She was strong, and she would not be afraid. And so she delved into her mind, to the stains of darkness that Lilith had left, and she brought forward her light to shun her out. Her entire body glowed, the emptiness inside her filling with a radiant warmth, removing any trace of Lilith’s claws.
Xander’s shadows released her wrists, seemingly understanding she was ready to be freed. He sat back on his heels, bringing her with him so she straddled his lap.
“You are still you,” he spoke softly. “I know exactly who you are, Adriana. And should you ever disappear, know that I will always find you.”
She gave him a small smile, sighing as she melted against his body. He buried his face in the side of her neck, inhaling herscent and holding her close with his arms wrapped around her waist.
“You really are the true meaning of light,” he whispered against her skin. “My light to guide me through my life of darkness.” He pulled his head back to meet her gaze again, his face suddenly serious. “You are mine, Adriana, and I will drag you from death for as long as I am able. And I am forever yours. Everything I have belongs to you. My power, my strength, my heart, whatever is left of my damned soul, it all belongs to you.”
Xander swiftly stood and sat her on the bed before kneeling down on his left knee on the floor, his hands reaching into a drawer by his bedside and retrieving a small box. She eyed it cautiously, unsure what to make of him as his hands shook.
“My father was a soldier, I never met him, but my mother told me he gave her this as a promise to one day return. He never did, of course, and I’ll never know if he truthfully meant to come back to her, or if he just enjoyed getting her hopes up. But this is the only thing I have left that belonged to my mother, to my old life. I want it to belong to you.”
He opened the small box to show a beautiful ring, a silver band that wove round to hold a pale blue stone, such a similar shade to her own eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him she could not accept the only thing he had left of his life before he was reborn, but before she could utter a word, he took it out the box and took her left hand.
“I had made plans to ask you in a far more romantic way, but I am not sure I can wait any longer.” Xander slid the ring onto her finger, a satisfied smile twitching his lips at the sight. “Adriana Lucia Clarke, I want my name to belong to you. In the eyes of the state, of society, or of whatever Gods you may choose; I wish to share my name with you, to share everything with you. I wish to be tied to you, to follow you throughout this existence and the next. Please, my love, my light, will you marry me?”
Her attention flitted between the ring on her hand and his face, his nerves causing his whole body to tremble while his eyes kept their hopeful gleam. She wanted to say yes, she wanted to share everything with him, but she couldn’t say the word.
Xander had wanted her to know all of him before she fell for him, and now she wanted to make sure of the same.
“You understand that I do not want to be like you, I do not want to be turned.”
He tensed at her choice of words, his hold on her hand tightened as though he feared she would run away. Adriana’s eyes flitted to his right leg as it began to shake nervously.
“Yes,” he said. “I know, and I would not want to turn you. You know that I would not wish this life upon anyone.”
“Then you understand that I will grow old, I will wrinkle and grey.”
“And I will continue to love you. I will continue to think you are beautiful.”
She took a deep breath as she leant forward, bringing her face close to his. “And you understand that I will die, that one day you will be left without me.”
They had spoken of their future on many occasions; where they would live, how Xander would take care of Adriana as she aged, they had even discussed their options for starting a family. Lamiae could not have children and Adriana was hesitant to ever want to have her own child after learning her mother died in childbirth, so they spoke of adopting a child from an orphanage to give them a new life that Xander had always dreamed of as a boy. But they had never discussed the obvious fact that Adriana would die one day.
Xander clenched his jaw, a flicker of anger crossing his face. They knew that there would come a time where one day he would wake up and she would not. Adriana knew it was not something Xander could easily accept, but it was something hewould have to if he wanted to make the most of the time they had together.
Finally, Xander replied, “I understand. And I will do all I can to ensure your happiness for as long as I am able to.”
Adriana stood from the bed and pulled him to stand with her. She held his hands up between them and kissed the dark Nocte swirls on the back of them one at a time.
“Then understand that I intend to live a long, happy life with you, Alexander Duran. And you should know that you are stuck with me now.”
Xander’s face broke out into a grin. He grabbed her face between his hands and smashed his lips against hers, the two of them laughing against one another.
“And you should know,” he said between kisses. “That you are all mine now.”
Chapter fourteen
Winter Solstice
Xander
One night, just one more night until everything changed. Xander still struggled to comprehend that in less than twenty-four hours, he would be lying in bed with Adriana, just as they were now, but in his manor as husband and wife.
They had spent the entire day making sure everything was perfect, from the flowers to the guest list; everything was organised to the finest detail. Neither of them particularly cared for such trivial things like floral decorations or invitations to the ceremony, although Xander had made sure there were lilies and lavender all throughout the town church. Thankfully, Striga and Edward had volunteered to take care of nearly everything else.
He had never thought he would marry, even as a mortal. He saw no need to follow such traditions, but with Adriana, hewanted to experience everything he could with her. And he could not wait to spend his first night with her as his wife, rather than sneaking into her chambers through her window like he had done again tonight.
