Page 99 of Waves
"State your promise to your queen and wife," the matchmaker declared.
The mer guard's face looked even more solemn than normal as he gruffly said, "I will protect you from all harm, adore you for all time, and never allow anyone or anything to come between us." Avia's face softened and her eyes began to fill with tears as she nodded and whispered, "I accept your vow." Then the strand of pearls connecting them began to glow a soft white, as if a string of moons hung between them.
The matchmaker repeated the process with Keelan, who played to the crowd like the annoying little attention-seeker he was. "I promise to make you laugh—at your other husbands—as much as possible. I promise to lighten your load and lift your mood for now and for always."
Avia grinned through her tears, shaking her head at him as she said, "I accept your vow."
Then it was Mateo's turn. He swam forward and cleared his throat a few times, clearly nervous. "Avia, the first time I laid eyes on you I was smitten. And then as I got to know you, my feelings only grew more intense. You make me clumsy. I forget where I am when I'm around you. Forget what I'm doing. What I'm saying. I might not be the best man in the world, but I will be the best man I can possibly be for you. Because I feel so entirely lucky and incredibly unworthy. And I vow I'll never forget that."
Crying. She was crying openly, tears streaming down her face in adoration as he bent forward and kissed her knuckles, stealing the move I'd planned for myself.
Ass.
Bitterness crept up into my throat, but the intensity of Avia's affection overpowered it. My hearts pumped at a blisteringly intense pace, making me speechless and breathless at the almost religious intensity of the feelings flickering between the two of them. I found my own eyes brimming. My hand crept up toclutch at my chest as I watched her accept his vow and it was anointed by the matchmaker.
And then it was my turn.
I held out my hand and watched the matchmaker wrap cold beads against my skin, watched the trail of them dangling in the water before Avia grabbed the other end. My eyes rose to meet my queen's face and I was devastated by the love there. Destroyed—laid to waste like a battlefield.
Because such was the power of love.
It had the ability to kill whoever you thought you were. Whatever dreams you used to have. Those were decimated, slit to ribbons, blown to smithereens. And just as conquered countries had their lines redrawn and laws changed, Avia had transformed every bit of me.
She stared up at me, shyly, hesitantly, as if she didn’t quite know what to expect.
Impulsively, I stepped closer, wanting to rid her of any ounce of hesitation when it came to me. Leaning over, I whispered against the shell of Avia's ear, "Wish that I can only tell you the truth from now on."
The matchmaker glared at me as I straightened, but I didn't give a damn what she thought. I remained focused on my beautiful queen as her curiosity flowed through my veins.
She leaned toward me and began to refuse, as I’d known she would. As she’d refused Keelan. “Love is based on trust?—”
“No. I’m different. My past is a long, trailing shadow. Only the truth will meld us. Constant, complete truth. Your certainty of my loyalty. Wish it.”
She paused, weighing my words. Then, subtly, so as not to garner too much attention, Avia moved her hands and pretended to adjust the pearl strands she already held. Really, she twisted my ring and whispered her wish.
"Granted," I murmured under my breath.
Our gazes kissed then, and I forgot myself. Forgot the crowd. Forgot everything but her eyes.
I shifted on my feet and opened my mouth. But all the eloquent words I'd planned fled, and I was left with only the simplest, purest, most ragged words. "I didn't know love before I knew you. I had no idea the world could be such a beautiful place. That every experience could be precious. I didn't know why tomorrow was something people looked forward to. I only had loneliness. Anger. Resentment. And I festered like a wound. You healed me. You gave me something that I never had before." I reached up and clasped my fist to my chest, in a gesture others might interpret as a soldier's vow...but my Avia knew differently. "Your heart is the greatest treasure I've ever possessed, and I promise to protect it with every fiber of my being. I vow never to hurt or betray you in any way even in the darkest recesses of my thoughts. I am yours. All I am—good and bad—belongs to you."
The matchmaker handed the strand of pearls over to Avia. But before the queen accepted my vow, I added, "And one more thing." I turned to the crowd and thundered, "I vow to destroy anyone who plots against my queen. I vow to turn their bones to dust and their innards into chum for the sharks. I will hunt and hurt whoever dares to do Avia harm."
With a withering look at the nobles from Cheryn and Sedara, I turned back to my queen who was now biting down on a smile.
"Had to make it bloodthirsty," she murmured.
I shrugged. "It's the truth. I'll kill for you."
A dark thrill surged up through my veins because my queen's heart pumped harder at the thought.
My Avia smiled then, the vicious sort of smile she only reserved for me, as she said, "I accept your vow."
Then I yanked my queen, my wife, my reason for living into my arms and kissed her breathless, pouring every promise that I hadn’t said aloud into the crush of my lips against hers. Aviolently urgent sort of joy filled me, one more profound than anything I’d ever experienced before.
I only released Avia when Mateo tapped me on the shoulder, and even then, only because he did it politely.
Loosening my grip on my wife’s hips, I muttered, “To be continued,” before I turned and linked hands with Mateo and my queen. The other two joined in. And all together, we raised our hands to the crowd.
