I cannot understand the words, but I hear the names. I hear the rumble of his War God. I hear the hiss of ancestor-names I will never know. He is telling his past, his lineage, his gods, that I am his.
He speaks for a long moment, his voice a spell that holds me rapt.
Then, he stops. The silence settles again, heavy and thick.
He turns to me. His face is grave, his hazel eyes burning with purpose.
He picks up the two lengths of twine from the table. They are not simple twine. They are stained. Darkened in the center with a single drop of his blood.
His blood. A sacrifice given.
He lifts my left wrist.
With slow, deliberate movements, he wraps the blood-stained twine around my skin. It is rough. It is humble. But it is stronger than any steel. He ties the knot, pulling it tight—a chain and a shield.
A jolt of warmth, of magic, zips up my arm as the knot settles. I gasp.
He holds my bound wrist, his thumb stroking the blood-stain.
He looks into my eyes.
"You are my mate, Betty," he says, his voice a low, final rumble. "For this life... and all others."
The weight of forever. The promise. The chain. The shield.
My heart swells so full I think it might break. The last shred of my old guilt burns away in the face of this vow.
He picks up the second twine. He holds out his own wrist.
I know what I must do.
My hands are shaking, but my voice is clear.
I take the twine. I wrap it around his thick, green wrist. I tie the knot.
I look up at him, my warrior, my savior, my Threk.
"And you are my mate, Threk," I say, my voice shaking but strong. "For this life. And all others."
It is done.
The magic settles. The humming in my bones fades into a deep, quiet warmth. The world rushes back in—the crackle of the fire, the sigh of the wind.
He lifts our bound hands together.
He pulls me in.
He kisses me.
It is not the desperate, primal claiming of our first time. It is not the wild, frantic passion of the hot spring.
This kiss is slow. It is deep. It is knowing. It is a seal. It is a vow made flesh. It is a promise of forever.
He breaks the kiss, but only to rest his forehead against mine. His eyes are closed.
"Now," he whispers, his voice thick with an emotion so powerful it makes my knees weak. "Now, you are truly mine."
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