Page 85 of Steel Rain

I bumped her with my shoulder blade.Smart ass.

Eoghan narrowed his eyes, reaching into his hip for a knife he always kept on his belt.

“No need,” I interrupted his movements. “I’ve got one.”

I turned and brought my arm around Sin, bringing her to my side so we faced each other.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked, her eyes pleading, but not protesting. I had learned to read her like the pages of a book. Otherwise, I’d have been dumb enough to take her reluctance as a rejection of my cursed proposal.

I didn’t answer. I just brought my blade up, and stared at it as if it would give me wisdom. I wanted my blade to be something of significance for this act. And so it was.

I sliced a line from the bottom of my pinky finger, down to the pad at my thumb. The angry red line was visible, even in the darkness, and the thickening raindrops threatened to wash it all away. She reached out with her hand, our skin grazing as she took the knife from me and made the same mark on her palm.

We linked our hands together, the blood wet and warm between our skin.

Dairo came forward, picking up a rope from the ground. One of the ropes that had strung her up, now lying in pieces in the dirt. He wove that rope around our hands, tying it with a double knot and letting the loose ends hang to the ground.

Eoghan stepped forward, pulling off the tie from around his neck. He tied our hands together, double knotting it with far more violence than necessary, then he stepped back.

“You are blood of my blood,” she whispered, and I repeated the words back to her.

I had no idea what the stupid Irish incantation was. Her brow furrowed in annoyance, as she tried to conjure the rest of the words. “I … I don’t really know…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Eoghan said, throwing his head back and screaming his words at the sky. “It’s not written in bloody stone. Just make a vow.”

She looked at me, her eyes wide. Then she opened her mouth to speak again, her grey eyes flashing with a new conviction.

“From this day forward, I will never have another.” And she meant every word. So did I, when I finally said it back.

Eoghan was pushing us to this inevitable point. He was the one driving us to this critical moment where we swore an oath to intertwine ourselves as one. But I couldn’t find it in me to be angry at him. If anything, I was grateful for his meddling and constant nagging. If it got me her … then it was all worth it.

But as great as this Irish ceremony was, I wanted something of my own. Something traditional. A vow my parents made to one another, and my grandparents and great-grandparents before them. Even if it was mundane, and ordinary, I wanted that ancient rite of my bloodline as a part of our story.

“I, Ajax LeBlanc, take you, Sinead Flanagan, to be my wedded wife.” The words flowed easily from my mouth, even if I knew that there was no priest or justice of the peace present to make it real. I was a man of my word, and no words would be more important than this. “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. Until death do us part.”

Just as I had followed her lead, she followed mine, saying the words back to me. The more words she said, the tighter our hands clutched one another, and the closer we stepped together. I could see the steam coming from her skin, the individual strands of her ebony hair as the rivulets rode them down her face, and the haunting grey of her iron eyes. My vision narrowed down to her and her alone.

“Until death,” she paused, looking down at her hands as if feeling the true weight of our promise. “Do us part.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife.”

I turned my head at the voice. Dairo? Had he just …?

“Wait, is that for real?” Sin asked, looking between me and the Greens.

“It’s real,” Dairo said, placing his hand over the tie that bound us. “It’s official. I was ordained online for a different wedding three years ago.”

“So, it’s both real for the clan,” Eoghan lifted his chin, as if daring us to go against him. “And the state.”

Sin looked like she would faint. It wasn’t because of the frigid rain and her state of undress.

I placed my finger under her chin, turning her head towards me.

“You may kiss the bride,” Dairo said with a smirk.

“He was about to do that anyway,” Eoghan said as the cousins gave each other a sideways glance.

And they were right. With our hands between us, I pulled her in, cupping the back of her neck until our lips touched. I expected her to be close-mouthed, and reluctant, but I was pleasantly surprised. She attacked, almost forcing me to step back, her mouth open, and tongue delving into mine. I returned her fervor, kissing her deep. Kissing her the way a man could kiss his wife.

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