“I would rather drown in a tidal wave of my own making, my lungs filling with the salt of the sea, than ever have to take you as my husband.”
Ah…there she is.
Such a naughty midnight siren.
“Poetic.” Solarius grinned and flashed her a wink. Her pale green eyes, lined with kohl and dusted with gold, expanded in asilent challenge, and he rose to greet it. “I would rather watch the moon burn into oblivion and fall from the sky than ever be forced to marry you.”
Narissa’s smile turned venomous, and the rosy hue of her cheeks deepened. “Charming.”
A male coughed loudly, clearing his throat, and Solarius glanced over his shoulder, barely sparing his brother a glance. What else was to be expected? He’d been forced into a marriage with a lady who was all silk and flower petals around everyone else, but who was daggers and poison to him.
Ariesian simply arched a severe brow, his expression one of blatant displeasure. Solarius’s brother wasnotamused. He folded his arms over his chest, his scowl deepening.
“You’re supposed to be saying your vows.”
Right. Vows. Those pesky affirmations of eternal devotion and adoration.
It was a good thing the fae could fucking lie.
Narissa huffed out a breath, the winter chill in the air causing it to mist before her. Slivers of moonlight slanted through the wispy clouds and dainty flakes, highlighting half of her in its ethereal glow. She tucked one golden wave of hair behind her ear, drawing Solarius’s gaze to where silvery blue tattoos of waves graced the pointed tip, illuminated by the light of the moon. He’d never noticed it before, how those tiny tattoos seemed to glow when showered in the affection of moonlight, and it was something he found oddly curious considering lunar magic just so happened to be his specialty.
Solarius wondered what other parts of her glimmered in the midnight hours.
“I, Narissa Seaborne…” Her tone was lulling and dreamy, and something about it made his blood hum in approval. He quite enjoyed it when she sounded like a siren of the sea. “Take you, Solarius Starstorm, as my…husband.”
Her vows were simple.
Plain.
But he didn’t miss the catch in the back of her throat, the jumping of her pulse, or the tremble in her voice.
He stole another haphazard glance around the small outdoor space, and the cluster of people watching them blurred together in a shift of messy colors. He hooked a finger into the collar of his shirt and tugged, loosening his tie, until he caught the knowing eyes of his sister, Novalise. She sat in the front row, one hand curled around the arm of her husband, Lord Asher Firebane, the other folded neatly in her lap. Her smile was soft and when she dipped her chin just slightly, a tumble of lavender hair fell over her shoulders. Novalise nodded once, a gentle nudge of encouragement.
Right.
He could do this.
More than that, hehadto, as Ariesian had given him no other option.
Solarius’s gaze slid back to Narissa and suddenly it was just her. Only her. Those frosty ocean eyes focused intently on him, but they weren’t hardened with resentment, they were clear and soulful, and if he lingered too long in their depths, he would drown.
An icy breeze skated in over the cresting waves, loosing a golden curl so it whipped across Narissa’s face. Before Solarius could stop himself, he reached out and captured the silky strand, tucking it gently behind the tip of her ear. The back of his knuckles barely grazed her cheek and Narissa shivered, her teeth grazing her glossy bottom lip.
Solarius tracked the movement.
Forcing himself to look away from her lush lips and back into her mesmerizing eyes, he spoke.
“I, Solarius Starstorm Celestine, take you, Narissa Seaborne…” He swallowed around the lump of some unrecognizable emotion. “As my wife.”
There would be no explosion of magic over their heads when they sealed their destiny with a kiss. There would be no magnificent display of fate, of shimmering moonlight and sparkling tides. Their union was simply a means to an end, a burden forced upon them both to strengthen their respective houses before the apparent war looming on the horizon. If Solarius had his way, he’d stop it before it ever reached Aeramere’s shores.
But with the attack during Novalise and Asher’s wedding last autumn, he feared it was already here.
Well, it was best to make it official. At least now Ariesian could focus on marrying off the rest of their siblings and leave him alone.
Solarius leaned down to kiss Narissa and validate their marriage, expecting a featherlight brush of the lips and nothing more, when the minx turned at the last moment and gave him her cheek instead.
Shocked gasps and murmurs of disquiet swelled, reverberating through him like a slap across the face.
