Page 176 of Faeling

He didn’t know how she’d managed it, but little diamond and silver bobs hung from the points of her wings, tinkling as she moved. All-Mother, she was a goddess incarnate, blessing the very stones she walked upon.

All of his breath had fled his lungs by the time she stood before him. He hurried to fill them again, catching her scent of jasmine and cloves. A rumbling purr rattled in his chest as he offered her his hand.

A shy smile touched her rouged lips, and she slid her hand into his.

Vallek watched as her eyes went distant, and for a moment she didn’t move. It’d been so long since he saw her have a vision,he’d almost forgotten what it looked like.

After a moment, though, she was back with him. He lifted a brow in question, but she smiled wider, a comely blush stained her cheeks. His purr deepened; he couldn’t wait to hear what she’d seen.

Hand in hand, they mounted the dais steps. Her veil swept down behind them, a waterfall of glistening elegance.

They turned to face each other, and Vallek smiled down at his beautiful bride.

Gods, he was the luckiest bastard alive.

There were a handful of moments when the crowd stood silently, anxiously awaiting the rites, but Vallek wasn’t hurried by their anticipation. No, he wouldn’t be rushed. He intended to savor this day and the sight she made.

Lifting their joined hands, he kissed her knuckles.

“You’re more beautiful than the moon,” he murmured.

Another lavender blush colored her cheeks. “Do I look like a queen?” she whispered back.

Vallek’s answering smile was ferocious. “Oh, yes, sprite. Every bit. Down to your slippered toes.”

Taking up a little pot of ochre, Vallek popped off the lid and dipped a finger into the pigment.

Cupping her head so, so gently, he carefully used the ochre to paint a line across one cheek. “For you.” Another line on her other cheek. “For your kin.” And, with his heart in his throat, the third line across her forehead. “For me. Before the Ever-Father and our kin gathered today, I stand before you, to take as your husband.”

Her chest rising with a nervous breath, Ravenna dipped her own finger into the pot. Painting the first line across his leftcheek, she said, “For you,” and then the second across his right, “For your kin.” She lifted onto her toes and Vallek bent so she could mark him with the final line. “For me. Before the All-Mother and our kin gathered today, I stand before you, to take as your wife.”

Joining hands again, Vallek asked, “Will you take me, sprite?”

“Yes.” Her soft little hands squeezed his. “Will you take me?”

“Oh, yes.” And cradling her hands against his chest, he pulled her to him to seal their bargain with a kiss.

The crowd erupted in cheers, filling the basilica with noise. They clapped and stomped and hooted—and although it rang in Vallek’s ears, he could hardly hear it past the blood rushing there.

A little peck wasn’t enough, he greedily kissed his wife, telling her how he’d missed her today, how proud he was to stand beside her, how he would crawl to her on his belly if she ever asked, and most of all, how grateful he was to be hers.

They’d just begun to earn a few chuffs of amusement at the length and depth of their kiss when Vallek finally pulled back. Satisfied to see her rosebud lips swollen from the kiss—and in no doubt that his were now redder with her rouge—he whispered, “Are you ready?”

Grinning up at him, her violet eyes sparkling, she whispered back, “Make me your queen.”

Rumbling with pride, Vallek motioned for an attendant left of the dais to step forward. Lifting the lid of the box the attendant bore, Vallek picked up the crown he’d had made for her. Not a coronet, not a tiara or diadem. This was a crown, made for a queen, to be worn by once and future queens.

Their line, now into the future, crowned by her blood and his.

He presented her with it, a circle of gold with artful spires all studded with amethysts and rubies. Bowing her head, she accepted the weight as he placed the crown upon her head.

When she lifted her gaze to his, her eyes sparkled as brightly as the two ribbons of diamonds that dangled from either side of the crown.

Gods, it almost didn’t seem real. All he’d planned, all he’d worked and fought for—he gazed upon it all now, saw everything he could ever want or hope for reflected in her eyes. Be it the gods, fate, destiny, he didn’t care who had blessed him, just that he was blessed to have her. A gift, a partner, a wife. She was and would be everything to him.

Together, they turned to face the cheering crowd. Over the din, Vallek proclaimed, “Your queen!”

Thunderous shouts and stomps met his declaration.

“Queen Ravenna!”

“Queen Ravenna!” they cheered back.

“King Vallek!” she cried.

“King Vallek!” they called. “All hail their names!”