As we eat, Jude entertains us with an animated retelling of an escapade from his youth involving a prized pair of Jasce’s boots and a particularly stubborn goat. Jasce shakes his head in amusement while I stifle a laugh.
When the meal ends, Jasce stands and pulls me to my feet beside him.
“Don’t keep her up too late, brother,” Jude says.
A playful smirk tugs at the corners of his mouth, and he raises his eyebrows suggestively. Jasce shoots a look over his shoulder at his younger brother, who merely grins and takes a slow, deliberate sip of his wine, as if to proclaim his complete innocence.
We’re silent as we walk through the corridor to our bedchamber, but I don’t require words, not when my heart is thrumming with happiness.
When we reach the bedchamber, he opens the door and gestures for me to step inside first. I move into the room and look around. Everything looks the same as it did earlier, yet everything feels different now.
I’m married.
Married!
It all seems so surreal to be wedded to Jasce—the chieftain of House of Crimson. The man whose very presence once struck fear into my heart when I first laid eyes upon him. The man my sister, Asha, would love nothing more than to see dethroned, his power stripped away, and his house left in ruins. The man to whom I now want to give all of myself, every single part of me. All the perfect pieces that shine like polished silver, and all the imperfect, jagged edges that I’ve tried to keep hidden away.
He moves behind me and pulls me against him. “How are you feeling, wife?”
The hem of my surcoat swirls against my legs as I turn to face him. “Happy. Nervous too.” Boldly, I move my hands up and around his neck. “This all still feels like a dream. I’m afraid I’ll wake up at any moment and find it was all just a figment of my imagination.”
He brushes his thumb against my bottom lip. “Then, I’ll have to convince you it’s real.”
His lips claim mine in a crushing kiss that sets my blood on fire. I step into his embrace, pressing my body against his, craving his touch, his warmth, his very essence. I lose myself in the moment, in the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me, in the taste of his lips on mine.
He pulls away first, leaving us both breathless. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”
I slide my hands into his hair, smoothing back the unruly raven locks from his handsome face. “Well, the wait is over now, husband.”
He claims my mouth again, his kiss more insistent, more demanding this time. I part my lips, readily inviting him to deepen the kiss, to explore and conquer.
Tonight is different than every other night we have been together. Tonight isn’t about stolen moments or a secret rendezvous. It’s not about the playful banter or the teasing touches we’ve shared before. No, it’s about so much more.
Tonight is about giving myself fully to my husband for the first time, body and soul. It’s about crossing that final threshold into true intimacy and unity.
And I plan to do exactly that and more.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
ANNORA
I knewwhen we arrived in Narhavva that our stay would be brief, but I never imagined I would wake the morning after my wedding to Jasce and be forced to depart so abruptly.
As I dress and pack my meager belongings into the satchel I brought with me, a flurry of thoughts assails my mind. Worry that his people will hate me. Worry that our houses will never be united. Worry that when I go to Sharhavva, I will never see my sisters again.
The moment I finish, I face the closed door and take a deep breath, knowing I cannot allow fear to rule me. Instead, I will cling to the belief that our union will change things for our houses.
I reach for my hematite necklace and curl my fingers around the stone, reminding myself that we’re all from the Hematite tribe, and we used to be united.
The door opens, and Jasce steps into the bedchamber. I take in the sight of him dressed in a marked surcoat, the fabric hugging his broad shoulders and muscular frame. Dark pants accentuate his powerful legs, and a gleaming sword rests on his hip.
“Good morning,” he says with a tender smile.
“Good morning.” I sling my satchel over my shoulder and lift my chin. “I’m ready.”
“Annora.” He closes the space between us and takes my hands. “I know it will not be easy going to Sharhavva, but I promise you, I will be with you.”
I rise to my tiptoes, stretching to reach his impressive height, and run my fingers through his black hair, tousling the orderly strands until they fall in disarray across his forehead.
