Hotbloods 6: Allies

“What, did you think I was going to say no?” I was stunned that he could even imagine that was a possibility after everything we’d been through. Although I was still only nineteen, I couldn’t picture myself ever being with anyone else.

“I was a bit nervous that you might, especially considering how weird and distant I’ve been with you lately. I was just trying to stay away so I didn’t blurt everything out, but I know how it must have looked,” he replied solemnly. “Besides, I know we’ve talked about marriage before, but I was worried you might think it was too soon in our relationship or too soon in your life. On Vysanthe, it’s normal to marry young, but I know it’s not the same everywhere on Earth.”

I smiled at how adorably nervous he was being. “Hey, Jean and Roger only dated for five months at the end of high school before Roger proposed to her, and they were married a couple months after. So, getting engaged so soon or so young isn’t that crazy to me. It doesn’t make a difference, as long as two people really do love each other.”

“That’s a relief to hear, believe me.” He exhaled deeply, the tension in his shoulders easing.

“Anyway, if you think about the things you and I have been through, it probably adds about a decade to the amount of time we’ve been together,” I joked, brushing my hands through his tufty hair. It was getting longer, the dark spikes starting to turn into soft curls.

He laughed brightly. “That’s very true. I hope you’re not getting sick of me.”

“I could never get sick of you.” I leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth.

“And you won’t change your mind?” he murmured against my lips.

“Not a chance. Not even if we have to postpone the wedding until after this stupid war is over.”

The thought that we wouldn’t have time for a wedding put a bit of a damper on my spirits, but the prospect of one day being his wife was enough to tide me over for now. I could already picture Jean and Roger standing awkwardly on some alien planet while we said our vows, both of them wondering what the hell their daughter had gotten herself into. It would be worth the wait… provided we made it through the fight, that is.

Navan flashed me a mischievous look. “Who says we have to postpone the wedding?”





Chapter Thirty-Four





I stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean? With everything that’s going on, we don’t have time for a wedding.”

“Not unless we get married now—right this minute, in this very room.”

I laughed at his boyish enthusiasm, my heart racing with renewed hope. “How would we do it?”

“Well, I’ve got a few other bits and pieces hidden away in that box. We can make our own ceremony, combining my customs and yours. I’ve been doing a bit of research, thanks to Ronad. Although, I have to say, I’m pretty worried about what he spent his days doing, back in Siberia. He knows so much about human weddings. He kept saying something about Bridezillas and Say Yes to the Dress. No idea what he was talking about, but it sounded horrifying.”

I doubled over in fits of laughter, imagining Ronad watching a load of trash TV. “I always knew reality TV would come in handy one day!”

“Anyway, I made a second ring for myself,” he said quietly, looking bashful. “Originally, I was hoping we could have all our friends and some of our family here to witness the ceremony, but I don’t think I can go another day without being able to call you my wife. I don’t want to wait until the war is over.”

“Neither do I,” I gasped, my heart pounding. “Should we wake the others?”

Navan shook his head. “I just want this to be you and me—starting the way we mean to go on.”

I smiled at him, hoping that Angie and Lauren would forgive me for doing this alone. They were close by, asleep in their rooms, but this didn’t seem like a moment for witnesses. I wanted what he wanted—a ceremony of just us two, promising our love to one another. After all, we could always have a party another time, to celebrate the union.

“We’re doing this?” I whispered, breathless with excitement.

“If you want to.”

I nodded effusively. “More than anything!”

“Then, let me go first.”

After setting me back down on the ground, so I was kneeling opposite him, he maneuvered the ornate box into the space between us. He opened tiny drawers in the sides to reveal a miniature ceremonial knife, a small dish, a plain silver ring, and a smaller silver ring. As he removed the velvet cushioning that had held the engagement ring I still wore, I saw a small bowl in the middle, a dark liquid sloshing around within. It was similar to the one I’d seen back on Vysanthe, during the near-miss of Navan’s wedding to Seraphina. Even now, I couldn’t understand how it stayed liquid, though I presumed it was some coldblood alchemy at work.

I pulled a face. “Is that what I think it is?”

“I had to improvise. It’s mostly blood from Ronad, Bashrik, Stone, Angie, Lauren, and Xiphio, mixed with a few drops of anti-coagulant serum. Since nobody knew what had caused you to collapse on the battlefield, Bashrik had to take a sample from everyone, including himself, when they came back, in case Ezra had dispersed some kind of nerve agent or poison. Ronad nicked the sample vials for me; he thought it’d be a nice touch, to make our own ancestral bowl.”

I wasn’t so sure I liked the idea of my friends’ blood sloshing about in a small bowl, but it was a big part of Vysanthean tradition and I was about to marry a Vysanthean. Besides, this way it meant our friends were with us, in blood if not in body.

“And we have to add ours?”

“Just a couple of drops,” he said, turning toward one of the old cabinets. “Oh, I made these for you, too. Ronad said you might need them, so you could throw them at someone. He wasn’t very specific, but I presume you know what he means.” From within the dusty drawers, he pulled out a bouquet of steel flowers, bent into the shapes of all sorts of exotic petals and leaves.

I smiled. “Throwing the bouquet might have to wait, but I know what they’re for. They’re beautiful.”

“And they’ll last forever, unlike regular flowers.” He beamed proudly. “So, are you ready to do this?”

Taking a breath, I nodded. “Ready when you are, hubby.”

“I haven’t prepared anything, so I’m going to say what I feel,” he began nervously, picking up the smaller silver ring and holding it just in front of my wedding finger. “Riley, you and I are the impossible love that will make it through anything. We’ve defied the odds of distance, time, and chance to come together, and there will never be a day that I don’t wake up completely grateful to have found you. I’ve never believed in a higher power, but you are my higher power—you are the impossible gift that I’ve been given, and I will spend the rest of my life loving you, in return for the miracle of having you by my side every single day. With this ring, forged with the love I bear for you, I ask you to be my wife.”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, his every word making my heart beat faster. His hand was shaking slightly, his face a confusion of happiness and anxiety. We had come so far, against all odds, and now we were here, making the ultimate promise to one another. A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined my life would change so much. Even six months ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.

“I will be your wife, Navan,” I murmured, as he slid the ring onto my finger. His face instantly relaxed. Now that his part was over, I figured he could enjoy the rest. As I prepared to make my vows, he handed me the larger ring from the side of the box. The silver was embellished with the same stars and delicate ears of corn as mine—a matching pair for a matching pair. Lifting the ring to his finger, I began to speak.