Page 75 of Jace

And then she heard the most incredible sound.

It was a sound she had never heard before, a deep, thunderous, booming laugh.

And it was coming from Jace.

He’s laughing!

Her heart sang as she ran to him, skirts clutched in her hands.

“I’m s-sorry, my m-mate,” he choked out while continuing to laugh. “It’s just so f-funny.”

With that he half bent over, tears springing to his eyes as he fought for breath.

Zeke was chuckling too, smacking his father’s shoulder with a gleeful expression.

“You get it, you really get it,” she told him encouragingly. “You’re not laughing at me.”

“I am laughing with you,” he said, straightening up and wiping his eyes. “I am laughing at the situation - a beautiful bride in a fancy gown falling down and then unexpectedly doing a fancy trick to get up again without injury. It is very unlikely, and that is what makes it funny.”

“Yes,” she said, feeling like the humor lost something when it was explained, but glad that he got it. “More things will be funny to you now. I’m sure of it.”

“Good,” he told her. “I have decided that I like to laugh.”

“I will make it my mission to give you plenty of reasons to do so,” she promised.

“But no more falling down,” he said seriously. “You could get hurt.”

“Noted,” she said, giggling a little.

“You are sure it was not cruel to laugh when you fell down on your special day?” he asked worriedly.

“It was the best wedding gift I could ever receive,” she told him honestly.

He smiled down at her and she could tell he was still thinking about her fall, because his eyes began to twinkle again.

The elder smiled at them both and lifted her hands in the air.

“Shall we begin?” the older woman asked.

Susannah nodded to her, and the ceremony commenced.

It was a short but lovely thing. Zeke stayed calm and good, they said their words with real meaning, and their guests cheered at the end.

When Jace pulled her in for a chaste kiss, there were whistles and shouts.

“Go in peace, husband and wife,” the elder said at last, with a warm smile. “May your hands be on your work, and your hearts on your future!”

“I know what my hands want to be on,” Jace whispered into her hair.

Susannah stifled her giggles, and a shiver of anticipation went down her spine.

Then they were standing in a line, greeting their guests one by one.

As her matrons of honor, Charlotte and Eliza had returned to her side to meet the community. It was all going by in sort of a blur, until something strange happened.

From next to her, there was a faint but clear beeping sound.

“What is that?” Jace demanded, his soldier training clearing coming to the forefront.

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