Page 173 of The Cerulean Sister
"Until the stars dim forever," I whisper and try to blink away the dewy gloss blurring my vision.
99's happy smile squeezes at my heart muscles.
"As Lord General, I authorize this union between the 99th Commander of Viathan and Lady Ferren of two worlds: Viathan and Cosima. Bind this union."
99 pulls me against him, planting a kiss so deep on my lips, it's as if we are alone.
He dips me back, his strong arms holding me as he kisses me again.
I hear cheering all around us, Viathans pounding their signets and Leema clapping her hands and laughing at the all too intimate kiss.
I gasp as he stands me back up, the rush of blood to my head making me feel dizzy.
"99th Commander, I will give you tonight." Lord General says over a few of the Viathans make yipping noises behind us and 99 scowls at them. "But keep your comm on."
"Yes, sir," my husband says as he bends down, hooking the back of my knees and lifting me into his arms.
"99!" I shriek as I am carried out of the mess hall, looking back to see Leema smiling and waving goodbye.
"Let's go to bed,LadyFerren," he teases.
I kiss and nip at his strong jaw as he strides down the ship’s hall to our room.
Lady Ferren.
A title I will have on Viathan, but it is just another title and I have had many.
I have been steadfast in faith and also so rattled by new ideals that I believed myself lost, the people around me my only beacon. And perhaps it is true, in a way I am lost, floating in the space between, believing in a little of every world, but I know who I am.
And I know who I am to 99, to my family, my sister, even after the temple tried to tear us apart.
I know that I am not wicked. I am not just some little girl pathetically seeking affection from a statue of First Mother or Crixa’s special project gone wrong.
I am not all Cosima, the priestess order, or Viathan.
I am Ferren, born of a Cosima woman, found divine by the priestess order under false circumstances but as powerful as any priestess amongst them. My magic is of Frith, and my light is my own, but my heart gladly belongs to a Viathan.
