As they approachedthe chapel doors, Piper’s heart began to race. This was it. This was real.
She was aboutto marry Elijah.
Amara squeezed her hand. “Ready?”
“Aye,”Piper said. “I’m ready.”
The doors opened.
The chapel wassmall but beautiful, lit by candles and the colored light from the windows. A handful of people stood inside, including Declan, grinning broadly. A few of the senior household staff. The priest waited at the altar.
And Elijah.
He stoodat the front of the chapel, dressed in formal attire—dark wool and fine linen, his clan’s colors. His dark hair was neatly tied back, his beard freshly trimmed. And when he saw her, when their eyes met across the distance?—
His face did exactlywhat Connor had described. It went soft and happy and full of so much love that Piper’s breath caught.
The walkdown the aisle felt both endless and far too short. Piper was aware of Connor and Masie flanking her, of Amara dabbing at her eyes, of Declan’s encouraging nod.
But mostly,she was aware of Elijah. Of the way he watched her approach. Of the way his hands clenched at his sides like he was restraining himself from coming to meet her.
When she finally reached him,when she was close enough to see the gold flecks in his green eyes, Elijah let out a breath that sounded almost like relief.
“Ye came,”he said softly.
“Did ye think I wouldnae?”Piper asked, just as quietly.
“I worriedye might realize ye could do better.”
“There is nae better than ye,”Piper said. “For me, there’s only ye.”
The priest cleared his throat.“Shall we begin?”
The ceremonyitself passed in a blur. Piper heard the words, the traditional vows, the promises of love and fidelity and partnership. Heard herself repeat them, her voice steady despite her racing heart.
Heard Elijah speakhis own vows, his voice rough with emotion.
The priest stepped forward,holding a length of tartan cloth in the McMahon colors—deep green and blue, woven through with threads of silver.
"The handfastin’,"he intoned, "is an ancient tradition of our people. The binding of two souls, two lives, into one."
Elijah tookPiper's right hand in his left, their fingers intertwining. The priest wrapped the tartan around their joined hands, weaving it in a figure-eight pattern that bound them together.
"As this clothbinds yer hands, so too are yer lives now bound," the priest said. "What is joined here today, let no man tear asunder."
Piper's eyesshimmered with tears as she looked down at their bound hands, then up at Elijah. His green eyes were soft, full of a tenderness that made her heart ache.
"Now, speak yer vows,"the priest instructed.
Elijah's voice was steady,strong. "I, Elijah Quinn, take ye, Piper Armstrong, to be me wife. To have and to hold from this day forward. To protect and cherish, to honor and love, for as long as we both shall live."
Piper's voice trembled slightly,but her words rang clear. "I, Piper Armstrong, take ye, Elijah Quinn, to be me husband. To have and to hold from this day forward. To stand beside and support, to honor and love, for as long as we both shall live."
The priestcarefully unwound the tartan from their hands, then presented it to Elijah. "Keep this cloth as a symbol of yer union. The knot that bound ye may be untied, but the bond between ye remains forever."
Elijah tuckedthe tartan into his belt, never taking his eyes from Piper's face.
The priest smiled warmly."By the power vested in me by God and the laws of Scotland, I now pronounce ye husband and wife. Laird McMahon, ye may kiss yer bride."
