I returned the shard doused with his blood to the bag. Scarlet seeped into the plum velvet, the fabric absorbing the evidence of the self-inflicted wound.
Damia drew her forefinger over the cut in Dain’s palm. “With your blood, we solidify the bond.” She tapped three red dots on Aanya’s, Nissa’s, and Conall’s faces, one on the forehead, one on the nose, and one on the chin.
Following her example, I brushed the injury on Aanya’s palm and marked her three chosen partners with her blood. “With your will, we tether your souls.”
“With your silence, we entwine your hearts.” Damia dipped a digit in Nissa’s wound to brand the three other participants, as per our tradition.
After dropping the last fragment of used glass into the pouch, I collected Conall’s blood myself. “With your touch, we meld your lives,” I hoarsely finished the required sayings while smudging crimson on his partners’ faces.
Damia tapped each of their wounds again, then painted two lines on my face, one on each side, from under my eyes to my jaw. The sticky liquid cooled in the wake of her caress. “I deem their intentions to be pure,” she told me.
Repeating the action, I drew two lines of blood on Damia’s face, each representing the length of the rope resting on the ground and our duo graced with the honor of tying the knot. “I deem their binding to be true,” I spoke the last words.
As we stepped backward, Damia and I gestured at the cord. “Take this rope as the symbol of the days to come,” we recited simultaneously.
Picking up the opposite ends of the tightly woven strings, we waited for their group to form a circle.
“I bind you as four.” Damia twined the long strip of rope around their wrists in practiced motions, the two-hour rehearsal we had done earlier today ensuring each wrap went without any hiccups, and offered the loose end to me.
“I bind you as one.” Continuing the work Damia had started, I twisted the braided cord around the group’s forearms. The glints of the three studs in Dain’s left ear matched the gleam in Nissa’s eyes.
Everyone marked their commitment differently. Some chose tattoos. Some scarred each other, whether by knives or fire. Some wore jewelry: rings, welded bracelets without a clasp, necklaces. Some held no care for tangible things. And some preferred piercings.
Like Dain. He had adorned the shell of his ear with three flat steel discs the day they had decided to do the ritual. Patience was not a skill he excelled at.
But I completely understood him. If someone had told you they were yours, you didn’t wait for a ceremony to set it in stone. You simply claimed them by employing whatever means necessary.
Tying the knot together with Damia, the harsh strands of linen abrading our skin, we concluded our part, “We bind you for all the breaths from here on.”
Thump,the first person stomped the ground.
Th— Thump,three more joined in.
Thu— Thum— Thump. Thump. Thump,pairs upon pairs united.
Gradually, the stomping of feet surrounding us reached the peak, and our friends began to slap at their chests. The continuous chain of strikes transformed into a song, and the accompanying chant rattled my bones.
“Hear our voice.” Each of the three words was emphasized with synchronized stomps on the stone-paved square. “By ourchoice.” The chorus caused goosebumps to shower my flesh as they finished the verbal binding. “We judge them to be one.”
Everyone repeated the final phrase four times, once for each person, until the final stomp was completed and the judgment cast.
Conall, Nissa, Dain, and Aanya flicked their wrists, and the cord loosened, the rope unwinding and falling to the ground. Only the knot securing the ends remained tight—what once had boasted two open ends now was one. Streaks of scarlet drenched the woven strings, the stains serving as a sacrifice, a symbol of the oath paid in blood.
A mist of quiet sprang up around us, the crackle of flames the sole disturbance in the utter hush, until the four of them declared, “From here on, we are bound.”
Together, with the dozens of people encircling us, Damia and I finished the ritual. “From here on, you are bound.”
Tension swirled in my gut, as for a moment, nobody dared to move an inch. Or to speak. Awkwardness had settled?—
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Dain exclaimed, throwing his arms around his partners.
Aanya’s giggles filled the space as they squished her between them, their embraces and kisses encouraged by hoots, whistles, and applause from the crowd.
Stuffing the pouch with the dirtied glass shards inside my pocket, now that the ceremony was over, I congratulated Conall and his family.
But all I longed for was to hold my own.
“Dear gods,” Damia shrieked. Her horror pricked me like a needle, and I shoved my wince down, down, and down, out my toes, through that rock stuck in the sole of my boot, and into the ground.
