Page 140 of Unravelled
“I felt it,” she whispered, barely a sound.
His eyes searched hers, fierce and gentle all at once. “I know...”
???
Ren
The walk back to the palace should have been a blur. But for Ren, every step felt carved into the marrow of him.
Mira’s fingers were threaded through his, warm and certain, like a vow whispered in a language older than words. The night air clung to his skin, thick with the scent of tahla blossoms in bloom. Above them, the last streaks the Navigators’ blessing trailing above them.
They shouldn’t have been able to bond. Not like this. No witness. No altar. No temple rites. Yet… they had. The bond throbbed beneath his ribs like wildfire, anchoring, all-consuming. He had felt her when it snapped into place, the moment the universe tipped slightly and aligned. Something ancient and impossible had chosen them.
Ren glanced toward Mira beside him, her bare feet silent against the floors, her gown still shimmering like starlight caught in motion. Her curls were wild from the wind, loose and radiant around her shoulders. She was his. And Navigators above he had always been hers.
When they entered his chambers, their chambers, Mira let out a breath that trembled as it left her. One hand braced against the door as it clicked shut. She turned slowly, eyes wide, searching his like she was waiting for the world to catch up to what had just happened.
“I asked for the Navigator’s blessing this afternoon,” she said.
Her voice was steady, but the weight of her words struck Ren like a blow wrapped in wonder. For a heartbeat, all he could do was stare at her. Then he laughed. A soft, breathless sound. Not mockery. Awe.
“You clever, reckless woman.” It burst out of him, half-laugh, half-prayer. He raked a hand through his hair, disbelief and joy colliding in his chest like thunder.
“You are unbelievable,” he murmured, stepping toward her. “Brilliant. Perfect.”
His hands found her hair, curling through it like something sacred, and he leaned in. The nearness made his heart ache. Mira let out a shaky laugh, her hands clutching his wrists, grounding both of them.
“It worked,” she whispered. “Ren… it worked.”
He pulled back just enough to see her face, that face he’d never forget even if the stars burned out.
“Of course it worked,” he breathed, wonder catching in his throat. “How could they say no to you?”
He cupped her cheeks, his hands trembling just slightly, the way someone trembles at the edge of a precipice, right before they fall.
“One Navigator blessed us. Without a priest. Without a ritual.” His thumbs brushed along her cheekbones. Grounding. Reassuring himself she was real. “It’s unheard of, Mira...” he whispered. “It’s impossible...”
Here they were. The impossible made flesh. Mira’s smile bloomed slow and sure, fragile at first, then bright as moonlight on open water. She pressed her hand to her chest, eyes shining. He took her other hand, guided it to his chest, let her feel the rhythm of his heart, the bond humming between them like a living thread of heat and gravity.
And then she laughed. A soft, startled sound full of disbelief and joy. Ren’s breath caught, then his lips twitched, the disbelief tipping into laughter. A deep, helpless laugh that came from somewhere in his chest, sharp and bright and disbelieving. Because it was true. They had done the impossible. Together.
Mira launched forward, arms locking around his neck, laughter muffled into the curve of his shoulder. Ren caught her without thinking, arms curling around her waist, lifting her off the ground like she weighed nothing. She was solid in his arms. Real. His bonded.
“I don’t care what it means,” she said. “I don’t care what the court says. What the laws say. The Navigators made their choice.” Her fingers traced along his jaw, memorizing. Committing. Her touch was gentle, reverent. “And I would have chosen you either way.”
Ren froze, the air leaving his lungs all at once. That voice, her voice, saying that. It hit him like lightning. He drew her closer, one hand cradling the nape of her neck. His thumb traced her cheek again, slow, reverent. The bond pulsed between them, strong.
He kissed her. Not desperate, but slow. Certain. Like the kiss of a man who had waited his whole life and was finally… home. Mira melted into him, her fingers knotting in his tunic like she couldn’t bear to let him go.
The bond sang between them, not just emotion, not just want. But certainty. She was in his blood now. In his breath. And he would carry this moment with him for the rest of his life and beyond.
Her want. Her need. Her love. It moved through him like tidewater, slow and certain, sweeping away every thought that wasn’t her. Not imagined, not hoped for. Real. Unmistakable. She poured through the bond with a quiet, aching honesty.
And Mira felt his in return. The longing he’d buried. The devotion that had settled into his bones. The way every path he’d taken had led, inevitably, to her.
A soft sigh escaped her as he lifted her into his arms, and she pressed closer, like she needed to feel the beat of his heart to believe this was real.
Ren held her gently, carrying her across their rooms. Their home. Moonlight spilled across the bed and floor, painting the room in quiet silver. Everything felt suspended in time, wrapped in silence and stillness, like the world was waiting for them to exhale.
