Page 73 of Claimed By Stone
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Not today,” I whispered. “Not now.”
I tried to inhale, tried to anchor myself in the feeling of my hair braided by friends, the warmth beneath my hands, the scent of Thavros still clinging to my skin. This was real. This was mine.
When I opened my eyes again, I looked past the woman in the mirror and saw not fear, but the future I could have. The life I could build with Thavros here in this mountain with these orcs. I could still choose.
After a while, Frema came to get me. She guided me through the hallways to the very spot last night I had tried to escape and out into a meadow.
The crowd outside had gathered in an arc, the snow-packed courtyard humming with energy. I stepped out, breath catching in my throat as I saw him.
Thavros stood beneath the ceremonial arch—tall, proud, and devastating in his best armor, its dark leather and polished silver gleaming in the pale winter sun. His tusks glinted, his expression fierce and unmovable…until his eyes found mine.
And then he softened.
He smiled—not his usual smirk or cheeky grin, but something reverent, like he couldn’t quite believe I was real. My feet moved on instinct, drawn toward him like a tide to shore. The murmurs of the crowd fell away. There was no past, no prophecy, no weight of what might come.
Only him. Only now.
I reached him, breath unsteady as he extended his hand.
Thavros didn’t say anything at first. He simply took my hands in his, turning them over gently before pulling a thick red ribbon from his belt. It was intricately woven, flecked with golden threads and tiny carved beads. The symbol of binding.
He dropped to one knee, and the world stilled.
"I give you my strength," he said, looping the ribbon around our hands.
"I give you my fire," I whispered back, barely audible.
He brought our bound hands to his forehead, closing his eyes. Then, in a deep rumble, he spoke the vow in ancient Orcish. I didn’t know the words, but I felt them ripple through my bones. It wasn’t just language—it was magic, soul-deep and undeniable.
When he looked up at me again, his eyes shimmered. “You are mine,” he said in a rough voice. “And I am yours. In every season, in every storm, until the stars burn out.”
“I choose you,” I said, tears catching in my throat. “In every life. Every time.”
Khuldruk stood at the edge of the courtyard with Callie tucked against his side, their fingers intertwined. When Thavros and I turned to leave the arch, they stepped forward to meet us.
"The last mated pair brings the new one home," Callie said, her smile warm and her eyes a little misty.
Khuldruk clapped Thavros on the back, hard enough that it made him grunt, and then winked at me. “Good luck,” he rumbled, entirely too amused.
Callie slipped her arm through mine, and we began the walk together toward the path that led to the mating dens. The crowd parted around us, cheering and tossing winter blooms in our wake. Someone started singing and others joined in, off-key and raucous.
I laughed, breathless with joy. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so light.
Thavros’s fingers brushed mine until I took his hand fully, twining our fingers together. His skin was warm, calloused, and grounding. We passed beneath carved stone arches dusted with snow, the corridor quieter now, lit only by soft torchlight.
He bent his head, close enough that his tusks brushed my temple. “You are the light in every dark place I’ve known,” he murmured.
I stopped walking. My breath hitched, throat tight, and I turned to look at him fully.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I whispered.
“You survived,” he said. “And you stayed.”
I pressed my forehead to his and let the moment settle around us, soft and sacred. For the first time since I awakened in this world, I felt whole.
Chapter 31
Thavros
