The officiant began speaking. Some kind of high priest or religious figure. He raised his hands and his voice carried through the silent throne room. “We are gathered here today to witness the joining of two souls. King Malachar Ashborne of Ravenor and Gwendolyn Woods of the human realm. Two hearts becoming one. Two lives intertwining for eternity.”
I tried to pay attention but my feet hurt and the baby was kicking my ribs and I was having trouble focusing on all the formal words.
But then Mal turned to face me fully, took both my hands in his, and spoke:
“Wen. My little mate. My heart. I vow to love you for eternity. To protect you and our child with everything I am. To choose you every single day for the rest of my life. You are my reason for breathing. The light in my darkness. The home I have been searching for. I will spend forever proving myself worthy of you. Forever making up for the pain I caused. Forever grateful that you gave me a second chance I did not deserve.”
His voice cracked on the last words. His eyes were shining with unshed tears.
My own tears were falling freely now. Damn pregnancy hormones.
When it was my turn, I looked into his eyes and spoke from the heart. “I’m still mad at you for a lot of things. And we have a lot to work through. But I love you. Despite everything. Despite the insanity and the drama and the interdimensional portal nonsense and the kitchen fires. I love you. And I’m choosing to trust you. To build a life with you. To be your mate and your wife and the mother of your child.”
He squeezed my hands tighter.
The officiant continued. “The bonds of matrimony are sacred. Two souls joined. Two hearts beating as one. May the gods bless this union and grant these two souls eternal happiness.”
Then he said the words I’d been waiting for. “You may kiss your bride.”
Mal pulled me close carefully because of my belly. One hand cupped my face. The other settled on my lower back for support.
He kissed me softly at first and then deeper, pouring everything he felt into it until I could taste his love and devotion and promise and hope. I kissed him back and let myself feel it all through the bond. Let myself believe that maybe we could make this work. That maybe we had a future together.
The room erupted in applause. People were cheering, celebrating.
Mal pulled back from the kiss with the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face. “My wife,” he said. “My queen.”
“Your very pregnant wife who’s about to-”
I stopped mid-sentence as I felt something warm and wet running down my legs.
Oh no. Oh fuck no.
I looked down at the puddle forming beneath my dress. Looked back up at Mal with wide eyes.
“My water just broke.”
33
— • —
Wen
The throne room erupted into absolute chaos.
Half the nobles gasped in shock. A quarter of them looked genuinely horrified as if I’d announced I was about to sprout wings. The remaining quarter seemed utterly confused about what was happening because apparently not everyone here was familiar with pregnancy procedures - mostly men. Shocking.
“Did she just say her water broke?” someone whispered loudly from the back.
“What does that even mean?” another voice asked with genuine bewilderment.
“It means the baby is comingnow,” a woman’s voice explained with the kind of exasperation that suggested she’d given birth before and couldn’t believe no one else understood basic biology.
“Here? In the throne room?”
“Unless someone moves her very quickly, yes!”
Aurion materialized out of nowhere and ran straight to us looking like he’d just been told the castle was on fire. His eyes were wild and his face had gone completely pale. He skidded to a stop in front of me and Mal. “What do we do? What’s happening? Is she dying? Should I get towels? Do we need towels?”
