Rowan arched a brow. “Didn’t see that one coming.”
“It’s not the right time,” Dominic said, tone clipped. “I’ll mark her when we’re married. Not before.”
Rowan blinked. “Wow. You’re really leaning into the sentimental alpha archetype.”
“It’s not sentiment,” Dominic snapped, then softened when he caught sight of Lillith helping a kid balance a stack of enchanted music scrolls. “It’s respect. I don’t want the bond to be about instinct or history or old rules. I want it to be her choice. All of it.”
Markus grunted. “Old-fashioned.”
“Yeah,” Dominic said. “I am.”
He walked off before they could tease him more, though he caught Rowan whispering behind him, “If he cries at the altar, I owe you ten coppers.”
The prep carried on for hours, and Dominic kept busy, mostly because standing still meant thinking too much. Everytime he and Lillith were more than ten feet apart, his body itched. The tether was gone, but the muscle memory of always being near her hadn’t faded. Probably never would.
He found her eventually, sitting on the back steps of the cottage with a mug of tea and a tired smile.
“Hey,” she said when he dropped down beside her, their shoulders touching.
“Hey.”
“Survive the great chair debate?”
“Barely. Markus is now banned from floral arrangements.”
She laughed, soft and honest. “Good. I don’t need pine-scented roses.”
They sat like that in the quiet for a while. It curled around them like one of her enchanted blankets—warm and familiar, the kind of silence that didn’t demand anything.
Then she reached out and tugged at his sleeve. A small gesture, but it said everything.
“You okay?”
He looked at her, and something behind his eyes softened. “I think so. Just… weird.”
“The tether?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I know we’re free now. But it still feels like I should be able to feel you.”
She turned her hand over, palm up between them.
“You still can,” she whispered. “Just not the same way.”
He took it, threading his fingers through hers. They fit. Still did. Maybe always had.
“I think everyone’s surprised we didn’t end up killing each other before the curse was broke,” he said, lips twitching.
Lillith huffed. “I wasn’t sure we’d survive karaoke night.”
Dominic chuckled. “You sang like a siren. I didn’t stand a chance.”
“I almost hexed you for that line.”
“You’re still free to,” he murmured. “But just… not yet.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder again, exhaling slowly.
“Some of the girls in town looked pretty sad today,” she said after a moment, voice wry.
