Magnus raised a hand, his expression softening. He tilted his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “I know Julia is watching this. And I know she’s proud of you, Skylar.” Then, with quiet grace, he extended his arm and opened the door. “And if I’m not mistaken, it’s part of these High Fae customs that I give you away. I’m honored and proud of the female you’ve become, Sky.”
A gentle breeze whispered through the treetops, rustling like applause in the canopy above. Wildflowers bloomed freely along the edges of the clearing, their scent mingling with that of the blooming lilac bushes and the calming sound of the nearby flowing river.
An aisle of white linen stretched between two rows of wooden benches. The fabric fluttered lightly in the wind, anchored by smooth stones and scattered petals. At the end of the aisle stood an archway entwined with willow tree branches and soft lilac blooms, woven together like magic.
“You ready?” Magnus whispered.
My hands trembled as I held my bouquet of moondance flowers. I was nervous. Gods above, dare I even say I was terrified? My mind spun with everything that this day meant and all we still had to do.
And then, I looked up. There he stood, waiting for me at the end of the aisle.
Daxton.
The wind toyed with his flowing midnight hair streaked with silver, but he remained calm. His dress shirt and pants were tailored to him perfectly, elegant and simple, with silver embroidery threaded into the black base. He turned, and his eyes, now a bright silver, found mine.
He looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered. Like the world could be crumbling, and he’d still be there to catch me.
The tension in my chest eased in an instant. My shoulders relaxed. The fluttering in my stomach transformed into a warm embrace, and I felt like I was floating.
In that single instant, everything clicked.
“I’m ready,” I whispered.
I didn’t remember walking down the aisle. It felt like I was gliding over the soft grass and under the open sky. Friends and family filled the rows around me, but I wasn’t looking at them.
I only sawhim.
Magnus kissed the back of my hand before he took his place sitting beside Neera. Then, a priest dressed in white robes stood before us, speaking to the crowd, but Daxton and I barely heard him. Daxton’s gaze held mine, and everything else faded. It was only when Castor stepped to his side and handed him two rings that he looked away.
“Skylar,” Daxton said, his voice thick with emotion, “with the sun as our mother and the moon as our father above, I vow to you, threefold.”
He took a breath, eyes steady on mine, holding my hand.
“First, I vow to honor your soul… wild, fierce, and as vast as the stars themselves. Second, I vow to guard your name, your heart, and your magic as if they were my own. In times of peace and in times of war, I will stand beside you. And finally, my spitfire, I vow to bind my fate to yours. For as long as time ticks forward and the stars continue to shine, I will choose you. In this life and the next, I will always find you.”
I couldfeelhis vows not only in my heart, but in my very bones. His words carried the weight of the ancient magic of his lands. They wrapped around my soul like a sacred thread—binding us together.
“Daxton,” I began, my voice cracking a little, “with the sun as our mother and the moon as our father above, I vow to you, threefold.”
The beginning was always the same, passed down through generations. But the three vows that followed were unique to each pair who chose one another.
“First, I vow to honor the soul beneath the crown. The prince who was promised, who gives everything for his people and those he loves. I will be your harbor in every storm, a place where you are always seen, always safe, and never judged. Second, I vow to protect the bond between us. Your heart, your dreams, and your fears… I will carry them with you as a part of me. I will walk beside you, in triumph and loss. And finally, my Silver Shadow, I vow to weave my fate into yours. For as long as the stars burn in the sky and the crossing stands strong, I will choose you. In this life and the next, we will always find each other.”
Daxton handed me a ring with a thicker band of black stone, woven with silver and red threads, while he kept a slimmer silver ring set with rubies and diamonds. I slipped the wider band onto Daxton’s finger, then paused as he reached for my left hand.
I tilted my head, curious why he had a ring for me.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered, sliding it onto my ring finger, “I’ve added a little of my magic to these.”
I blinked, tilting my head a little. “Alright, you’re going to need to explain this a little more for me.”
“Release your magic,” he said.
I smiled, humoring his request, and suddenly, my ring vanished, rejoining Daxton’s on his left hand.
I gasped. “What? How?”
“When you shift, your ring joins mine,” he said, the ring disappearing from his hand and reappearing on mine once I recalled my magic. “And when you return to your human form, it comes back to you.”
