Page 253 of Burn of the Everflame

My fight against the dress melted away. No one deserved eternal, unconditional love more than Taran. If wearing the gown was a sign of my support, I’d wear it with pride.

I pulled my hair over my chest to conceal my mating mark and took the gown from Eleanor’s hands. “Lily, will you help Teller get dressed,” I yelled over the screen. “I’m sure he could use some assistance with those, uh . . . buttons.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” I peeked out just in time to watch Lily pop to her feet and gather the suit. Teller’s somber expression vanished as she grabbed his hand and led him toward his room.

“If this is what Zalaric made for his mating ceremony, I can’t wait to see what he does for yours,” Eleanor said. “We’ll have to melt down every candelabra in Emarion just to have enough gold.”

I tensed. “Oh . . . well, I—you see, um, I don’t⁠—”

“I’m surprised Luther didn’t ask you the second he found you in Sophos. Actually, I’m surprised he didn’t ask you way back when you came home from the island. Anyone can see he wants to. Maybe he’s waiting for the war to end.” She knelt to fluff my skirts. “You know, I did see him talking to your mother this morning. It looked very serious.” She looked up at me and winked. “We might have another reason to celebrate soon.”

My heart skipped. For a moment, I let myself believe. If everyone was right, if Ophiucae was gone for good, then I didn’t have to die. And if I didn’t have to die, I had no more reason to keep the one-sided mating bond a secret.

Perhaps I could get my happy ending after all.

“The top of this dress is so lovely,” Eleanor said, standing. She came around to stand in front of me. “Zalaric gave me strict orders to pin up your curls to show it off.” She grabbed my hair and piled it on my head. “Here, let me—” She gasped and jerked back.

I looked down, and my stomach dropped. The beaded phoenixes had been arranged to cover as little of my breasts as possible—leaving my glowing mating mark starkly visible under the near-transparent mesh.

“You’re already mated,” Eleanor breathed.

“No,” I said quickly. “I mean—yes, sort of, but not⁠—”

“You’re mated!” Her look of shock blinked to one of ecstatic joy. “Blessed Kindred, Taran’s going to sob. I think he wanted this for you two even more than he wanted it for himself. Can I be there when you tell him? Wait, does he already know? If you told him and not me, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Eleanor—”

“Oh, I’m just teasing. But I do want to know every detail.” She grinned. “When did it happen? How did he ask?”

“Eleanor, no one knows. Not Taran, not anyone. And you can’t tell them.”

“Right. Of course.” She mimed stitching her smile closed and knotting the thread. “Our little secret. You, me, and Luther.”

I shook my head. “Not Luther, either. It’s our secret, Eleanor. Yours and mine. Luther doesn’t . . .” I swallowed as the truth dug in its claws, refusing to be dragged out. “I’m . . .”

Her smile froze, then started to fade. “A stranded mate?” she guessed, and I nodded. “How?”

“You shed a little blood, commit to them forever, and the magic does the rest,” I said bleakly, repeating the explanation she’d once given me. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

She frowned. “The mating bond has to be willingly entered. It can’t be an accident.”

“Well, it was for me.” I fluffed my hair until my mark was fully curtained by my curls, avoiding Eleanor’s gaze so she couldn’t spot the lie on my face.

As I’d stood at the Kindred’s Temple that day on the island and watched Sorae carry Luther away, wondering if I’d ever see him again, there was nothing I wanted more than to be bonded to him for all eternity. It was pure luck, or perhaps more meddling from the gods, that the Ignios King’s blade did the sharp part for me at just the right time.

But pledging my heart to Luther . . .

No. That had not been an accident at all.

The washroom door flew open. “I’m ready!” A pause. “Arboros’s asscheeks . . . everyone’s gone. I knew it would happen again.”

“Taran, no!” Eleanor and I shouted in unison. By the time we rushed out from the changing screen, he’d disappeared again and locked the door behind him.

I ran to the door and beat my fists against it. “Taran, come back. We’re here. Everything’s fine.”

Eleanor rushed to my side. “Diem,” she said quietly, “if you’re worried Luther won’t complete the bond . . .”

“Taran, get out here,” I yelled, ignoring her.