When she reached him, he was unresponsive, bleeding from his nose.
When the physician delivered the grim prognosis that Evander had a bleeding condition in his head, fatal unless he took wyvern bone powder every day, Valenna knew in her gut that her time with Evander was limited, that there was some doom hanging over them like a cloak sewn to the shoulders of her dress—always flapping at her heels no matter how hard she tried to shrug it off.
Now, standing in the dark street, staring at the closed door of the apothecary, Valenna tried to skirt the growing conviction that doom had finally caught up to them.
Anger wrapped its spidery fingers around her heart. This was her father’s fault. He ruined her childhood, and now he was killing the man she loved as surely as if he’d driven a sword into Evander’s chest.
Yes, Valenna had wielded the magic that broke Evander’s head, but she had done it on her father’s orders. Maybe she held the shotfire, but he pulled the trigger.
She wondered how much of Cadmus was still lurking in the dark corners of her mind, telling her who she was and what she was worth.
Now she was going to sit helpless and watch Evander die; a sick penalty for her father’s sins. And Evander’s death would be the result of his mother’s crime. The children paying their parents’ debts.
As Valenna gazed at Evander in the lamplight, her love for him billowed like smoke. She could not see past it. She wanted to brand him onto her heart, permanent as a scar.
“Evander,” she said solemnly. “I want to do it tonight. I want to marry you tonight.”
At first, he seemed surprised. Then he smiled, and his smile was so radiant, she thought her feet might lift off the ground, and she’d float away.
“This is a magical bond made before the eyes of the Only,” he said. “Only death can break it.”
“Yes,” she said. “Exactly.”
“Alright then.” He took her hands. “If you’re sure. But I warn you, if we do find wyvern bone powder, you could be stuck with me for a very long time.”
“Forever. All my life and into the next.”
He leaned down andkissed her. “Forever, then.”
“We need someone to do it,” Valenna said, trying to order the details in her mind. “A rector, I think. Do you suppose they have one?”
“Witnesses, too,” Evander added. “We’ll need at least one witness.”
“Where do we get a witness around here?”
Evander released her hand and stepped up to the apothecary door. He pounded it with his fist until footsteps echoed inside and the door cracked open. Samara peered out, her forehead creased.
“What now?” she demanded.
“We need you to come and witness our wedding,” Evander said flatly.
Samara blinked at him. “Are you serious?”
“You’re the one person here who doesn’t hate us, and we need someone to come and watch.”
Samara glanced up and down the street. “You can’t just get married this late at night, dressed like that!”
“We’re getting kicked out of the village in two days,” Valenna said, crossing her arms, “so it’s now or never.”
“Please, Samara,” Evander pleaded. “It’ll only take half an hour.”
Samara pinched the bridge of her nose. “If anyone finds out, I’ll be ostracized. Forever.”
“You owe me,” Evander said, “for not sending you home when the dreadnought nearly bit me in half the night of the festival.”
She eyed him dubiously, then looked at Valenna. “You really want to marry him?” she asked. “For the rest of your life?”
Valenna beamed. “More than anything.”
