Page 89 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
I looked beyond my family and soldiers to the hundreds of humans who crammed in amongst the rubble, some having traveled for the last three days to arrive in time. Word of this wedding had spread, the intimate ceremony turning into a symbol for the entire continent.
I could see Grae warring with himself as he held my gaze. Finally he relented, releasing our grip to grab me by the cheeks and kiss me. The room chuckled, such a strangely light sound after the utter chaos that had filled it days before.
“We haven’t quite arrived at that part yet,” Ora murmured with a laugh. “We haven’t even given you your song.”
I arched my brow at them. “Our song?”
“You’re getting a Songkeeper wedding, Your Majesty,” Ora said, looking out to the large crowd. “Ahumanwedding. It is customary to gift the couple their own song—one that combines the elements of melodies of the two into a new whole.”
I heard the ting of Sadie grabbing the hilt of her blade and turned to see her staring daggers into Navin. “Did you and Rasil have a song?”
Navin looked at us tightly, an apology on his face. “Can we talk about this at a more opportune time?” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth as the rest of us tried to contain our laugher.
“It wasn’t a very good song,” Mina signed as if that was comfort enough. “It never really sounded right.” She gave Sadie a wink and my friend’s steely expression fissured.
Navin plucked the knife out of Sadie’s grip. “You will get it back after the ceremony.” She rolled her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her. “And our song will sound much better.”
She lifted her eyebrows and looked at him. “Our song?”
He hummed as he nodded his head, toying with the ring on her finger. “I’ve got plans for you, Sadie Rauxtide, just you wait.”
“Preferably until after we finish our own wedding ceremony?” I called and they both gave me sheepish grins. The murmuration of the amused crowd echoed all the way to the edges that spilled into the courtyard. I shook my head. “Mates, I swear.”
Grae smiled at me. “Go easy on them. Love makes us do strange things—break curses, fight monsters, win wars.” He beamed at me with such pride I couldn’t help myself. I rose up on my toes to kiss him again and the crowd chuckled anew.
Ora cleared their throat, and I turned to them. “If we keep going at this rate, we might not even get to the music.”
“When did you manage to write us a song?”
They smiled. “I had quite a bit of time sitting in a cell beneath these very floors to perfect it,” they said. “But from the moment I saw you two together, I started to hear it.”
With that, Ora began to sing. At first it was soft and somber, but then it rose in pitch. Mina stepped forward, lifting a violin, and started accompanying the tune, and then Navin added his own baritone. The other Songkeepers joined in as well, many brandishing instruments and wearing the badges that Ora had made for them—the same ones they wore when they battled Sawyn by my side.
The chorus crescendoed, each one adding their own unique rhythm and melody to make this glorious sound. It was as if each one was gifting us a part of themselves, the way each of them saw us, so deeply that words wouldn’t do it justice. It was a song that only made sense when combined all together.
My eyes misted and I looked up to see Grae’s eyes welling. “You and me,” he mouthed silently as we listened to the song that branded itself onto my skin like the golden lightning streaking across it, the song of our two souls intertwined.
Sadie
I SPRAWLED ACROSS THE GLINTING SILVER FOUNTAIN IN THEtown square, trailing my fingers under the spitting streams. The whole space had been transformed, candle-topped chandeliers hanging from the street corners, vambraces lit in warm fires, and tables mounded full of decadent food in celebration, not just of Calla and Grae, but of the end of Nero’s tyranny, of a new dawn in Aotreas.
Finally we were able to celebrate.
Music filled the streets as people danced and drank and filled their once empty bellies.
I lifted my chalice, catching Maez’s eye as I tapped the rim. “Top her up for me, will you?”
Maez rolled her eyes at me. “I am not your personal magical cup bearer, you know.”
“For the purposes of tonight you are,” I called, flashing her a cheeky smile. “Now come, unentwine yourself from your mate and drink with me.”
“ ‘Unentwine’ isn’t a word.”
“You are ruining my well-earned buzz,” I said with a scowl. “Come on, I fear it will be our last night together for some time.”
“So it’s true, then?” Calla asked, rising from where they satbeside me. The Golden Court Queen looked along the fountain edge at each of us in turn.
“Calla—” I began.
