Page 107 of Claimed By the Fae Lord

"Perfect for us," I agreed, my voice steady despite the emotion that threatened to spill over. "Just as it should be."

Raina's slender fingers tightened around mine. "The Dróttning has outdone herself," she whispered.

"She has," I agreed.

We moved further into the sanctum, the dais framing a scene straight from a painting. An arc of familiar silhouettes stoodarrayed against the backdrop of the Shrine of Lofn. Each person was a thread in the tapestry of my life.

And Raina’s more recent history.

Father, donning his usual stern countenance, stood next to my mother, her hands finally still after all the preparations. Gunnar, whose teasing smirk contradicted the warmth in his eyes, stood at the Dróttning’s opposite shoulder.

Nox, dark and brooding yet visibly content, had his arm around his mate. Then there was Lorne, reliable and sturdy as a mountain.

Sofiya was next to him, her amber eyes aglow, a stark contrast to Lorne’s cool grey ones. I hoped Lorne didn’t fuck up things with the female, as was his tendency.

Astrid, such a resplendent warrior light fae, stood with an arm linked through Mirrelle’s. I was sure my brother was fighting with himself to not drag the blood fae to his side.

When my eyes met Saxon’s, a teasing glint was directed my way. His hand was resting on Fermac’s head, the canine looking clean and brushed for once.

And last, just beyond the warhound, was Sage, my little sister in all but blood.

Their smiles spoke wordlessly, infusing the temple with a sense of familial bonds. More than just a gathering of bodies, these were the beings who had our backs, who would go to battle for us, most of whom already had.

In the middle of the loved ones who came to bear witness was the Gothi. His hand, rough and gnarled like the ancient oaks of Ephandor from a tussle with a poisonous creature long before my father had taken over, gestured us forward.

He wrapped a silver-threaded cord around our hands, binding us in the eyes of Lofn. When he recited an ancient verse in a long-dead language, the cord began to glow.

“Now is the time to make your pledge,” he told me.

“Before the gods and these witnesses," I avowed, the words heavy on my tongue, "I, Liam of the Duersian Clan, take thee, Raina, heart of winter's chill and warrior's spirit, to be my wife."

My voice broke with the weight of emotions long suppressed. "To stand with you against all foes, to cherish the fire in your soul, and to honor the blood and tears that have paved the path to this moment."

“And now you,” the Gothi instructed.

Raina’s gaze never wavered, her purple eyes shimmering pools of light amidst the sanctum’s shadowed hush. "I, Raina, born of frost and nurtured by the solitude of the peaks, take thee, Liam, son of forest and guardian of the realm, to be my husband. To weave my life with yours, to offer my blade and breath in your defense, and to hold our love as sacred as the eternal ice from whence I came."

The Gothi's nod was imperceptible, yet it unleashed the magic we’d woven together with our words.

"By the power vested in me by the ancient rites of Ephandor, I pronounce you husband and wife." His voice, a whisper lost to time, somehow carried the weight of eons. "May your union be as unyielding as the mountains, and as endless as the stars."

Our lips met, and magic, tangible and wild, spiraled into the air. It encased us in a whirlwind of luminescence, the energy of our bond manifesting in the physical realm.

It was proof, if any were needed, that what we shared was more than mere emotion. It was elemental, as real as earth and sky.

The cord fell away, its purpose served, but the connection it symbolized remained.

The clamor of jubilation filled the temple. I squeezed Raina's hand, feeling the strength in her delicate fingers. A possessive thrill surged through me.

She was mine, truly mine, and no force in this realm or any other could rend us asunder now.

“I love you, flower.”

“I love you, too.”

As was custom, we departed the way we came. Stepping outside, we were greeted by the embrace of the sun. It cast a halo-like glow as it reflected off Raina’s hair. Mywife’shair.

It was the wrong time to think it, but I couldn’t wait to fuck her and make her call mehusbandwhen she came.

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