His confession made her hips move on their own accord, slipping him back inside her where he belonged, where she wanted him forever. He caressed her backside, before turning her head to the side with his fingers around her jaw. Another mirror, this one full length and reflecting the image of her sitting over him, her bare figure on top of his sprawled one. Every muscle in his body had gone slack as she rolled her hips along his length. Something about watching herself please him, the erotic motions she made, the way his reflection adored hers, it only exacerbated the sweet tension building between them.
Her fingers threaded into his hair as his head leaned back, eyes shut as he fell completely under her spell. His teeth gnashed together to hold back breathy moans, the grunts as he reached the peak of his climax and spilled, jerking inside of her as she came undone with him. Ailsa buried her face into his neck to keep from crying out, every wave of bliss surging larger than the last until her release eased into small trickles of ecstasy.
“I love you. Gods, I’m so in love with you, Ailsa,” he said. This time he did not whisper. “Forever will only be enough with you.”
“I love you too, Vali. Tonight, let’s make our own forever.”
He pressed a long kiss to her forehead. “Forever,” he echoed.
* * *
They drapedher in fine silks the color of a sunset—a gradient of golds and deep reds bordering on a deep shade of orange. Seela attempted to braid her hair how she liked it, with the fishbone pattern against her skull and the rest flowing in loose curls down her back. Lady Rind made sure the stitches were hardly noticeable, painting her face with powders that shimmered against the candlelight, a striking match to the brilliance of her flowing gown.
Her ceremony dress was revealing. The elves cut their gowns to show off the elegant curves of the feminine figure, and Ailsa’s gown was no different. The neckline cut out the valley of her breast to her waist, where a gold belt tied the draping gown and flattered her shape. The rune marks shielding the power tethered to her soul made a line down her chest, centered by the sheer fabric. Each leg had its own slit, allowing her to walk effortlessly.
Vali’s mother adorned her with her personal jewelry, a row of gold bangles on her gloved forearms, a long necklace dropping with the neckline of her gown with a ruby dangling on the end, and a red gemstone ring she used to tie it all together. When they were finished, they both assessed her like she was a piece of art and they were artisans, and Ailsa felt radiant, beautiful, and priceless.
“I am so happy Vali found you,elskan.You are so beautiful, inside and out. I only wish I could have gotten to know you fully.” Lady Rind’s voice floated on a shaken breath. She stepped closer to Ailsa and placed her hands on her shoulders. “TheFraendibond is a significant thing to have. I myself still have not found my ownFraendi, but it fills me with an unparalleled joy to know my son has found his. Especially with a woman as strong as yourself.”
“Thank you, Lady Rind—” Ailsa’s voice broke under the weight of his mother’s kindness. It was too much; her admiration was misplaced. She was not strong, nor did she deserve someone like Vali. She sure didn’t deserve his fate.
Seela hugged her from behind and squeezed her waist just to make her feel worse. They knew she was taking their Vali, and still they accepted her with open arms. And she didn’t even have the decency to be honest with them. That she had the power to stop this all from happening, she would just doom the rest of the realm in the process.
It was a heavy burden to bear, and she was weary of carrying it. For a moment, she was glad this was coming to an end.
“Thank you, both,” Ailsa said. “Where I come from, not many would welcome a girl like me into their families. Especially not under these… circumstances. You deserve to hate me, and instead you’re treating me like… like—”
“Family? Because you are.” Lady Rind spoke the word for her. She twirled a piece of curl that had fallen over her shoulder. “We could never hate you, Ailsa. You did not choose your destiny no more than Vali chose his, but youdidchoose to face it together. Besides, it isn’t over until your threads are cut. Until then, I will love you like I have you forever, and I hope you’ll do the same.”
“Of course,” she smiled.
Glass shattered behind them, Ailsa and Rind jumped at the sound. They turned to find Seela gaping, her hands loose in front of her where they had once held a hand mirror. Ailsa couldn’t see her face from her posture, but by the rigidity in her stance, she was disturbed by something.
“Seela?” Lady Rind spoke with caution. “Is everything all right?”
The commander seemed to snap back into herself, turning her face to expose a bright smile. “Just perfect. I’m going to go check on Vali,” Seela offered. “Gods know he’s never on time for anything. We’ll meet you downstairs.”
* * *
They waitednear the temple doors—and then waited some more. Ailsa was growing flustered. Had Vali really been this offput by the ceremony to be so late? The Aesir would be arriving anytime now. The sky was already bruising as the sun fell behind the mountains. Ailsa stood behind the painted glass lining the outer sanctuary, watching the world mute under a dark filter.
“Something’s not right,” she whispered to herself. Vali was nothing if not a man of his word. If he regretted this ceremony, he wouldn’t have said so from the beginning. He wouldn’t have kissed her the way he did in the bathroom. He wouldn’t have left her waiting.
“Lady Rind!” A guard approached them, his chest panting as if he had just run clear across the castle. “We cannot find Lord Vali.”
“What do you mean you cannot find him?” Ailsa shrieked.
The guard’s silver eyes darted from his High Lady to her, unsure who to address. “Commander Seela has had every room and every inch of the grounds searched, but he’s not here. She was wondering if Miss… Lady Ailsa knew the last place he went.”
Ailsa bit her lip. A worry that felt more like fear struck her heart, and she had trouble settling the thoughts in her head. “He… he told me he was going to speak with Ivor. Did no one see him return?”
The guard did not answer, and his silence told her everything she needed to know. Her chest heaved with a panic so thin her voice was shrill as it skated across. “He’s been gone for hours! No one has bothered to look for him since he left?”
Lady Rind clutched her arm, and Ailsa felt the strength of a mother’s fear in the simple gesture. “Send every patrol to walk the perimeter of the kingdom. Wherever he met Ivor, it wouldn’t have been within city limits. He wouldn’t let the wolven anywhere near Ailsa,” she commanded as quickly as she reasoned. Her face never faltered despite the fright tensing her grip. “Keep the castle guards at their post, we don’t need the Aesir finding out about this. We will resume the feast like normal. Tell Seela to give us updates when she receives them.”
The guard gave a curt bow and turned on his heel. His dark green cape flowing behind a body stocked with light gold armor. Ailsa’s hand fell naturally to her thigh, lifting the sheer draping just enough so that the gilded hilt of Vali’s dagger caught the torchlight and sparked a fire inside her bones. She wore it as a nod to her own culture’s tradition, a trading of blades between the two families. Although he had given her his dagger on the first day they met instead of today, it was something to don as a homage to their fated union.
But she would use it if she needed to. And if Ivor was involved in his disappearance—if she betrayed her—the wolven would pay.