When Sage reaches the arch, Winston leans down and presses a warm kiss to her cheek before stepping back to join the others. He nods to us once and takes his seat.
Sage looks between me and Kayden, nervous energy flickering in her expression. She exhales, then smiles.
"I didn't expect this to look so… real."
"That's General Bright for you," I say. "Capable of staging a full wedding ceremony with few resources and no budget."
Donna beams at the praise and tosses off a crisp mock salute.
Sage blows her a kiss in return, and for a moment, the tension in the air shifts with warmth.
"Shall we begin?" Maeve asks calmly.
We nod.
Maeve steps forward, hands folded in front of her. The air seems to still, her presence both commanding and inviting.
"We gather," she begins, voice soft but carrying, "in witness of a bond born not only of necessity, but of choice. Two men—vampires—offering protection, loyalty, and something deeper. One woman—a nymph—choosing to stand between them, with them, for them. A union not common, but powerful."
She pauses, then lifts her hands. The earth responds.
Vines coil slowly around the base of the arch, twining up toward the blooms Sage brought to life. A wind rustles the petals.
Maeve continues. "This union is not bound by tradition or by law, but by intention. You three are stepping into a promise bound by nature, one that is not simple to break. Do you accept this union, knowing it may be tested, threatened, and remade through trial?"
"I do," Sage says first, steady and sure.
"I do," Kayden echoes, his voice rough around the edges, eyes still locked on her like nothing else in the world exists.
I draw in a breath. "I do," I say, calm and quiet. But I mean it.
Maeve gestures to us. "You may speak your vows."
Kayden goes first without prompting.
"I don't believe in perfect things," he says, his voice quieter than usual, but steadier than expected. "Hell, I barely believe in anything. But I believe in you. Inthis. I believe in what it could become if we let it. So here's what I vow: I'll be your anchor when everything goes to hell. Your fighter when things need burning down. Your partner when the lights go out. I'll cherish you, protect you... and yeah, probably irritate you. For as long as you'll have me."
Sage's breath catches.
He looks away after that, like he had to bleed that vow out of himself.
Then Maeve turns to me.
"I've lived long enough to know that love doesn't always arrive wrapped in peace," I say. "Sometimes it comes in fire. Sometimes it's a fight. You challenge me, Sage. You unravel the walls I've built stone by stone. And still, I want more. So here's my vow: I will not bind you, but I will stand with you. I will not tame you, but I will trust you. I offer my strength, my name, and what's left of my long life. It's yours."
She's silent, but glowing. Not metaphorically. The power in her blood hums in the air like sunlight pushing through stormclouds.
Maeve looks to Sage.
She draws a slow breath. Her lips tremble slightly, but her voice comes clear.
"I crashed into your lives like a storm that didn't know where to land. I tried to leave more than once. Even when you welcomed me without asking for anything in return." She looks at both of us. "I didn't expect to find home here. Not for my body. Not for my heart. But you—Kayden, Asher—you showed me a kind of care I didn't think I deserved. Maybe I still don't. But I want this. I want you. And I vow to be what you need me to be—your spark, your calm, your fire, your anchor. I vow to stay. Even when it's not easy. Even when the world wants to tear us apart."
Kayden's eyes are bright. I know the look. He's barely holding himself back. I feel it too, the instinct to reach for her, to claim this moment with more than words.
But we wait.
Maeve lifts her hands again. "Then by nature's witness, and the truths spoken here, let the bond be made—"
