Page 71 of Dark Space
‘And what do youwantto vow?’ she said fiercely.
‘I –’ I took a deep breath. ‘I want to vow to make you happy every moment I draw breath. I want to promise that I will respect every decision you make. I want to vow to provide you with everything you need and want, so that every choice isalways open to you, and I promise my support down any path you choose to follow. I vow to help you fly.’
Anna gave me a brilliant smile; it hit me square in the stomach, and it was an effort not to stagger beneath the force of it. ‘That,’ she said, her voice thick. ‘I vow that. I will try to make him happy in every moment we share. I will support him in his choices, and respect his decisions. And when I fly, he will fly with me.’ Her eyes flickered to Callan, and then behind her to Vesper. ‘We will fly together.’
‘Together,’ echoed Vesper, the corners of his lips curling up.
Callan swallowed audibly.
Darius stared at her, then turned to Bryn. ‘We’ll need to edit that part. Well, we’ll need to editeverything.’
‘Already on it,’ Bryn muttered, fiddling with a hand screen.
‘As an ordained priest of the dread gods, I accept your vows,’ Darius said, dipping a finger in the blessed blood and anointing my forehead, then Anna’s, followed by Vesper and Callan. ‘This union is sanctioned; this union is sacred. This female belongs to you –’ Anna glared at him ‘– and you to her,’ Darius added hastily. ‘And … you to the others, and the others to you,’ he went on, glancing at Callan and Vesper. ‘I have no idea how you’re going to work this out, but that’s your problem, not mine. The claiming is complete.’
‘Not the strong ending it could have been,’ Vesper muttered. He poked at his forehead. ‘By the stars, what isthissticky nonsense?’
Anna laughed, a clear, joyful peal that had my throat closing over with emotion. ‘Do we kiss now?’ she said, giving me a heated look from beneath her fair lashes.
‘Kiss?’ Darius said, startled. ‘At aclaiming?’
Anna laughed again, then threw her arms around my neck and brushed her lips over mine. I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her pressed against me, and returned her kiss eagerly,snarling softly when she bit my bottom lip. She gave a hum of satisfaction and slid down my body, turning in my arms to pull Vesper in closer with a fistful of his shirt.
‘How do starlings get married?’ she murmured, before she seized his mouth.
His hands came up to cup her cheeks, his fingertips brushing over her cheekbones as he kissed her with more gentleness than I would have given him credit for. ‘We don’t,’ he said unevenly, when she let him up for air. ‘We exchange light.’
‘I don’t think I can do that,’ Anna said breathlessly.
Vesper gave a lazy grin. ‘Oh, little lodestar. You’d be surprised.’
On my other side, Callan was edging away, his throat working convulsively. I took Anna by the waist and spun her around, setting her between me and my pilot, who was about to bolt. She took his hand; he froze, then looked down at where their fingers were intertwined.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Anna enquired politely.
‘I –’
‘I hope it wasn’taway.’
‘Anna –’ Callan started, his voice anguished.
‘I want you,’ she said simply, looking him straight in the eye. ‘Do you want me?’
Callan swallowed. ‘Yes,’ he answered roughly. ‘Every moment, always.’
Her lips curved up. ‘Then it’s time to show me, Tall, Dark, and Looming.’ Her free hand found his cheek; her thumb skirted the planes of our pilot’s face before she rose up on her toes and guided him down to her slowly, giving him every chance to turn away before she brushed her lips gently over his.
Callan groaned, his free hand spanning across Anna’s back. He returned her kiss tentatively, then with more eagerness whenshe arched against him. When they broke apart, they were panting.
Anna glanced back at me. ‘Please tell me we’re going to bed now.’
‘We’re supposed to –’ I started.
‘You go to bed now,’ Darius interrupted. ‘Your priest declares it so. We’ll bring you some food later. A lot later,’ he added. ‘Bryn and I will work on editing the recording, while you … Well, I really don’t want to know.’ He eyed Vesper warily. ‘Have fun.’
‘You heard the priest,’ Vesper drawled, and swept Anna into his arms.‘Bed.’
Vesper laid me sogently on the bed that tears pricked in my eyes; I might have cried, except he ran one of his hands down my back and ended the caress with a cheeky ass squeeze. I laughed and pulled him down for a kiss; he kissed me softly, almost nuzzling at my lips, before stepping back and pushing Alcide forward.
