Page 84 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
“Together?” I asked, handing her the blade and exposing my bloody palm to her.
“Always.” She smiled, grabbed the blade, and cut a line diagonally down her palm. She lifted her hand, pressing it against mine and threading our fingers together.
“I vow to never leave you willingly. To remain by your side for the rest of my life. You are mine, and I am yours.” Emotions made my voice hoarse as I spoke. We would make similar vows on our wedding day, but blood oaths were binding. Breaking them would strip you of a piece of yourself—tearing apart what made someone intrinsically them.
“I vow to never leave you willingly. To remain by your side for the rest of my life. You are mine, and I am yours.” Her repetition of the words was stronger, but still husky. I felt the oath slink into my blood, binding us. The tingle seemed to travel to my heart, passing the wards there and wrapping the organ in our promise.
With that, I used my free hand to lift her by her thigh, pushing both of us to the ground. Our lips clashed, my cock sliding back inside of her with ease. We made love like only those who were always meant to be could. It was as if the world itself was pushing us together.
“You and I—our love—will reshape this world, Asher. We will make something better. We will dream.” I moaned the words against her neck, trying to remind her that in the end, I wanted what she wanted. As long as I had her to show for it, that was.
When her orgasm freed her mind of every word but my name, I lost all control. My release came and went, cresting and crashing like waves. And when the sea settled, it was just as we said.
Asher and I, together always.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Asher
Bellamy slowly brushed his fingers through my hair, placing gentle kisses to my head randomly. We laid there, memorizing one another, for longer than I cared to admit. But it was such a beautiful experience, having him there in the flesh. Knowing just how real he truly was.
War loomed, but I deserved this peace. I had earned this joy.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Bellamy asked. It reminded me of when he had asked the same thing in Behman—when I had refused to talk to him and started a fight.
“Yes, I do,” I answered, looking up at him from where I laid on his chest. His smile was dazzling, framed by his full lips and deep dimples. Happiness seemed to bleed from his heart and outinto the air, all because I was willing to talk to him. It felt too good to be true, yet there he was.
Real.
Cuddling further into him, I prepared myself for the pain I was going to dig up. I reminded myself that the hurt was worth Bellamy’s love, and that nothing could harm me for long when he was there to hold me.
“They tortured me at first. Burned, shattered, and sliced me until they realized I was not going to give them information or submission.” Bellamy’s grip on me tightened, a low and husky growl rumbling within his chest. “Then, Mia let a Shifter take a turn. I learned he had been impersonating Sterling the entire time. That was…well, that was bad. I had known him since Academy, and it turns out he had been plotting since I rejected him when we were young.”
Bellamy did not speak, did not so much as breathe too loudly after that. Something intrinsic within him must have known this would take a terrible turn—that it would involve the crushing of my heart. I tugged up one of his hands, placing a kiss on his knuckles before continuing.
“He was the one who caught Sipho and me. It was him—Theon was his name—that told the royals about my relationship. To prove it, he had taken on Sipho’s form and tricked me into kissing him. And then he waited until the chance came for me to marry. When we needed mortal alliances, there was likely no question who would take on the mortal prince’s form. Everything after that—the assault, the touches, the hateful things he would say—stemmed from his hatred of my dismissal of him in Academy.” Each word was raspier than the last, my voice becoming sore with the emotions that overtook it.
“Please tell me you killed him,” was all he said. I laughed, nodding. “Good, or else I would have had to take you to that foul place and make sure you had the chance to do it.”
Of course he would not offer to kill Theon. He knew I could do it, that I would want that revenge for myself. It was glorious, having someone believe in me so fully.
“I tore out his jugular with my teeth.” Bellamy’s arms tightened around me, his mouth moving to my ear.
“Gods, that is so unbelievably sexy,” he murmured.
“Well, I paid for it. After that, they took a different approach with me. I was doing too well in the dungeons, I think. Sterling and I were keeping one another company, even laughing and joking. He—wait, Sterling! Did you find him?”
“Yes, Princess. We can go see him later. Just focus on your story. If you want to tell the rest, that is,” he added, his voice soft.
“I do,” I hastily said. “Let me think, where was I? Oh yes, a new approach. One morning I awoke not on the damp and dark floor of my cell, but instead in my golden bed. It was startling, but Mia coming into the room and claiming I had been asleep for a year had completely overwhelmed me. I knew it was not true, but every day I lost a little faith in our love story. I started to believe that maybe I had made it all up in my head. It did not help that I was seeing Wrath. I do not know why or how, but he would just appear. He was so real, so lifelike. I could pet him and hold him. He would whisper doubts in my mind, telling me that none of it was real. Soon I began to believe him.”
“That was why you panicked earlier.” It was a resigned sort of statement, as if he was preparing to accept guilt or blame. “Was the sex too much? Are you hurt? Do you feel taken advantage of?”
“No, most definitely not. I feel happy. Thankful.” I paused, smirking at him. “Aroused.”
He chuckled, the sound short and broken despite the humor that inspired it.
“On the bright side, it turns out the fae are far from content. When the time comes, I think I can enact genuine change andthey will be more than eager for it.” Bellamy cleared his throat, adjusting beneath me and squinting his gaze. “Before I find someone else to rule Betovere, that is.”
