Page 89 of Bride By Initiation

She glances at me quickly, then nods at him. Her voice cracks. "Y-yes."

He continues, "You're ready to vow your life to The Underworld and your husband?"

Her chest rises and falls faster. She licks her lips.

I squeeze her waist.

"Yes. I'm ready."

Approval lights Kirill's eyes. He orders, "Then come forward."

The crowd stomps and lifts their torches, humming until the entire arena buzzes.

My heart races, but I grab Zara's hand and lead us forward until we're standing in front of Kirill, with the others surrounding us.

He holds his hand in the air, and the stomping ceases. The humming lessens in volume. He informs us, "Your actions have entitled you to a Ceremony of Exposure. There will be three phases. Pledge. Performance. Personalization."

Zara asks, "What do they entail?"

Kirill asserts, "You will find out as you go through the phases."

Valentina's voice interjects, "Get the room ready."

The humming stops. A cleanup crew, similar to the one at the underground fight, appears. They grab arms and legs and move the corpses off the stage. Others mop up the blood, sloshing it around and spreading it so the entire floor is stained maroon.

A buzzing sound begins, growing louder and louder until the atmosphere is electric.

Kirill booms, "The Underworld accepts your bids for initiation. Step forward and commit to your lives to each other and your new brothers and sisters."

Zara turns her nervous expression to me, and I lean into her ear, murmuring, "We made a pact years ago, so it must have been meant to be, right?"

Her gaze drifts to my lips, and my dick hardens. She pins her blues on me, and even through the white lace veil, the flush crawling up her cheeks is noticeable.

"Tell him you choose him," Kirill orders.

She snaps her head toward him.

He insists, "Tell him."

She refocuses on me and lifts her chin, squaring her shoulders. In a confident tone, she declares, "I choose Sean."

My adrenaline spikes and my pulse speeds up. The air around us turns thicker, and I once again debate about not going through with this.

It was what my father wanted, I remind myself, trying to shut down my nerves. Marriage is forever in my family. Zara's too.

Shit. Her father's going to kill me when he finds out.

My mother's going to be equally upset I did this without her.

What does she know about all this?

Why is Zara here?

"Let's begin," Kirill states, forcing me to put aside my worries and questions.

The buzzing changes tooms, but it's quieter and more intimate. The darkness of the night is at its peak, and the glow around the arena flickers, competing with the moon.

"Take each other's hands," Kirill directs.

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