“And now,” the centaur said in a boisterous, cheerful voice, “we come to the joining ritual. As is traditional in vampire marriages, the bond is sealed not with a kiss, but with the sharing of life force.”
I blinked. What?
“The groom will now feed from his bride, solidifying their union in the eyes of both communities.”
Feed?
As in, bite me? I looked up at Kieran in alarm, and for the first time, something flickered across his face. Uncertainty or concern? It was hard to tell.
I should’ve known this would be part of the ceremony. Vampire rites often included a ritual feeding. It was mentioned in every historical account. But in my dread and denial, I’d somehow managed to ignore this rather significant detail. Now I faced the reality of my new husband’s fangs, and I was woefully unprepared.
My throat went dry. Of all the ways I’d imagined this day going wrong, “bride becomes vampire snack” hadn’t cracked the top ten.
The centaur gestured for us to join hands. Kieran’s fingers felt cool against mine, and I had to resist the urge to pull away. His touch was exactly as I remembered, and it brought back a flood of memories I’d tried hard to bury.
Kieran’s eyes met mine through the veil. “Are you certain you’re comfortable with this?” he asked quietly, his voice pitched low enough that only I could hear.
The consideration in his tone caught me off guard. It made him sound like the man I’d known at the festival, not the stern vampire king standing beside me now. I couldn’t allow myself to be broken by him again.
“It’s fine,” I said in a strangled tone. “Let’s get this over with.”
He frowned at my tone, but lifted my hand, turning it over, exposing my wrist. His touch remained careful, as if I was made of morning frost that might melt at a hint of sunlight.
Kieran’s fangs extended, and I forced myself not to flinch. I’d seen vampires before, of course, but never this close. Never about to biteme.
He looked at me one more time, as if asking permission again, and I gave a tiny nod.
The world narrowed to the pale gleam of his fangs and the whisper of silk shifting as I clenched my skirt.
His bite on my wrist was nothing like I’d expected. Instead of pain, I only felt slight pressure, followed by an odd tingling sensation that spread through me like heat from a blazing fire.
The moment his lips touched my skin, Kieran went completely still. Then he made a soft sound, almost like a sigh, and his eyes fluttered closed before opening again. When he looked up at me, his pupils had fully blown, and his expression had gone dazed.
Before I could process what was happening, he dropped my hand and cupped my face through the veil. His head crashed down, and he kissed me. Deep and passionate and desperate, like a man drowning who’d finally found air.
The crowd gasped. Someone in the vampire section made a shocked sound. But I couldn’t focus on any of that because Kieran was kissing me through the lace as if the world was ending. And my treacherous body was responding exactly the way it had six years ago the few times we’d kissed.
My magic surged in response, a burst of golden sparks dancing around us. The joy magic I so carefully controlled in my work flowed untamed, creating a whirlpool of light that spun around us like luminsprites soaring across the sky. Something ancient and powerful unfurled in my chest. This wasn’t the flutter of attraction I remembered from before, but something deeper, like roots suddenly finding fertile soil after years of searching. It was like drinking starlight, and for a moment, I forgot everything but the taste of this man holding me like I meant everything to him.
The veil fluttered between us, scorched at the edges where our magic had collided. My knees had turned to jelly, my mind a fog of starlight.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His eyes still held that strange, dazed expression, and he looked as confused as I felt.
“I…” He suddenly seemed to realize where we were. The silent crowd stared at us in shock. Even the centaur looked stunned.
“Well,” the officiant said. “That was…enthusiastic.” He cleared his throat. “By the power vested in me by the Council of Magical Communities, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Murmurs rose from the crowd. Kieran was still staring at me like he couldn’t figure out what had happened. He reached toward my veil, and I knew the moment of truth was coming. He’d see me. He’d know.
He lifted the lace carefully, and our eyes met without any barrier between us.
Recognition didn’t dawn on his face. Instead, he simply said, with absolute certainty, “Finally,Cyrene.”
The sound of my name on his lips was a spell I thought I’d broken years ago. Apparently, I was wrong.
I lifted my chin, determined not to let him see how much this was affecting me, how much it hurt that he’d confirmed he’dknownall along.
“Well,” I said in a tone colder than a block of ice. “This was certainly unexpected.”
