Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 229266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1146(@200wpm)___ 917(@250wpm)___ 764(@300wpm)
Curling my fingers around the band, I didn’t remember how I got there, but suddenly, I was standing in front of Casteel. He stared at me like I imagined one would if they saw a god standing before them.
“You look…” Casteel cleared his throat as the shadows of clouds drifted over the courtyard. “You look beautiful, Poppy. Absolutely…” His gaze roamed over me, from the braids in my hair, to the diamonds at my neck and then down the fitted bodice to the sheer layers of the skirt that rippled in the wind. A slow grin spread across his lips. The dimple in his right cheek appeared, and then the left. He dipped his head, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear as he spoke. “Am I seeing things, or is that your dagger strapped to your thigh?”
I grinned. “You’re not seeing things.”
“You’re an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature,” he murmured.
“There’ll be time for all the sweet whispers later,” Jasper said, and when Casteel pulled back, there was a fire in his eyes. “You do look quite lovely, Penellaphe.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“What about me?” Casteel asked, and behind him, Naill sighed.
“You look passable.”
“That was rude,” he replied.
“Would you like to go sit in the shade and nurse your wounded feelings? Like you did when you were young and inevitably injured yourself doing something incredibly stupid?”
Casteel’s brows lowered as he looked over at Jasper. “This marriage ceremony is starting off in a really weird way.”
“True.” The wolven chuckled. “Let’s get this started, because I’m sure you’re more eager to finish the ceremony than you are to start it.”
Casteel shot the wolven a dark look, and I wondered exactly what that meant.
“I need both of you to face me,” Jasper instructed, and then he waited until we did just that. He smiled at me, and my emotions were too scattered to read his, but there was fondness in his gaze. “I don’t know how much you know about Atlantian marriages or how they differ from what is done is Solis, but I’ll walk you through it, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Good. It’s pretty simple. There are no vows. None that are spoken, anyway,” he continued as the clouds overhead cast us in shadows. He briefly glanced up at the sky, raising a brow. “Each of you holds your rings in your left hands and joins your right together.”
Casteel held his right hand palm up as I looked over at him. There was no smile on his face then. Just a certain intent to the set of his lips and in his gaze. Pulse pounding, I placed my right hand in his. The jolt traveled up my arm, and based on the slight widening of his eyes, I knew he felt it, too.
“Lower to your knees. Casteel first,” Jasper said, and he did just that. “Now you, Penellaphe.”
Casteel’s hand tightened on mine as I moved to my knees, our gazes remaining locked.
“Place your rings in the soil between you so that they overlap,” Jasper said, and Casteel placed a golden band, one smaller than the one I held, on the sandy soil. I placed the larger one on top so the openings overlapped.
Casteel knew the next steps. He didn’t look away from me as he picked up the dirt and sprinkled it over the rings. He nodded, and I did the same, feeling the grainy dirt sift between my fingers as I repeated his actions.
Thick clouds gathered above us as Casteel whispered, “This next part may hurt, but only for a few moments.”
Trusting him, I nodded.
“Lift your left hands, palms up.” Jasper knelt before us, and with a brief glance, I saw that he held a dagger—one I’d never seen before. Like the swords the Guardians carried, the blade was gold. “I will make a cut in each of your palms. It will hurt for a moment, and you will do with your blood what you did with the soil. The wound will heal at once, but you both will carry the mark until the union is ended by death or decree.”
I wasn’t sure how a wound of mine would heal immediately. “And that is all?”
“Usually, these proceedings are a bit more drawn-out, but this will be it. At least for the parts I’m involved in.” A teasing glint filled Jasper’s pale eyes. “Casteel will have to fill you in on the rest.”
“I will.” Casteel gave me a quick grin. “Gladly.”
A shiver broke out over my skin as I lifted my left hand, palm up. Casteel did the same as he leaned over, crossing the distance between us. His lips brushed mine as he said, “Just a moment of pain.”
“I know,” I whispered. “I trust you.”
I heard the breath Casteel took, and I knew what that meant for me to say that, for him to hear it.