoned.
"By fire and water," the assembled guests responded.
"By the light of the moon and the blessing of the Veil."
"May this union be fruitful and strong."
The final knot was tied with a flash of silver light that seemed to come from within the cord itself. Katniss gasped as power flowed between them, not overwhelming but completing, like the last piece of a puzzle sliding into place.
"You are bound," Varric announced, his voice ringing with joy and ancient authority. "By choice and by love, by magic and by law. What has been joined here tonight, let no power in any realm tear asunder."
The clearing erupted in cheers and applause, but Katniss barely heard it. All her attention was focused on Emmett, on the way he was looking at her like she'd just handed him the sun and moon wrapped in ribbons.
"Hello, husband," she whispered.
"Hello, wife." He leaned down to kiss her, soft and sweet and full of promises they now had a lifetime to keep.
Around them, the celebration began in earnest. Music appeared from somewhere, played on instruments that might or might not have been entirely natural. Dancing followed, the kind of joyful chaos that happened when a community came together to celebrate love triumphing over fear.
"Any regrets?" Emmett asked softly, his arm tightening around her waist.
"Only one," she replied, snuggling closer to his warmth.
"What's that?"
"That it took me so long to find you." She tilted her head to meet his eyes. "But I suppose good things are worth waiting for."
"Even broken things?"
"Especially broken things. They're the ones that know how precious it is to be made whole."
Above them, the Veil shimmered in the night breeze, and somewhere in the forest, a nightingale sang a song of joy that seemed to echo through their very souls. They were home, they were whole, and they were exactly where they belonged.
Together.
36
EMMETT
Emmett led Katniss along the familiar forest path, their fingers intertwined, the silver cord from their handfasting ceremony still wrapped around their joined hands like a promise made visible.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked as they approached the sacred grove. "We could go back to the cabin. More comfortable, more private..."
"This is perfect." Katniss squeezed his hand, her voice soft with wonder. "This is where it all started, where we first chose each other. It feels right to come back here as husband and wife."
The clearing welcomed them like an old friend, the ancient trees standing sentinel around the space where the Veil grew thin. Fireflies danced between the branches, their light weaving patterns that seemed almost purposeful. The air itself felt alive with magic, humming with the same energy that had blessed their ceremony hours before.
"The whole place is singing," Katniss whispered, her seer abilities picking up harmonies invisible to ordinary perception. "Can you feel it?"
