Bonus Episode 21: Tharios & Viala
Thariosletsoutthebreath he was holding as the human wedding ceremony ends. Cerian made it through without running. He even kissed his human princess.
More or less.
He’ll warm up to her. Eventually.
Especially with the heartbinding.
Father helps Mother from her seat as they trail after the retreating newly bound couples, but Viala seems reluctant to move from her spot beside Tharios.
It’s not as if they have anywhere to rush off to. The binding ceremony is a private thing. Unlike this human wedding they just witnessed.
Tharios wraps his arm around Viala’s shoulders and tugs her close. “Tell me what weighs on that beautiful mind of yours, faerie.”
Her lips tug into a smile, as they always do when he calls her that. He’d never dare call his father-in-law the King of the Fae, but it amuses Viala when Tharios teases her about being a faerie. And she looks like she could use some of his teasing right now.
With a sigh, she responds in Lothlesian, her native tongue, as she often does when her emotions are nearthe surface. “I was just thinking about our own binding ceremony.”
Tharios grins as he nuzzles her ear. That delightfully rounded ear of hers, so different from his own. “Which one?”
She laughs her light, lilting laugh he loves so much. If only they were alone.
“Our elven ceremony,” she clarifies, and he sighs.
“I liked the Lothlesi one better.”
She pokes his ribs. “You say that now, but—”
“It was perfect. Don’t try to convince me otherwise.”
She leans against him, and he tightens his arm around her.
“Are you merely feeling nostalgic, or is it more than that?” he asks.
“I think you know the answer, elf prince.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just rests his head against her blonde hair and holds her close.
They’ve had this discussion before. So many times.
“I wish you would reconsider,” she says softly as she traces a pattern on his leg. “You could do it with your life magic. We wouldn’t need anyone else.”
“You know why we can’t,” he whispers.
“I don’t care what my father says. It was cruel of him to expect this of me.”
“You agreed, Viala.”
She pulls away and gazes up at Tharios. “I didn’t expect to fall so completely in love with you.”
With a glance around the now-empty room, Tharios slides his hand along her jaw and draws her closer until his lips meet hers in a gentle kiss. He can’t feel her magic, unlike the overwhelming sense he has of elven magic all around him whenever he accesses his life magic. She’s just life to him. It’s...perfect. The most perfect feeling in the world.
“Please,” she whispers against his lips, and he sighs and rests his forehead against hers.
“Viala, I can’t heartbind with you. It would undo the trust we’ve worked so hard to build between our people. It could be a death sentence for you.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to live forever if I can’t be with you.” She kisses him this time, the force of her feelings reverberating through them both.
