Page 43 of Alien Prince's Fake Bride
“Then I bid you both step up, so that you can be joined in matrimony.”
We both ascend the second to last step to the top of the podium. It’s a tall step, made for Khavgrens and not for Earthlings, and I’m tempted to take Umbra’s hand to help. But she manages just fine on her own.
General Sporiux and Colonel Grast climb to the step where we just stood and hand over the Syntrix rings.
“May your Syntrix intertwine and strengthen the bond,” the Pontifex says as the two officers calmly go back down to the foot of the stairs.
Umbra reaches her left hand out to me. I gently take it and slide the crystal ring onto her finger.
Then she does the same to me. Both rings fit perfectly, and I’m not surprised. Grast and Prab are thorough.
“You two will now make your vows,” the Pontifex goes on. “Prince Mareliux.”
I turn so I can look Umbra in the eyes. “My flow entwines with yours,” I recite the phrase that Prab made me learn. “My honor guards yours. For the cause, and for the joining."
“So stated to the gods and to all men,” the Pontifex chants. “Ambassador Umbra.”
“My Syntrix binds with yours,” Umbra says with her bright voice, looking seriously up at me with clear eyes. “My loyalty stands with yours. For all duties, and for what may come.”
It takes me a heartbeat to realize that she wasn’t being translated. She said it in perfect Khavgrese! My jaw hangs open for a short moment before I catch myself. For a split moment I’m fighting moved tears that she’d go to that trouble. But this is a fake wedding. She’s simply playing her part.
“May your flows intertwine and strengthen the bond,” the Pontifex declares. “You may now step all the way up, for the final confirmation.”
We climb the final step to the top of the podium.
The Pontifex takes first my hand, then Umbra’s. “Let the joining of hands symbolize the intertwining of your paths, your lives, and your Syntrix.”
He gently puts them together, Umbra’s little hand on top of mine.
He holds them there. “May the warmth of your touch reflect the growing warmth in your bond. By the laws of Khav, the eternal gods, and the everlasting Syntrix, I declare you joined.”
He turns us so we’re facing the crowd, still holding hands. As is tradition, we lift our joined hands with the Syntrix rings on them.
A strange warmth blooms between our connected palms, a subtle thrumming that resonates up my arm. Then the rings start to shine.
It’s a faint shimmer within the crystal of my ring, mirroring the soft glow emanating from Umbra’s. But it intensifies fast,a sudden surge of energy. It isn't just light. It feels like feeling itself. It’s the very fundament of the universe approving of our union.
Umbra’s flow, so distinct, soother, isn't just beside mine anymore. It’s weaving into it, a vibrant, unexpected current merging with my own familiar resonance. The sensation is overwhelming. A cascade of raw, untamed energy floods my senses.
A murmur goes through the crowd of soldiers as the light from our rings outshines the sun.
“Umbra…” I manage.
Then the world turns around me, the edges of my vision blurs, and the hum in my arm becomes a deafening roar until there’s only the rushing darkness.
19
- Umbra-
Mareliux’s hand goes limp in mine, his knees give in, and he sags to the ground.
Immediately Caret’ax sprints up the stairs like a charging tiger, catching him before he hits the hard steps. The base commander is right behind him, yelling a command that both Bellatriz and Vera cheerfully interpret as ‘medic’.
Sigise leaps the stairs in two mighty bounds and stops at the level below me, taking me by the arm and looking quickly around, a big gun in her other hand. “Step away from the prince, Princess Umbra. The medics will care for him.”
“He’ll be fine,”Bellatriz says from her scabbard at Mareliux’s side. “It’s not uncommon for men to faint during their wedding. I’ve seen it lots of times over the centuries. All his vital signs are normal. See, he’s awake again.”
“I’m fine,” Mareliux growls as he gets back on his feet, surrounded by medics and supported by Caret’ax. “Just a short blackout. Where’s my wife?”
