Page 27 of Oaths & Vengeance
It was all I could do to keep a straight face at the insinuation we had any plans to fix the war between our people. That topic had certainly not come up since we met. What had he told the king to make him agree to this?
His majesty frowned. “We must also consider the curse your uncle placed on you.”
“Is it possible for you to order Lord Morgunn to remove it?” I asked hopefully.
“Not without consequences we can ill afford right now.” He turned his gaze to Darrow. “You’re going to have to bide your time and hope he makes a mistake. I cannot sanction you killing a lord without legal recourse, and since we aren’t involving him in this marriage, that alone cannot justify it, either.”
My soon-to-be husband nodded. “I remember everything we discussed before and will wait for my chance.”
I went still. “You mean killing him?”
“The less you know, the better,” Darrow replied, squeezing my waist.
I wanted to be angry at them for planning a family member’s death without my say, but they were trying to free me from the curse. If I could have done it on my own, I would have by now, so I elected not to argue. Losing my uncle would not make me shed a tear.
The king glanced between us. “If your families don’t take it well once the news is out, where will you live?”
“I finalized the purchase of a townhouse here in Porrine yesterday, and the renovations will start next week,” Darrow answered, squeezing me in warning again.
He wanted me not to act surprised about it. Fine, I would go along with him for now, but we needed to work on communicating better. Something told me that would remain a problem as long as we lived apart, though.
“Excellent,” King Worden gestured at a servant standing by the door. “Bring the papers so they may look over them.”
The stoic elf carefully placed them on a side table, spreading them out. Darrow and I went over and began reading the documents. They laid out our marriage agreement in plain enough terms. The dowry had been waived, we’d share any property we owned, and we both agreed we could never cause the other any serious harm or death.
The punishment would be equal to the crime—magically enforced. So, if I stabbed him, the same injury would immediately appear on me. That was certainly a deterrent. Of course, it accounted for accidents and true intentions, so if something minor happened, like swatting him in the arm for being annoying, it wouldn’t punish me. Our oaths tonight would bind that agreement for as long as we lived.
I took special note of the details on Darrow, such as his family line, which included the dark elf half and the fact his grandfather was King of Karganoth. It was something I knew, but it was still intimidating that he was technically royalty. I also noticed his birthday was in late summer. He would turn forty-six then, which meant we were about thirteen years apart since my birthday would come a couple of months before his. It was a reasonable gap, but it meant we’d have a long life together, barring mishaps. What choice did I have, though?
There were three copies of the document—one for the royal records, one for me, and one for Darrow. We took turns pricking our fingers with blood before pressing them to the parchment, with the king doing it last. Once he finished, the servant waved his hands over the documents, using magic to protect them from alterations. Technically, with that act, we were officially married now.
“Turn to face each other,” Worden ordered.
Darrow took my hands, appearing solemn. He put on such a good performance that I wondered if I could ever truly trust anything he said or did because he appeared to take all of this seriously. I took a steadying breath, attempting to match his somberness.
The king led us through the simplest version of the fae vows. They didn’t cover much beyond what was already written in the documents we’d signed. “Do you both vow to be loyal to each other above all others? Never to severely harm or kill?”
“Yes,” Darrow said without hesitation.
It took me a moment before I could reply in a whisper. “I do.”
Were we lying? I couldn’t begin to predict how our future would go, but I knew there was magic with this ceremony that would make it very difficult to break the vows.
“You may now exchange rings.”
I started to panic because I’d forgotten all about it, but Darrow pulled two simple bands from his pocket. He fitted one with tiny diamonds all around it onto my finger, then gave me the other one. With trembling hands, I placed his on him. Both were a perfect fit, but I’d felt magic in them. He must have spelled the rings so they’d mold to the correct size on the wearer.
“Very good. I now pronounce you permanently bound to each other as husband and wife,” the king said, smiling broadly. “You may kiss.”
As Darrow’s lips met mine, sparkles of royal magic fell upon us. It was the king’s blessing, but it held significant power. He’d made certain our vows would be especially difficult to break.
My new husband didn’t hold back from our kiss, and I fell into it once more despite myself. How could I hate him so much yet melt against him like this? While he was overwhelmingly handsome, I wasn’t one to fall easily for looks alone. With how he held me tightly, I wondered if it was entirely an act for him. Could he feel something, too?
Finally, we broke apart, and I had to clutch Darrow’s jacket for a moment before I could trust my knees not to collapse. Everything about this night was leaving me confused and dizzy.
The king beamed at us. “Congratulations to you both. I hope you have happy, long lives together and trouble never darkens your doorsteps, though with Darrow, that’s unlikely.”
I laughed because at least he was honest.
