The queen tsk’d. “None of that. You might not be marrying mybrother, but you’re about to Bind yourself to him. You’ll be around for a long time. Call us by our given names, please.”
That would take some getting used to.
“Alright, I will.” Vivienne shifted on the pillows, hissing as the fire expanded in her chest.
Marius noticed immediately. Of course, he did.
“We need to do this now,” he said seriously. The jovial prince was nowhere in sight as he focused on her. “Hold on, Viv. I know it hurts, but it’ll be over soon.”
Even though pain filled her so completely, she trusted him.
“Okay,” she whispered.
The king—Sebastian—retrieved a golden chalice from a nearby table. A servant had brought it earlier. “You both agree to this Binding, correct?”
He waited until they verbally consented before crossing over to the bed.
“A priest would usually perform the Binding, but since we don’t want to risk a repeat of what happened to me and Luna, I’d like to conduct the ceremony. Is that alright with you?”
A Binding performed by the king himself. Whoever would’ve guessed?
“It’s fine,” Vivienne rasped.
The prince squeezed her fingers. “I don’t care. Just hurry.”
He helped Vivienne lift her good arm to her mouth, waiting as she pierced her tender flesh with her fangs. There was a flash of sharp, piercing pain before the coppery tang of blood filled her mouth.
Sebastian was there with the chalice the moment she pulled her arm from her mouth, and he caught her blood.
“This is familiar,” Luna commented, the hint of a smile dancing across her face.
“Very,” the king replied when the cup was half-full. “There won’t be any surprise Tetherings, though.”
“Thank Isvana,” his wife murmured.
Marius handed Vivienne a cloth bandage as the king moved the chalice away from her arm. The prince’s thoughtfulness warmed Vivienne’s heart. Usually, her skin would heal on its own, but with all the damage the creatures had done to her, this was needed.
Pressing the cloth against her wrist, she leaned against the pillows. Even the small act of biting her wrist had taken far too much energy. Keeping her eyes open was the most strenuous of tasks, and yet, she refused to look away as the prince produced a dagger—not the obsidian blade—and pressed the tip against the soft skin of his right forearm.
The scent of his blood hit the air, and her fangs pulsed. Even now, on the brink of death, the darkness within her wanted to drink from him.
But that would have to wait.
Once the chalice was full, Marius bandaged his wound before reclaiming his seat on the side of the bed.
The king took the chalice and began to chant. He spoke in Isvana’s ancient tongue, asking the goddess of the moon to bless their blood and the Binding.
Soon, the prayer ended.
“It’s time.” The king turned to them. “Who would like to go first?”
Vivienne had thought that when the time came to Bind herself to the prince, she’d be nervous, but a sense of absolute calm washed over her instead.
She whispered, “Me.”
She was ready for this. There was no one else she’d rather be Bound to. She loved Marius with all her heart, and what better way was there to show him than by doing this?
Sebastian handed Marius the chalice. The prince shifted, smiling as he lifted the cup to her lips.
