Arms around each other, we headed down to the hall. Long tables now lined it. A feast had already been laid out. I was practically drooling as I sat down at the table with Ben. Theon and Nell sat at the head of our table, and other dragons sat with us too. A lithe man with coal-black hair and piercing gray-blue eyes pulled up a chair next to me, giving Ben and me a pleasant smile.
“Welcome to The Hearthlands,” he said, pouring himself a drink. “I suppose it’s your first time here.”
“It is,” I replied.
“And you are a couple to be wed?”
“Yes,” Ben said.
“Ah.” He winced slightly, before taking a swig from his glass. “My name is Lethe, by the way. Congratulations on finding love.”
“Uh, thank you,” I said.
“I’m yet to find it,” he muttered. There was a melancholy expression on his face as his eyes traveled over each of the guests, particularly the females.
Before Ben or I could say anything more to him, Theon and Nell stood up and called for silence.
“Thank you all for gathering here,” Theon said. “This dinner is to celebrate the weddings of many fine men and women whom we wish will share strong and prosperous lives together. Now let us eat, drink and be merry.”
Theon and Nell sat down again, and dinner was served. I was shocked to learn that there were fifteen courses to this meal. I thought that I had misheard but I had not. I thought that I would make it through the first three courses, maybe the first five if I really paced myself, but by some mysticism, I was able to try every single one. There was something special about the food; as delicious as it was, nothing felt heavy in my stomach; it felt light, and left me salivating for more. By the end, I was well and truly satisfied. I had no stomachache from overeating, I just felt comfortably full. I truly felt sorry for the vampires among us, being unable to taste even a slight bite of this wondrous food.
Lethe proved to be chatty throughout the meal. He seemed to be quite a pleasant soul, asking me things about The Shade, the human realm and particularly about romance and love—which I found rather sweet. In the end I suggested that he come to visit The Shade, if he had no luck finding a female here in The Hearthlands. To my surprise, he seemed delighted by the idea. “Maybe I will,” he said.
After we all finished eating, we stood up and bade each other good night before heading for the exit. As we arrived back in our corridor, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Ben good night. Then Rose and I retreated to our apartment.
After brushing our teeth, we changed into the silk pajamas the dragons had laid out for us, then slid into bed. We chatted for a while—Rose was telling me how she’d managed to speak to Charis and apologize to him—before we both thought it wise to get an early night and switch off the lights.
But I still lay awake long after Rose drifted off to sleep.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will be Mrs. River Novak.
River
Rose did not look surprised the next morning when I told her I’d barely gotten a wink of sleep that night. She just smiled and said, “You really shouldn’t have expected to.”
People began knocking at our apartment early. First Corrine, arriving with the finished dress to check that it fit right in case she needed to make some last-minute adjustments. As I slipped on the white dress and looked at myself in the mirror, I truly did feel like a princess. It had a heart-shaped neckline and clung to me in just the right places, augmenting the curve of my waist and hips before thinning toward my legs.
“Sheer elegance,” Rose said, admiring me.
“Thank you, Corrine,” I said breathlessly. “It’s more beautiful than I ever thought it would be.”
Corrine smiled before saying, “Now, I suggest you take a shower.”
I did as she suggested, and by the time I was finished, the dragon maids had arrived. First they massaged moisturising ointments into my skin until I was practically glowing. Then, after I slipped on the dress, they began to do my hair and makeup. The makeup was unlike any I’d ever seen; kept in ceramic pots, it appeared to be made from all-natural materials, and yet it looked more natural and flattering on application than any expensive makeup brand you’d buy in stores. It perfectly complemented my face and looked almost a part of it, rather than painted on.
Then Sofia arrived, carrying a bouquet of roses and a bunch of fuchsia cherry blossoms. Sofia and my mom wove the blossoms into my hair while keeping the bouquet aside. I’d never thought that I could look so beautiful. I could hardly wait for Ben to see me.
Rose and my family changed into their own outfits, and soon Jamil was knocking on the door to inform us that it was time. He looked dashing in a dark gray suit, which I guessed had been provided by the dragons.
As Sofia and my mother bustled me out of the room, I was already picturing myself walking down the aisle. I felt a twinge as I thought of my father, who should have been here to give me away to Ben. He almost seemed like part of another life. I wasn’t even sure exactly where he was right now. Still locked up in some Texan jail—that was if he was even still alive. I had drifted apart from my father ever since he’d left my mother, but now, it truly felt like we inhabited separate universes.
I looked up at my brother and looped my arm through his.
“Will you walk me down the aisle?” I asked him.
He looked down at me and smiled. “Of course, sis.”
Kira and Helina were also in the corridor looking gorgeous, along with the dragons’ brides. We all looked excitedly at one another as we made our way down to the royal court. A number of maids were waiting for us outside the court entrance and they greeted us with smiles.
“The grooms await you inside,” one of them said. “You can take it in turns to walk down the aisle. It’s up to you who goes first and last.”
Hanging back with Jamil, I decided I wanted to go last. The doors opened, and the first bride walked through—Sylvia. Once she had reached Jeriad, the second bride walked through, and so it went on until I was the last girl standing.
My heart pounded. It was my turn to walk through with Jamil. My mother kissed my cheek and whispered good luck while Sofia gave me a gentle hug, careful not to mess up my outfit. She handed me the bouquet of roses and put down my veil.
Then, with Rose, my sisters and mothers behind us, Jamil and I emerged in the glittering court. All the orange and red decorations had been replaced with white, and flowers were scattered everywhere. A haunting organ played as I walked.
My eyes fell on Ben, standing at the end of the raised platform where the thrones had been, now where all the couples had gathered. Wearing a black tux, he looked so tall and handsome, I felt quite breathless. Reaching the platform, Jamil let me go. I stepped onto it and arrived before Ben, trying to steady my uneven breathing. I gazed through my veil into his deep green eyes.
A dragon priest who introduced himself as Einhen climbed to the platform with us once all the couples had gathered, as did Theon and Nell. They went through an odd ceremony of Theon and Nell “approving our coupling” before retaking their seats in the crowd. Einhen was handed an old, heavy book by a maid as well as a goblet of shimmering golden rings. He walked to each of us, handing them out. Then Einhen opened his book and he began to recite: “You will be one flesh, both human and dragon, werewolf and werewolf, vampire and vampire, fae and half-blood. You cannot wish the other ill, or act against them, for to do so is to act against your own body. When the husband fights, so shall the wife; when the wife labors, so shall the husband. There is no difference between these two anymore. They are one. They are complete. Now, recite your own vows and exchange rings, before we seal this decree with the fusion of lips, never again to part.”
The first couple on the other side of the platform, Jeriad and Sylvia, exchanged their heartfelt vows, and then the next. My palms were growing sweaty around my bouquet as it got closer and closer to our turn. Soon Helina and Matteo, who stood next to us, were gazing into each other’s eyes
and swearing their love, and then it was our turn.
Ben, holding my gaze more steadily than ever, cleared his throat and began in a deep, slightly hoarse voice:
“River, no words can adequately describe what I’m feeling in this moment, but I’ll start by saying thank you. Thank you for choosing me. As your husband. As your life partner. As your friend. You committed yourself to me even when you didn’t have to. You followed me to places you never should have gone. You were there for me in my darkest hours, even when you didn’t realize it. Of everything that I may have done, you are my greatest accomplishment. My greatest pride. I vow to love you, protect you, and dream with you for the rest of my existence.”
I had to reach up to brush away a tear. My throat felt so tight. I took a deep breath, trying to prevent my voice from cracking as I began:
“Ben, you so quickly became such a crucial part of my life. Anything that you might have seen as a sacrifice on my part honestly was no sacrifice at all. I did it because I wanted to, because there was no other way I could think to act. You own a piece of me, now and forever. The barrier of physicality is no barrier to us. I promise to respect and adore the man you are, for all time… in whatever form that might be.”
Even as I said the words, they felt painfully insufficient. I wasn’t sure there was any way I could truly express to Ben what I was feeling inside right now.
We exchanged rings before Einhen exclaimed, “Now, seal your oaths with a kiss!”
Lifting my veil, Ben lowered to me and, taking my waist, he pressed his lips to mine in a soft, tender kiss. A kiss I wished would go on forever. As everything faded into the background, we were lost in a world that only Ben and I inhabited. A world that we would make brighter for each other each and every day.
River
As Ben and I drew apart, each of us smiling from ear to ear, I realized the other brides were already throwing their bouquets.
“You’d better throw it.” Ben chuckled.
My back to the crowd, I tossed the flowers over my shoulder. There was a wave of cheers and when I turned around I realized that Lethe had caught it. He looked positively thrilled as he examined the bouquet.
Well, good luck, Lethe…
The band began to play, and we followed the couples off the stage. The chairs were pushed aside to make room for tables, where another grand banquet was being laid out. I didn’t think my heart could swell any more with happiness as everyone we loved surrounded us with their congratulations. Aiden and Kailyn came up to us and hugged us both, before Aiden held up Kailyn’s hand to show us a silver ring on her finger. It looked as though if he smiled any wider, his mouth would split.
“Oh my God! You two are engaged!” Ben gasped.
“I decided to propose the same hour she returned to me,” Aiden replied, wrapping an arm around Kailyn.
“It was about time,” Ben said, patting his grandfather on the shoulder.
As we all took our seats, I could barely stomach anything, and neither could Ben. We were hungry for each other and nothing else. Our eyes barely parted throughout the meal.
All the other couples left the table as soon as the meal was over, after bidding everyone good night. Ben and I, however, had far more well-wishers to speak to before we could finally break free.
We left the hall and moved swiftly up the staircase, hand in hand. My heart was racing. I knew what was about to follow. As we reached our corridor, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to his apartment, through to his gorgeous bedroom. He laid me down on the bed and gazed down at me, a sky of stars shining through the window in the ceiling above him. My dress suddenly felt too tight. My mouth was drying out. This would be my first time. As embarrassed as I was to admit it, I didn’t really know much about how it all worked. In a bout of insecurity, I found myself wondering whether this was Ben’s first time too. I knew he’d had girlfriends before he met me, but I didn’t know the depth of those relationships.
Apparently sensing my tension, he brushed his thumbs against my cheeks. “You’re so gorgeous when you blush,” he said, his voice husky.
I hadn’t realized my cheeks were already so flushed.
Pulling me to sit upright, he sat next to me and placed an arm around me. “There’s no hurry,” he said softly. “We have all night.”
All night.
He moved onto the bed and stood on the mattress, pulling at the blinds to reveal more of the stars through the window, until the entire ceiling above us was the night sky.
Then, stepping off the mattress, he circled it and turned off the main lights, leaving only the bedside lanterns to cast a soft light around us.
Removing his jacket, he leaned back on the headboard and beckoned me to him. As I crawled to him, he spread his legs, creating a place for me to sit between his legs, my back against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, hands resting on my stomach. Silence fell as we both gazed up at the stars.
The way I sat against him was lighting me up, any insecurity I’d initially felt quickly ebbed away. I craned my neck to brush the base of his jaw with my lips.
“Unzip me,” I whispered.
His fingers moved readily to the top of my zipper. It was clear he’d just been waiting for me to make the first move.
Shivers ran through me as he bared my back. His hands slid from the base of my neck down my shoulders as he rolled the dress off until it had pooled around me, leaving me in my underwear. Although as I turned to face him, his intense green eyes roaming me, I felt as if I wasn’t wearing anything at all.
His hands engulfed my waist. I unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, then worked on his belt and pants. I lost all sense of timing after that. Before I knew it both of us were bare. As we kissed, we moved together, our skin touching, our forms molding. His tongue explored my mouth. I felt intoxicated. He pushed me into the soft mattress, one hand running down the side of my ribs, down the curve of my waist, and then down further still.
His kisses grew more intense, more demanding. Lowering more of his weight against me, I felt his tenseness between my legs.
As I sensed he was seconds from moving deeper, he unclasped his lips from mine. His green eyes hooded and blazing with passion, he whispered, “You’re my life, River Novak.”
My breath hitched, ripples of pain and pleasure surging through me, as he finally made us one.
Ben
I was so drunk with passion, I could barely see straight. I’d never felt such all-consuming desire. I’d never told her this before, but as I was her first, she was mine. I’d had girlfriends in the past, but none of the relationships had ever been serious enough for us to get past second base.
River was more beautiful than I’d ever seen her now, her long glossy hair in soft curls. And I could behold her in all her beauty. As we made love deep into the night, I only fell further into her, physically and emotionally. I couldn’t imagine a life without River in it any more. I couldn’t imagine an existence without her. It would be vacant, useless.
As I brought River to her climax, tears of ecstasy spilled from her eyes as she gasped out my name. Burying my hands in her hair, I pressed my lips firmly against hers as I released my own tension.
We rolled over on the bed, breathless and sodden with sweat… and I felt more alive than I’d ever felt in my life.
Reaching for her still-trembling body, I pulled her flush against me and ran my hands slowly down the length of her back. She looked as lost in my eyes as I was in hers.
I remained caressing her until exhaustion finally stole her away from me. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off her face. I hoped that fae could live a long time, because it felt to me that a hundred lifetimes wouldn’t be enough for us.
I sensed that she was getting cold. Detaching myself from her gently, I moved her closer to the centre of the mattress. I took a moment to take in the length of her body, the parts of her that had remained secret and shadowed for so long. Then I reached for the blanket, but as I pulled it up over her legs and
was about to cover the rest of her with it, I spotted something on her lower stomach. A mark I could have sworn hadn’t been there before. A light scar that ran the width of her abdomen.
I frowned, looking at it more closely. Then I finished putting the blanket over her before sliding beneath it next to her. My hand slipped down to her abdomen, my fingers tracing the scar softly enough that she would not wake up.
How could she have gotten a scar like that? It was a huge scar… a surgical scar. The last time I’d seen her abdomen I guessed would have been the time I’d almost given into my passions back in The Oasis, just hours before I’d sent River back to The Shade with Corrine. She’d definitely had no scar then. We’d been naked in that oasis in The Dunes while waiting for Aisha, but the lower part of her had been hidden from me underwater.
Where else can she have gotten it but the hunters’ headquarters? What did they do to her? What could they have taken from her?
Frowning with worry, I looked at her face. Why didn’t you tell me, River?
She must’ve known that I would see it eventually. Maybe she had intended to tell me, but hadn’t found the right moment. I would ask her about it at the next opportunity.
For now, I stopped touching her scar.
I looked back up at the stars above us. I thought back to everything that had happened since I first left The Shade in one of the subs. Being held hostage in The Oasis, the discovery of the jinn, the defeating of the Elder, becoming a ghost and then managing—eventually— to find my way back again…. It was truly stranger than a fairytale. But without it all, I never would have met River. No matter the hardships, that was enough to make it all worth it. For her, I would do it all over again. Even bath time with that hunkri.
My mind lingered on Hortencia and the “lessons” she had been keen to share with me. Her gems of wisdom she’d said I needed to carry with me into the future… and her request for me to slay those Bloodless. My mind buzzed as I tried to make sense of what kind of future she was alluding to and what role the new breed of hunters would play in all of this.