Page 110 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
The doors at the end of the Ceremonial Hall slammed open, striking the walls and shaking as the guards barely ducked out of the way in time.
Vad.
My heart stopped. Briar’s voice had sounded in my head, and something yanked in my chest.
I sucked in a breath.
There she was in the Ceremonial Hall, at the start of the red carpet, standing between the heavy doors. Her copper hair was loose and wild about her shoulders, framing her face. Those green eyes met mine from across the room.
My beloved.
My queen.
My all.
She was a vision, despite the dirt and dust and blood smeared across the iridescent gown that Fate had made for her. Anyone viewing her now would see the difference between her dress and the others and would know that she was the one Fate had marked. This woman was not just my queen. She alone held my entire heart.
“Briar,” I whispered. “You’re here.”
Bryn’s eyes widened as he looked from Briar to me, and he stretched out a hand. His face went deathly pale. “No!”
But I ignored him.Nothingwould keep her from me ever again. It was time to claim her once and for all.
I turned and grabbed the queen’s crown.
Trying to block me from Briar, Bryn said, “No, you don’t understand. She’s an Aur?—”
Velessa sprang up on her bench and raised her hand in a grasping motion, silencing him as Veralt picked him up and moved him out of the center aisle, Yuki flanking the giant.
Three wingless Aureline guards started toward Briar, but Rhielle’s shadows swept in front of them. Her pupils faded away entirely as her shadows sealed them in. Quen, Thalira, and Myantha raced down the aisle toward two more guards, parting them and letting Briar through as she ran toward me.
The thorns on the queen’s crown pricked my palms and fingers, but I held it tightly and leaped off the dais, then raced toward Briar amid the screaming guests.
When she had almost reached Briar, Myantha tripped and went sprawling onto the carpet. A dagger with a green-coated blade spun from her pocket. Thalen paled, and then he grabbed her and pulled her away, holding her hands at the wrists.
Quen and Thalira cut off two more guards from reaching Briar with a water whip and a heated blast that sent one flying.
When I finally stood in front of her, I asked, “Do you wish to be my queen and my love?” The question seemed to come both from my voice and my mind at once.
Her eyes shone as she stared up at me. The most incredible being in all of creation and existence. “Yes. I never wanted to leave. Now and forever, I’m yours. Always.”
My heart expanded and felt fuller than ever before as I lifted the queen’s crown and placed it on her head. The blood from my hands dripped onto her hair, and the thorns pricked her scalp, though I tried to be gentle. The crown was a heavy burden, like the duty to our kingdom, but she was a queen and the strongest person I’d ever known. She could more than handle it.
Blood now dripped down her cheeks as well. I seized her in my arms and pressed my lips to hers. The comforting jolt had me melting into her, refusing to ever let her go again.
I had to have her. Hold her. Breathe her in.
Her sweet cinnamon and ginger scent was not marred by the smell of blood, and I clasped her tight against my chest and savored her. She was my home and my world. Nothing mattered right now except holding her.
You’re my everything,her voice said in my head.
I didn’t know how this was happening, but I never wanted it to stop. I wanted her to be a part of me always.I love you more than the realm.
The screams intensified, and then Briar stumbled in my arms.
“Earthquake!” she exclaimed.
The ground shook, and I tightened my arms around Briar, refusing for her to ever be harmed again. The vibrations caused my feet to stumble, and one of the huge chandeliers above the guests dropped and shattered.
