Page 143 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

My breath stilled at the sight of her.

I had thought she was beautiful the first time I saw her walking down those stairs, but tonight—she was a shining star in the dark sky, and she was coming right toward me.

She smiled softly when her eyes met mine, creating a smile of my own to spread on my lips.

Goddess I loved her.

“Hi.” Her voice sounded almost shy.

“Hi.” I took her hands in mine, intertwining our fingers. “You look—” I searched for the right words, coming up empty for something that could fully encapsulate how beautiful she looked. “I’ve never seen anyone so magnificent.”

A blush rose to her cheeks. “You look pretty good yourself.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I didn’t even want to ask. I wanted this—for us, I wanted this one moment. But if she changed her mind, I’d give her that out. I’d give her that choice.

She looked at our intertwined hands. “I’m sure.”

“Let’s do this, Sweetheart.”

Our friends made a circle around us as our hands remained intertwined.

“We never discussed this, but is it okay if we incorporate a tradition from the Mystic Court?” Lennox asked.

“Of course.” Our ceremony tomorrow would be a combinationof the ceremony from each of our courts, but tonight we could make it whatever we wanted. Each court had its own traditions, but the core of the ceremony was the same, the pair vowed to one another and to the Goddess their commitment to one another.

In the Blood Court, it was typical for the couple to exchange blood—something Lennox and I would be partaking in tomorrow.

“Luce is going to light a candle and conduct a spell that will thin the veil around us—allowing the people we have lost into the ceremony.”

Her eyes searched mine. “My parents and Nol—your parents. They can be here if they want.”

I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her face.

The idea of having our families here, even if we couldn’t see them— “Thank you.”

We stared at one another—neither of us saying anything.

“When you’re ready,” I hadn’t even noticed Luciana completing the spell, but I could sense her magic in the air around us.

“Can I go first?” She asked.

I intertwined our hands again.

“Luka—you’re the best person I’ve ever met. Whenever I find something I don’t like about you, you show me a redeeming quality about that trait. You infuriate me. You push me in every aspect of my life. Not to try and get me to be a better person, but to embrace the person I am. You shine a light on the parts of me I think are unlovable and you love them anyway. I tried so hard to keep you out of my life—to keep space between us. To keep myself from falling in love with you, but nothing worked because you refused to leave me. Despite my constant asking and pushing you away—you never left me. Thank you for never giving up on me. I needed that—I needed you.”

She looked at her hands. “I need you. I want you,Luka. You are intertwined into my being as much as my magic is. You have no idea how much it means to me that you have given me this choice. Allowed me to choose to marry you tonight. I’m done fighting against all of this. I’m tired of fighting against us—something that feels so natural. I choose you, Luka. I choose you tonight. I will choose you again tomorrow and every day after that. It’s you. It’s always been you and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it.”

“You mean that? You’re choosing me?”

Her emerald eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “It does. It means I’m yours, Luka. You can have all of me, every mangled, darkened part of me.”

She raised up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “I choose you, Luka Rossi.”

“I choose you too.” I kissed her again, twin smiles breaking out on our faces.

“I love you, Lennox Adair, I’ve been falling in love with you since the first time you scowled at me.”

She shook her head and rested her forehead on my shoulder, failing to hide her smile.

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