Page 67 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
Ladies, You May Kiss Your Bride
Gerda
I sat beside Grand Duchess Calisto with a front-row seat to the wedding. It was an honor I’d received for finding the most traps.
While I was frustrated that I wouldn’t be able to deliberately sit close to the Void mage assassin and foil her plans with a violent Sleep potion to the face … I wasbeyondhappy that I got to watch one of my favorite ships up close as they tied the knot.
“I do,” Chloe said firmly. The necromancer reached up to wipe a tear from Julia’s cheek and the taller woman leaned into Chloe’s touch.
I wasn’t crying.
Yet.
Chloe’s loving voice traveled over the hall. “Julia, I have waited patiently for this day.”
There was a cough from the audience, and I looked in time to see Henrietta elbow King Keith in the side. RIP Keith. The Dark Lord almost expired on the spot but managed to gather himself long enough to palm a health potion.
Ignoring the audience, Chloe lowered her hand back down and laced Julia’s fingers with her own.
“My love, you are the beat of my heart, the breath on my lips. Though I’m a caster who holds life and death in my palms, I didn’t know what it was like to be alive until I met you.” The necromancer drew their interlaced fingers to her lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of Julia’s hand.
“I pledge to be your partner. Your resting place. To welcome you home from every journey. I pledge to love you, unconditionally, through laughter and light, through darkness and pain. Beyond death. I vow to Light, before friend andfoe, that I will protect, honor, and defend you. And anyone who would come between uswill fertilize our flowers.”
Chloe flashed a vicious smile. I already knew that the woman had a propensity for possessive love. That was one of the reasons everyone shipped her with Julia; the prickly mage with the boisterous Paladin of Light.
The necromancer summoned a mithril band from her storage and placed it on Julia’s ring finger, her eyes glowing softly with her vow. “Let this day be the day all know that I am yours, andyou are mine.”
Beside me, Grand Duchess Calisto sniffled. The woman was crying happy tears.
“So it is said, so it is done.” Their Royal Highness nodded, and then they turned to Julia and asked, “Julia, do you take Chloe to be your wife?”
“I do.” Julia smiled through her tears and took a steadying breath. “Chloe, I cannot imagine a world without you. Since the first day I met you, I’ve found a home that Iwantto return to. I cherish every day we are together, through the good and the bad.
“My heart is committed to be with you for as long as blood runs through my veins. My soul is yours, in this life and the next. I am a passionate woman, and until you, I’d never met anyone whom I felt like I could share myself with. My thoughts, my hopes, my dreams. You are more than my partner. You are my best friend. My lodestone.My wife.” Julia pulled out her own wedding band and slipped it onto Chloe’s finger. The paladin’s hands shone with a faint glow as she said, “I swear by Light to be ever faithful and true. I vow to choose you, every day, becauseyouare my Happily Ever After.”
“So it is said, so it is done.” Their Royal Highness grinned, showing off their fox fangs. “Then it is with great pleasure that I pronounce you twowed. Ladies, you may kiss your bride.”
Chloe reached out and wound one arm around the paladin’s waist, the other hooking Julia’s leg, spinning and dipping her wife into a passionate kiss.
I bolted to my feet, cheering with the crowd. Someone activated an enchantment on the sanctuary’s stained glass windows, and each pane of glass lit up the hall in a stunning array of colors. Bronwynn plucked a short refrain of music. And after a long kiss, Julia and Chloe pulled apart, laughing.
I exchanged a look with Their Royal Highness, and Rowen winked. They reached out to place a hand on each of the newlyweds.
“Congratulations, both of you.” Rowen’s face split into a playful grin.
And then, all three disappeared in a puff of smoke.
CHAPTER 38
Before Reaching Their Untimely Demise
Julian
He didn’t want to suspect the fox of treachery, but Julian had to admit his heart dropped out of his chest the instant his sister vanished.
In response, Julian immediately activated [Multi-Target Shield] on everyone in the first two rows. Just in time, too, as a [Fireball] blasted to the front of the hall and a dozen figures charged the dais. Beside him, his mother activated a powerful magical enchantment.
“Surrender,” his mother’s voice resounded throughout the hall, “or perish.” Her calm direction reassured him, and Julian immediately jumped into action.
