Page 14 of Stars in Umbra
Kainan raised a hand, and the congregation sat.
Ki’Remi and Issa turned to each other and began to speak their vows.
First in Kwavi, led by the Rider’sKhan.
Once done, he stepped back, and a hush fell again as a Sacran priestess, the Matriarch of Eryaleth, floated forward.
Her skin was silver-gold, lit with tiny points of light of crushed diamonds embedded across her cheeks and shoulders.
Her eyes were twin opals, ancient and knowing.
She lifted her hands and recited the Bonding Benediction of the Ancients, a blessing older than the moons, meant for warriors and lovers destined to face eternity together.
The couple intoned the melodic words, laced with emotional and deep feeling.
‘I give you my fire, that it may warm you, not burn you.
I give you my storm, that it may shield you, not break you.
I give you my name, not as a chain, but as a promise.’
Issa responded, voice steady, eyes lit like twin suns.
‘I give you my light, that it may guide you, not blind you.
I give you my wind, that it may carry you, not scatter you.
I give you my love, that it may free you, not bind you.’
They exchanged rings, their promises ringing loud and true. The air between them hummed with a sacred energy that vibrated in the chests of all who witnessed it.
Then, in a moment that would be seared into every memory present, Ki’Remi dipped his bride into his arms. One arm banded around her waist while his other hand, the one with his new wedding band, gently braced over her heart.
As he kissed her, it wasn’t just a seal of marriage but a vow of devotion that thundered in each witness’s chest. Their kiss wasn’t a spectacle; it was a reckoning, a warrior’s promise, and an immortal claim of each other.
The crowd erupted into jubilant cheers.
Lanterns flared into firework bursts of light above, and the harpists shifted into a triumphant tempo.
In the midst of all of it, Rina sat in her seat, fighting back tears, soul aching both in happiness and in longing.
Thisjoy and exuberant love were what she longed for and was uncompromising in her pursuit of them.
A bloom of light exploded overhead, and thousands of white and gilded petals cascaded down like whispers from the gods.
They were joined by a thousand strands of bioluminescent confetti, shimmering in shades of pearl, sapphire, and molten gold.
The eco-crafted filaments caught the light, refracting it into tiny rainbows as they spiraled through the air.
Rina lifted her face to the beauty, as if a hallowed rainfall had come from the heavens.
The couple walked down the aisle to the cheers of their guests, hand in hand and radiant. Issa’s gown moved like liquid radiance, her luminous skin shimmering beneath the falling glow.
Ki’Remi strode beside her, his handsome face lit with a broad, devastating smile.
They descended the petal-strewn walkway to the sound of Kwavi drums, strings, and a sky-borne chorus belting out an old Sacran hymn.
As they passed, guests reached out, and according to Sacran tradition, attached petite tokens of diamonds and braided jewels onto their clothes while whispering blessings.
