Page 136 of The Oracle of Dusk

She stilled, frozen, her heart hammering against her ribs. He must have mistaken her shock for reticence. He pulled her closer.

“You will be the only woman in my life, adored, protected, respected. I will belong to you alone, everything I am, everything I have—yours.”

“But don’t you need a queen?” she blurted out.

He laughed.

“Youwill be my queen, Aurora. With an entire army at your back to hunt down Drakon, and a whole kingdom’s worth of resources to do it.”

“But I…”

“Will be a great and compassionate queen, a role you will come into a little more each day. Say you’ll marry me, Aurora. Whenever I look at you, a fire rages in my chest. One I thought could be quenched by your lips on mine, but every touch, every sigh, only makes it burn brighter, hotter, until you’re the whole of my world. Become mine, and make me yours. Irrevocably.”

Aurora wrapped trembling arms around him, their noses touching. Did she want to be bound to this man for the rest of her life? She already knew she couldn’t live with the idea of him belonging to another, that she wanted him fiercely. As she stared into his golden eyes pleading with hers, a part of her felt like it had the hope of a home, a feeling she thought lost to her forever. Theron could be hers. With only a single word, the man who set her heart ablaze would dedicate himself to her for the rest of her days. Was this a dream? If so, she never wished to wake.

“Yes.”

He swept her up against him with a triumphant cry and pressed his lips to hers. She threaded her fingers through his hair and pressed herself as closely as she was able, drinking him in like he was the first rain after a drought.

“Ahem.” A woman clearing her throat interrupted the moment.

It was the high priestess. Now that Aurora had a good look at her, she had the same ochre brown skin as Theron, her hair so dark a shade of red that it appeared almost black, save for a few silver strands. Her amber eyes were kind and full of mischief.

“You’re welcome to consummate the marriage anywhere within the temple, but first you need to be wed for it to count.”

Aurora fought a blush and lost.

Theron laughed.

“Aunty, may I present my soon-to-be wife, Aurora.”

“Aunty?”

“I was once a princess of Aureum, and half-sister to the late king, but that’s a story for another day. If you hope to be married before the palace realises what’s happened, we shouldn’t delay.” Myrina winked before her brows knit with concern. “Goddess, but you’re tiny. Hmmmm.” Myrina clucked over Aurora, sizing her up and then Theron.

Theron set her back down on the pink and ruby mosaic floor as Myrina whispered to one of her acolytes, who rushed off. Then the high priestess ushered them to kneel at the feet of Passion’s statue.

“Now, let’s get a good look at the two of you,” Myrina said, her eyes seeming to look right through them. “Oh,” she said, tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s a blessed day after all.”

“Aunty?” Theron asked, his brow raised in question.

“Bound by the thread of fate and dyed in the deepest red. My goddess blesses you with Her passion,” Myrina said, her breath catching. “I’m so happy for you, my little lion.”

Theron gazed down at Aurora, blinking owlishly, more shocked than she’d ever seen him.

Her mind raced with the implications. They were fated? But what did it mean that the person Passion had chosen for her had been born thousands of years before her? Was she always meant to come here, to this time, this man? If they wed here and now, she would alter the history she knew—for he would marry a commoner, not a princess. Was she meant to change history—fate—after all? Could she be meant for more than just suffering? Tied to more than just the worst things in the Tapestry?

“I thought…I thought the only fate I was bound to was Drakon’s,” she said, her voice hitching. Was it possible her fate was not entirely soaked in the garnet tones of Death, her life not wholly one marked by loss and despair? Was Theron her hope? The light to balance the bitter darkness of her path?

“In all things, balance. Chaos and peace. Tragedy and love. This Drakon might have stained your path with Death, but Passion has blessed you as well.”

Aurora bit her lip and wiped the tears from her eyes. It seemed she was fated to be a mess today. She must look atrocious. Aurora laughed.

“Are you ready?” Myrina asked.

“Yes,” Aurora replied.

“Yes,” Theron said, clearly still recovering from his shock.

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