Page 98 of Redeeming the Angel

“I love you, Lucian.”Her voice, husky from her cries of passion, sent me to another plane of euphoria.

“I love you, Kerainne.”I kissed her again, then stepped out of the steaming shower.“I need to go on a quick errand.I’ll be back before your hair dries.”

One of her gold brows quirked upward.“I use magic to dry my hair.”

“Okay, then soon after.”

I dressed as quickly as I could, then used some of the magic in the storage crystal to transport myself to the edges of the ruins of Medicia.Just where the corruption ended and the trees had life, I’d buried something important.I dug it out, cursing the cold winter air on my wet skin.

When I returned to the castle, Kerainne was bundled up in a dark green velvet robe, her dry hair reflecting the light of the fireplace.Two steaming mugs of hot chocolate sat on the coffee table.

I gestured for her to remain where she was, then went into the bedchamber to retrieve something I’d brought back from Luminista.The item I’d recovered from Medicia fit perfectly, as I’d carefully designed it to.

Now complete, I put it back in my bottomless pouch, returned to the living room and knelt before my beloved.

“Kerainne Leonine, I’ve loved you for twenty-two hundred centuries and will love you for an eternity.Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife and sharing that eternity with me?”I withdrew the lilac wood staff I’d carved in Luminista with a platinum setting I’d made to hold the star garnet I’d found in the ruins of her homeland.I’d started working on the staff nearly twenty years ago in hopes that someday she’d accept another proposal from me.

“Yes!”She accepted the staff, then set it down and threw herself into my arms.“But I have a one condition.”

“Anything.”

“Let’s have a quick wedding.”

Epilogue

Kerainne

Three months later

Lucian and I flew back to the castle, the warm late spring air felt wonderful against my wings.Even though we wanted to help train our new recruits for the war, Xochitl and Zareth insisted that we have a honeymoon.We spent two weeks traveling the world, as originally planned before our original wedding was thwarted, with a few changes.I showed Lucian parts of Earth and we even used our new fake identification there to go to Vegas and have that Elvis ceremony I’d joked about.

Lucian didn’t understand, but he was happy at my giddy enthusiasm for the fun spectacle of it all.And that’s what I loved about him.He loved me without needing to fully understand me.

Between all the exploring, eating, and shopping, we achieved my other primary goal.Getting as much sun as possible.Because when we returned, we’d go back to a mostly nocturnal schedule for the vampires.

Our wedding ended up being bigger and more elaborate than I’d intended.The ceremony had to be held in the great hall to accommodate all the luminites who came.Tiana planned the menu and directed the cooks.Razvan hired himself as the deejay, playing all my favorite songs.Jeanette, the duchess of Kinsen, had, of course, planned the reception and been in seventh heaven the whole time.I’d made another lilac dress, but with different patterns.Lucian wore a dark navy suit with the Jagwolve crest embroidered on one side, and the Leonine’s on the other.But his dress shirt was made from the same lilac fabric.I wondered if his original suit had matched mine as well.

In Earth western tradition, I had Xochitl, Tiana, Sylvis, Aurora, and Beau serve as bridesmaids and bride’s-groom.For groomsmen, Lucian had Gabriel, Razvan, Radu, Rayven, and Del.Kiara was the flower girl.Zareth officiated and we exchanged a blood kiss in mage tradition.

In luminite tradition, we had to show the guests something we’d created.Since we had so much fun building the guitar Gabriel designed for Sylvis, we created a similar one for Xochitl.The joy and wonder in her eyes surpassed all her birthdays and Christmases put together.

When she was able to tear her gaze from the guitar, she looked up at us solemnly.“Nik and Del presented Tiana as their creation.Does this mean that you guys didn’t, ummm… I mean, I know you wanted a child.”

Before I could tell her that most Yearnings didn’t result in pregnancy, Lucian dropped down to one knee so he was eye to eye with Xochitl.“I did, yes.And today I gained a daughter.”

Xochitl and I both got teary-eyed over that.So much that Lucian had to guide me to the dining hall to cut the cake.

We were spoiled rotten with wedding gifts.I didn’t have time to go through them all when the majority of the luminites who came revealed that they were not just guests; they were going to stay to fight in the war.And the gifts they brought were literal tons of food, healing supplies, and other war provisions.

“My granddaughter would be unhappy if your people here do not go hungry when you go on the march,” Silvara told Zareth.“As your allies in this war, we will do what we can.”

Lucian had whispered in my ear, “I negotiated this as part of the betrothal contract.The Jagwolfes also pledge themselves to our cause.”

“I love you!”I whispered back.

With this alliance, we would triumph.The Evil One would be gone and all the worlds would be safe.Still, looking at all the happy wedding guests, our army, it was impossible not to think of the costs.

I thought of those costs again as we landed on the parapet.Tanis was one of the castle guards, along with two of his cousins from Delcine clan.He hadn’t had a catatonic episode in the last two months, but he still had nightmares.Sometimes I was tempted to tell Zareth to stop the regular meetings where he’d ask Tanis about what he’d learned in his quarter century imprisonment in Qua’ al-fán, but I knew the information was too important.

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