Chapter 19 The wedding vows
But he said nothing. Of course he said nothing.
Maz released me at the altar steps. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, lingering, fierce, and then stepped back to join the Hel contingent.
I climbed the steps alone.
Cardan extended his hand. I took it. His fingers were warm, his grip steady. The winter-storm scent of him wrapped around me like a cloak.
"You look…” he started, his voice low.
"Don't," I said. "Don't pretend."
His jaw tightened. But he didn't let go of my hand.
The High Priestess began to speak.
\-——————————————
The Aurelian vows came first.
They were beautiful, I supposed, if you liked that sort of thing. Promises of light and fidelity and eternal devotion. Vows to honor the sun and the golden throne and the sacred bloodline of the Windsor dynasty. The High Priestess spoke in the Old Tongue, her voice resonant and commanding, and the congregation responded in perfect unison.
I spoke when I was told to speak. I knelt when I was told to kneel. I let the priestess anoint my forehead with oils that smelled of honey and sunlight, and I did not flinch.
Cardan did the same. His voice was steady. His hands were steady. If he felt anything at all about what we were doing, he didn't show it.
Then came the Hel binding.
The High Priestess stepped back, her expression carefully neutral. Maz stepped forward, a length of shadow-silk in his hands, the same fabric as my gown, woven from the darkness of the Abyssal Ridge.
"In the realm of Hel," Maz said, his voice carrying through the silent temple, "we do not bind our marriages with light. We bind them with shadow. For shadows cannot be broken by time or distance or death. They exist in all places, in all moments, eternal and unending."
He wrapped the shadow-silk around my wrist, then Cardan's. The fabric was cool against my skin, pulsing faintly with ancient magic.
"By the darkness that birthed the stars," Maz continued, "by the void that cradles all life, by the Obsidian Throne and the blood of the Morrigan, I bind these two souls together. Let no force sever what the shadows unite. Let no light break what the darkness seals."
He looked at me. Then at Cardan.
"Speak your vows," he said. "Not the vows of Aurelia. Your own."
I turned to face Cardan fully. His silver eyes were unreadable, but his hand was warm in mine.
"I, Nyx Andromeda Viveca Morrigan," I said, my voice steady, "Princess of Hel, Daughter of the Shadow Throne, bind myself to you. Not because I am forced to. Not because an oath demands it. But because I choose to honor what our fathers began. I will stand beside you. I will guard your back. I will be your ally in the light and your shield in the dark. This I swear by the shadows that made me."
A murmur rippled through the congregation. This was not the Aurelian way, this was raw, personal, stripped of ceremony.
Cardan stared at me. That muscle beneath his eye was twitching.
Then he spoke.
"I, Cardan Oberon Ashryver Windsor," he said, his voice low and rough, "High King of Aurelia, bind myself to you. I will stand beside you. I will guard your back. I will be your shield in the light and your ally in the dark." He paused. "This I swear by the sun that made me. And by the shadows that brought you to me."
The shadow-silk tightened around our wrists. A pulse of magic, dark and warm and ancient, flowed between us. And then, it disappeared.
The binding was complete.
We were wed.
\-————
The celebration that followed was a blur of music and wine and faces I barely registered.
The Great Hall had been transformed for the wedding feast. Golden banners hung from the rafters. Golden plates lined the tables. Golden wine flowed from golden fountains. The Aurelian nobles ate and drank and danced with the particular enthusiasm of people who had been given permission to celebrate something they didn't entirely support.
The Hel contingent stayed in their own corner, a pocket of shadow amid the gold. I spent as much time with them as I could, memorizing faces, storing up laughter for the long lonely months ahead.
"You did well," Grandmother Silk told me, pressing a small pouch into my hand. "Dream-seeds. Plant them in your garden, and they will grow into flowers that only bloom in moonlight. A piece of home."
"Thank you."
"Your fate-line is still tangled," she added. "But less so than before. The handsome stranger is no longer a stranger. That is something."
"Is it?"
"That is for you to discover."
I hugged her. She smelled of dust and ancient magic and the particular sweetness of the silk she spun.
Little Wren attached herself to my leg one final time. "I have to go now," she said, her silver eyes swimming with tears. "The portal is closing."
"I know."
"Will you come visit? You promised you'd come back."
"I promised." I knelt and took her tiny hands. "And I will. I don't know when, but I will. And when I do, I want a full report on everything I've missed. Can you do that for me, Emissary Wren?"
She nodded fiercely. "I'll write it all down. Every single thing."
"That's my brave girl."
She threw her arms around my neck and held on so tight I could barely breathe. Then she scampered off to join her parents, already chattering about everything she was going to put in her report.
And then it was Vesper's turn.
My handmaiden. My friend. The creature who had raised me as much as any parent ever had.
She stood before me, her compound eyes shimmering, her wings drooping. She was trying very hard not to cry and failing spectacularly.
"This is not goodbye," she chittered, her voice cracking. "This is not goodbye. You will come home. You promised. You promised."
"I promised." I pulled her into my arms, careful of her wings. "I will come home, Vesper. I don't know when. But I will."
"You were always a terrible liar."
"I've gotten better."
"No. You haven't." She pulled back and cupped my face in her claws. "You are the Princess of Hel. Daughter of shadows. My girl. You will survive this golden monstrosity because you are stronger than all of them combined. Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now stop making me cry. It's undignified."
I laughed, even as tears pricked at my own eyes. "I love you, Vesper."
"I love you too, my Princess. More than all the shadows in the world."
She pressed her forehead to mine, a Nocturni gesture of deep affection, and then she was gone, following the Hel contingent toward the portal.
Maz was the last to leave.
He stood by the portal's edge, its violet light flickering and dimming. The magic was waning. Soon it would close entirely, and he would be trapped here or have to take the longer journey back home.
"Nyx." His voice was rough. "Come here."
I went to him. He wrapped his arms around me and held on.
"You are the bravest person I know," he said into my hair. "And the most stubborn. And the most infuriating."
"I learned from you."
"I know. I'm excellent." He pulled back, his hands on my shoulders. "The pendant. You still have it?"
"Yes."
"Three uses. Don't waste them. But don't be afraid to use them either." He held my gaze. "If you need to come home, if you really need to, you come home. No guilt. No hesitation. Promise me."
"I promise."
He kissed my forehead. "Goodbye, little sister."
"Goodbye, Maz."
He stepped through the portal. The violet light flared once, twice….
And then it was gone.
The Hel contingent had vanished. The courtyard was empty. The golden light of Aurelia flooded the space where the portal had been, erasing every trace of shadow.
I stood alone.