Some might find it unromantic. As for me, I knew Ethan Nowak was my choice, now and always. Even before we’d decided to get married, I’d made the decision to love him, through the worst of times, and the best. I’d decided that the day I met him. I knew he was mine, and always would be. And I found mychoiceto love him more powerful than any passionate feelings could ever be.
Yes, Ethan loved me. But more than that, he vowed to stand by me, no matter what storms came our way. His pledge of devotion was stronger than any epic romance poets could write songs about.
Not so long ago, I’d sat in this exact spot in the cathedral and asked King Lycus to help me save his son. I’d never imagined we’d make it to this moment. Both of us, alive and well, and ready to make the commitment of a lifetime. We’d faced monsters, demons, and evil kings together, and none of it had done a damn thing to seperate us. We were truly a love that was meant to last forever.
Ethan took my hand, and the sensations sent goosebumps running over my skin. He squeezed my fingers, and we didn’t have to utter words. We just had to lock eyes, and weknew.
Arthur departed, taking my bouquet and maneuvering around my veil to sit beside Vara in the front row.
The altar was surrounded by a circle of white rose petals, leaving Ethan and I in the center. The circle had been blessed by the high priestesses before the wedding began, to keep out bad magic or any negative influence on our marriage. The high priestess raised her hands, and the music in the room became silent as people took their seats. Ethan grasped both of my hands as we locked eyes, and that was when the real magic began.
“People of Malovia,” the high priestess boomed. “We have come together under the light of the Seven Gods to witness the marriage of our king, Ethan Nowak, to his bride, the Queen of the Arcanea, Emmaline Sosna. The king and queen have already taken vows to each other during their Choosing, declaring each other to be their true mates. Today, we solidify that bond with the power of marriage. At their Choosing, the king chose Luka as his patron god, and the queen, Milonna as her patron goddess. May each bless this union, for the sake of Malovia rests on the bond that is between these two, our people protected by the love that endures between the queen and our king.”
I was hardly focused on what she was saying. I was too captured in Ethan’s eyes, and the feeling of his thumbs massaging the backs of my hands.
“We will begin the ceremony with the burning of the flowers,” the high priestess said. “King Ethan will remove the flowers that have been placed into the queen’s hair, and burn them with holy fire, signaling the queen’s transition from maiden to mother as she takes the hand of the king to be her husband.”
I turned my back to Ethan. He gently began pulling flowers out of my hair, gently whispering my name as he did so. The sensation made my scalp tingle, and shivers run all over my body. The moment felt so intimate— too personal to be shared in a cathedral full of people, let alone on national television. Yet the discomfort fell away, and the feeling of Ethan and I being the only people in the room overtook me again as he delicately pulled out flower by flower, placing them into a smoldering pot of embers that was beside the high priestess. The flowers ignited, sending smoke into the lofts of the cathedral. I turned back toward Ethan as he pulled the last flower out. It ignited instantly once it hit the embers, signifying the end of my youth and the beginning of my new journey as a married woman.
The high priestess brought forward a tray with two pieces of bread upon it— gluten-free for me, of course. “The bride and the groom will feed each other salted bread. The bread is to show that they will provide for each other with all the abundance life brings. The salt is added to remind them that life can be bitter, and the good must be taken alongside the bad.”
We took the two pieces of bread off the tray and held it up to each other’s lips. I took small bites, trying to look dignified, but Ethan ate his whole. The pieces weren’t very big, only a mouthful. I did my best to try not to make a face.
Damn, they really hadn’t held back on the salt. I had to choke it down. My eyes were watering when the priestess offered us a goblet of wine, adding, “The bride and the groom will drink from the same cup, showing they are willing to share life’s sweetness together.”
I drank first, a long gulp to get the taste of salt out of my mouth. Ethan finished off the goblet, and as he handed the goblet back to the priestess, we faced each other once more. He gave me a wink, and in my mind, his voice resonated.You are becoming mine,onawilke,and I am becoming yours, always and forevermore. I never thought I’d feel so… free.
I felt my insides shudder at his words. This ceremony felt deeper than a wedding. We were sealing our bond for life, and even for what came after. Ethan wasso readyfor that. I could feel his enthusiasm bleeding through our bond, and I bled for him, too. There wasn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for this man, in this lifetime or the next.
Another priestess stepped forward. She held a velvet pillow, a coiled rope lying upon it that was seven feet long. I had made the cord myself, braided it with ribbons in our wedding colors. It had taken me some time to make, embedded with all my prayers and hopes for the future. I placed my hand on top of Ethan’s, and we held our hands before the high priestess as she grabbed the rope and showed it to the congregation.
“The bride and groom will participate in a handfasting ceremony as they take their vows, in tradition with our ancestors,” the high priestess said. “A knot of cords will be tied around their hands, signifying a bond that can never be undone.”
The priestess began looping the cord around our wrists. “My king, say your vows.”
Ethan inclined his head to me as the priestess began binding our hands. His voice trembled, on the verge of breaking down as he swore his life to me. “Like the sun and the stars pledge themselves to the moon, so I pledge myself to you, and give of myself so that we may be one. With each new moon, my love for you will be born again, finding solace in the beginning of every dawn. Like the waxing moon, my compassion for you will grow, becoming endless in its depths. As the full moon rises, so my desire for you will be complete, lacking nothing, cherishing all we share. And as the moon wanes, we shall remain together in times of sickness, pain, and lack, until the cycle begins again and I circle back to you.”
Ethan had spoken the traditional wolven vows, words that thousands of other shifters had said thousands of times before. But whenhesaid it, it was magical. I couldn’t shake off the knowing that he meant every syllable, with every fiber of his soul.
The cathedral was awfully quiet. The high priestess leaned in to whisper, “My queen, your vows.”
I gave a start, and the audience let out a tiny laugh. I’d been so enraptured by what Ethan had said, I’d forgotten to talk.
I cleared my throat and said, “As the gods bless our marriage, I will bless you and our home. Like Vesna, I will be wise in judgement, and slow to anger. Like Radek, I shall fight for you each day. Like Neva, I will lend you my time, and always fight for just one more moment. Like Luka, I will give you my body to worship. Like Droga, I will stay beside you, through darkness and through loss. Like Tomir, I will do what is best for us, and not what is best for myself. And like Milonna, I will lend you my heart, taking you exactly as you are, giving generously until our lives are complete and the circle begins again.”
There were a couple of sniffs from the audience— and a few loud wails from my mother. I heard Lord Lucien gently shushing her as the priestess said, “Pull your hands from the cord, then yank it tight.”
With difficulty, Ethan and I managed to wrench our hands free of the knot the high priestess had created. We both grabbed the end of the cord and pulled, tying the knot. As I looked at the complex knot that had been created, I knew that it could never be undone, no matter how hard someone tried. It was stuck like that for life.
We gave the knot to a priestess, who put it back on the pillow and left. The knot would remain a treasured wedding heirloom for us, one we would keep in the royal quarters. Ethan and I knelt before the high priestess, as we had during our coronation. Another priestess came forward with another pillow. Two crowns sat upon it. They looked tarnished and centuries old. They were simple, nothing like the ornate crowns that had been placed on our heads during our coronation.
The two priestesses lifted the crowns to the audience, and the high priestess said, “In ancient times, long before the fae left Edinmyre, couples were pronounced married once a crown of ivy had been placed onto their heads by a high priestess. These particular crowns date back to the Middle Ages, to the marriage of the first King and Queen of Malovia that we had on this Earth. At every royal wedding since, these crowns have been used to officially unite royal couples. They are never worn, save for when a king and queen are married. They are kept safe within the royal treasury, waiting for another mated pair to wed and lead Malovia under a new reign.”
The priestesses placed the crown upon Ethan’s head, and nestled the other into my hair. “With this crowning, I pronounce you married. Arise as husband and wife, and claim your future together as one.”
As we stood, Ethan kissed me. The world fell apart and came together all at once. If people were applauding, I didn’t hear them. All that rose to my ears was static, and all I could feel were Ethan’s soft lips caressing my own as we shared our first kiss as husband and wife. He put a gentle hand to the side of my face, and I leaned into it, feeling likethiswas what I’d been waiting for my entire life.
When the kiss broke, I stopped floating, gently trickling back down from reality. I took Ethan’s arm, and we began our walk back down the aisle. White petals fell from the ceiling, tossed by guests sitting in the lofts. They coated Ethan’s shoulders and my dress. It was like something out of a fairy tale.
