Page 34 of Royally Hacked Belle & Flame
“Do you bind your fate together, for better or worse?”
“It could always be worse,” I mutter automatically.
Daemon laughs.
The vows are long and traditional and punctuated by many sniffles from the crowd. It’s possible I’m crying too, I can’t tell because my nose is numb and my eyes are watery from the cold, but my heart is about to trampoline out of my chest. I try to collect myself, but all I can think is how much I love thisman and how lucky I am that I found my way here to this very moment.
When the priest’s weathered fingers secure the final knot with practiced precision, the golden cord wraps halfway up our wrists. The priest’s eyes crinkle at the corners as he steps back. “May your fates be tangled together forever,” he says, voice carrying across the hushed garden. “You may kiss.”
Daemon’s free hand finds the small of my back, pulling me closer until our breath mingles in the cold air between us. When our lips finally meet, the crowd erupts: Jett and Kastian whooping at the top of their lungs, Beatrix sobbing, Nana cheering, and even my mother quietly blows her nose.
Daemon pulls back, his lips still warm against the shell of my ear. “I love you, Peaches,” he whispers, the words a secret between us despite the hundred witnesses. My cheeks ache from smiling as our bound hands swing between us and we walk back down the aisle and into our happily ever after.
