Adalia’s fingers gripped the front of his black shirt, clutching it as if afraid the enchanting dream might vanish. Their eyes never left each other’s, a silent conversation passing between theirsouls as he ran his fingers through her cascading waves of long, chestnut-brown hair.
The world around them faded as their lips met, igniting a fire that had been smouldering between them for so long. Their tongues danced in a delicate rhythm, each movement deepening their bond.
A low moan vibrated through the prince as he melded against her, his lower body settling between her legs. A small cry escaped Adalia’s mouth as his teeth gently grazed her bottom lip, a passionate promise of the intensity to come.
Matthias’s kisses traced a tantalising path across her jaw, down her neck, and her fingers found comfort in his silky brown hair as he did. Each touch was a declaration of their shared yearning, a language of love that needed no words.
Adalia couldn’t hold back her desire any longer. She unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it from his broad shoulders. Her hands trembled slightly as the fabric gave way. The shirt fell to the floor, forgotten, as the heat between them intensified.
Their mouths met once more, a passionate, tender fusion of souls entwined. He gently pulled back, his breath mingling with hers in the intimate space between them. The prince’s eyes bore into hers, unclouded by lust, but burning with a love that was unbreakable.
“I won’t make you mine until I know it’s for forever,” he murmured, a vow of respect and devotion.
“What do you mean?” Adalia replied, out of breath.
Matthias remained silent as he gently lifted her from her seated position and placed her on her feet.
And then, in a moment that seemed to freeze time, he sank to one knee. His hand slipped into his trouser pocket, retrieving a small box that held the promise of forever.
He met her gaze, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “From the moment that I met you, I knew we were destined to find each other. I fought hard against what my heart wanted and what my head was saying. Time and time again, you have shown me what it’s like to live . . . not just exist. So, Adalia . . . my love, the one my heart longs for. I want to live, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, teaching me how.”
He held the small, light-blue velvet box open towards her, and there, nestled between the folds of fabric, sat an elongated cushion cut diamond on a dainty, solid band of gold. “Will you marry me?”
Tears glistened in her eyes as the weight of the moment washed over her. If someone had told her months ago that one day she would find herself in the arms of the Prince of Darkness as he declared his love for her, Adalia would have laughed. Nodding, heart bursting with joy, she whispered a fervent, “Yes.”
Mattias grinned as he took the ring from its box and placed it on her extended hand.
The prince stood from his kneeling position and cupped Adalia’s face in his hands. “My heart stopped beating when I was nine years old and even though I wasn’t dead, I felt it inside. Then I met you. And every time I saw you, a pain would tug against my chest. I thought it was True Death, but the moment I read the note you gifted me alongside my dagger, the pain intensified and exploded inside my chest and for the first time in one hundred years, my heart beat again. The king of light may have brought me back to life on the battlefield physically but you Adalia . . . you brought me back to life mentally and emotionally.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks as Adalia stood within the arms of the prince.
Brushing his lips lightly against hers, he whispered. “You brought light into my darkness and with every stolen glance, you drew the curtain across my mind open, bit by bit until finally the sun began to shine. You’re the song I can’t get out of my head.”
His words filled her heart to the brim and spilled joy into her soul. “Then let’s never stop making music.”
Matthias picked her up in his arms, spinning her around on the spot as her laughter filled the room. Setting her back down, Adalia placed her arms around his neck and drew his lips to hers once again.
In the night’s glow, their love story reached a new pinnacle. A future together stretched before them, bound by the threads of a passionate love, and sealed with the promise of an eternity together.
“We’re going to need a bigger kitchen.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
The wedding
Every single soul in the room disappeared the moment Adalia stepped through the glass door entrance. All the nerves that had racked his body dispersed, and peace washed over him as Matthias watched her gracefully proceed towards him on the ivory carpet. A string quartet softly played a tune to the right of the seated crowd, its melody drifting through the atmosphere. Hundreds of guests were in attendance and it humbled Matthias to see how many people loved Adalia.
His mother grinned at him from the front row, her blue eyes alight with joy, her radiant blonde hair piled on her head in a mass of curls. She wore a fitted, pale pink gown, constructed of dupion silk with an elegant necklace of pearls that sat upon her pale skin.
Matthias smiled back. Even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time together yet, he felt like he’d known her for years. Knowing she was here in Lucius was such a comfort to him. When he’d visited her before proposing to Adalia, Hadassah had given him the diamond for the engagement ring and James at the Blazing Anvil had set it into the thin gold band.
Matthias had carried the ring around in his pocket for a solid week before finding the courage to propose. He knew he wanted it to be intimate, just the two of them–together in a moment of honest and raw love. Adalia didn’t seem to be a flashy woman who paraded herself to the world, so, after Shiloh and Nikolas left from dinner, he knew it was the perfect time.
Never in his life had he ever imagined that someone would love him the way Adalia did. Sometimes he still needed to remind himself that this was real . . . that she was real. And never did he think that one day, he would propose to someone he loved with every fibre in his body. Yet, here she was, walking towards him, with the biggest smile on her beautiful face.
The months leading up to the wedding weren’t filled with stress or intense planning. Adalia and Matthias had both agreed to keep it elegant and simple. They’d done everything together, from choosing the decor, to cake tasting, and picking the menu for the catering, which Matthias secretly couldn’t wait to devour later.
The only details that they’d kept secret from one another were the wedding attire and the flowers that Adalia would carry down the aisle, leaving those surprises for the day itself.
