The house was quiet when Aurelie and Leila came back. The living room was empty, as was the kitchen and Aurelie heard no commotion upstairs so they couldn't have been there either. She had just come outside when the front door shut.
"They're back!" Leila shouted from inside.
"Coming!" Aurelie said but did not move. Exhaustion made her cling to the quiet, peacefulness that surrounded her out here. Inside, Kirin and Orken waited, both unhappy with her decisions. She had forced Kirin into being mad at her by using the prospect of Nick to make him jealous. That had been too easy. It scared her how easy it had been. Daerious had warned her about his back at the inn. He told her that love was dangerous. If only he knew just how right he was . . .
What the hell am I going to do? Aurelie thought and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Hey," Kirin said, sneaking up behind her. He kissed her cheek and kept his mouth there for a second. "Come with me." He pulled back and waited for her to turn.
She expected him to have still been mad but something seemed to have changed his mood. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Aurelie followed him through the house. His hands were sweaty and if Aurelie didn't know better she'd think he was nervous. The others hadn't come back with him and Leila, who was in the kitchen the last time Aurelie had heard from her, had been out of sight.
"Where is everyone?" Aurelie asked. Her mind jumped to the portal. Had they found it? What would she tell them? The truth. It was for their best. They wouldn't understand but she didn't care. They needed allies and Queen Alorah was one hell of an ally, no one could deny that.
"They're waiting for us."
"Where?"
He laughed. "You'll see. Right," he stopped in the living room, "first things first."
A large box stood on the couch she usually occupied.
Kirin pointed his hand at it. "That's for you."
Aurelie frowned, smiling sheepishly. "What is it?" she asked, already at the box, opening the lid. Kirin said nothing and waited for her to react. She gasped. It was a dress. A white dress with little flowers spread from the top of the blouse, outward to the frilly skirt. She took it out of the box and pressed it up against her body. "What have you done?" she asked him, beaming.
"If you think I'm letting you go to that ball an unmarried woman, you've got another thing coming. Bloody Nick."
Aurelie laughed out loud and covered her mouth with the palm of her hand. "That's the only reason, is it?"
Kirin cocked his head, smiling gently. "Of course not, but I'll be damned if he doesn't know we're married as soon as it happens."
Aurelie shook her head but enjoyed every second of his jealousy. "Are the others waiting already?"
He nodded.
"Then I best get ready."
*****
They united with Orken and the others within a meadow of tall trees on the outskirts of the river that ran through Redayrah into Highfire. The water was dark blue and spread so far that it looked like the sea. Orken had decorated the trees with glowing bulbs of light. They had packed logs for them to sit on while the holy man, Pollus, performed the ceremony and even found a white carpet for her to walk down. His wife was there too. A short, dark-haired woman who looked to have been very used to having him act out whatever it was that she instructed and pointed her finger toward. Her lips were red and her eyes dark. She was elderly but with a youthful twirl in every motion.
Leila ran up with a bouquet of white and burgundy wildflowers. "Here," she said, beaming, "I picked them for you. Can't get married without a proper bouquet."
Aurelie took it from her and pressed it up to her nose. They smelled thorny and a bit like Karah's shop. "Thanks."
"I'm happy for you," she said when Kirin walked over to the front to discuss something with Pollus. "Love's doesn't find all of us and it managed to find you just fine and among all this chaos too. How lucky are you?" She smiled but it didn't quite reach her cold eyes.
Aurelie didn't know what to say. The comment sounded tongue in cheek and made her feel a twinge of guilt for feeling happy. "Quite lucky," she said softly and looked to see how far Kirin had been.
She caught his eye immediately and he smiled.
"Ready?" he mouthed.
Aurelie bit her lip, smiling and nodded. Leila must have seen the exchange because she left her side and went to find a seat.
Kirin said something to Orken and he turned to Aurelie, straightened his collar, and winked at her before making his way toward her. The others took their seats, Leila near Orken's empty log and Shaelyn so close to Daerious that it looked like she wanted to occupy the same one.
"May I?" Orken asked when he was close enough and extended his elbow toward her.
"Certainly." Aurelie linked her arm with his. Her heart had been doing cartwheels in her chest. She was ecstatic to the point of having forgotten to breathe. Gasping, she smiled to herself, shocked and in awe at the gravity of what the two of them were doing.
Orken, head held high and shoulders straight, led her toward Kirin. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He wore a dark suit and kept his hair messy, the way she liked it.
He met them exactly where the seating started and bowed deeply before extending his hand for her to take.
Kirin shook his head, caught in his own thoughts. "I love you," he said.
"And I love you." There had been so much love inside her heart that she thought she could burst. She turned her head slightly before following Kirin to Pollus but something caught her attention and she turned back again. It was Karah, in a dark cloak, right by the riverbank. She looked to have been smiling, but Aurelie couldn't quite tell and had taken her presence to be somewhat ominous. I warned you and you didn't listen, is what Aurelie imagined was going through her head.
"Stand and witness," Pollus said and everyone stood, "even the spirits. For today, the union weaved by fate and all her misfits finally transpires. You see hardships and battles and I see the strings that have bound you since the day of both your births," he said, his wrinkly fingers extended in Aurelie's direction more than Kirin's.
She looked again but Karah was gone and so she squeezed Kirin's fingers tightly and prayed for his safety as Pollus started the ceremony. He called the spirits to watch. Maybe they'd decide to act instead.
"Let it be known that Aurelie Dranoir, Princess of Highfire and heir to the throne has, by her own authority, chosen to not have a family member present to approve of the marriage," Pollus said as soon as the two of them turned to face him. "With this holy knife, I shall bind your blood. Extend your hand, Kirin Donahue of Redayrah and Aurelie Dranoir, Princess and heir."
They did, and he swiped the blade across Kirin's hand and then Aurelie's. He threw the knife between them, rather dramatically, and then took both their hands, placing one atop the other.
"Be bound, through blood, through fire," a flame rose from Aurelie's hand and Kirin tightened his jaw through the pain, "and through the light of God that has brought your souls together on this day."
She tried to extinguish it but it wouldn't budge and so she tried to pull away but Kirin's tightened his grip on her hand. Someone ought to have warned her that her magic would go rogue.
"Witness," he said to their little circle of friends, holding out both his hands toward them, "as love and fate and onus bind."
Pollus took the white string that hung around his neck and lowered down to his knees. A brass bowl stood below their feet and gathered the blood that dripped from their wounds. He dipped the string into the pool of blood and waited till the whole thing soaked before standing back up. He tied it around their hands which were still locked together in a tight embrace.
"Be bound," he said, before God and his spirits and before the Kingdom. It is my honor to be the first to call upon Her Highness, Aurelie Donahue Dranoir." Pollus bowed his head and Aurelie and Kirin lowered their own heads.
Aurelie inhaled at her new name. The day felt strange to her still. She clung to every detail of it, afraid that she might wink and wake up from a dream. Orken came up to give her a hug and then Daerious. Shaelyn watched from the sideline.
Just as Leila neared her, Pollus' wife came took Aurelie's hand. "May he love you fiercely and forever dance around your skirt. May the children look like their mother," she smiled brightly and winked, "and outlive you both. Henceforth, may all the mysteries be gifts, and may you walk paths soft as clouds, and only bare a sweet taste in your mouth. May your dreams be deep and jolly as if laced with poppy's milk. When your beauty fades, my child, may the wrinkles only come with wisdom and a skin thick as dragon's flesh. And when you die, let no one cry, for it shall be in lover's arms." She bopped Aurelie's nose and strolled away, humming to herself.
*****
Aurelie's mind was a hazy room with no windows and no doors and no space to form thoughts other than anxious ones. It was her body that was in charge and it wanted Kirin fiercely.
He pulled off her dress, while she lifted her hands and attempted to slow her racing breath. Their lips touched, and she felt his fingers pull at the strings of her corset.
He paused, and his eyes widened. "Whatâ" He looked up at her, and then at her chest.
God, the scales. Aurelie wrapped her arms around herself for cover. The look on his face made her cringe in humiliation. There she was, uncovered entirely, baring her soul and body to him, and his expression showed disgust.
He traced his fingers gently over each one. His lips parted, and he gave a sigh of a man about to die. "My God, Aurelie, does it hurt?"
Aurelie lifted her leg over him, still covering herself, and attempted to sit on the other end of the couch. She wanted to dress. The exposure was damning and every second that she remained that way made her feel filthy.
Kirin grabbed her waist with his right hand and halted her movements. "Will you speak to me?"
She dared not look up. "No, it doesn't hurtâit did when they were growing, but now it's fine."
His hand relaxed a little, but his persistence didn't. "When?"
"Just let me go, please."
"When?"
She told him the whole story, of how mad the Keeper looked the last time she saw him, and that he thought the realm wanted to rid itself of him. Aurelie went through every detail.
"Is there anything else?"
If ever, now was the time to tell him about the portal, but something inside her told her that it was a bad idea. That he would find, and break it because he would not dare let her go there alone. A cloud of guilt surrounded her, and if she was completely sure that Kirin still possessed a rational mind, she would have probably come clean. And then there was Karah's foretelling, which further made her doubt if the truth was what Kirin needed to hear.
"No," Aurelie said in a shaky voice and lowered her eyes. It was humorous, that after learning to kill and torture, she never quite grasped the concept of lying. Though, she had read somewhere that a bad lie would always seem true when spoken from an honest mouth. And Aurelie had always been honest, as much as she could be and too much so at times. "That's all." She bit her lip and looked away again.
"Does the Keeper know why they grew?" he asked.
"I don't think the Keeper knows where his shoes are, never mind why I'm growing scales."
"Hmmph." Kirin pursed his lips to one side. "How do we get rid of it?"
Aurelie hadn't considered that. In fact, she was glad that they formed. In an attack, no one would be able to break through them. "I don't think we can get rid of them, and I'm not sure I want to."
"You're fine with itâjust being there?" He looked as if he had tasted a lemon for the first time. Aurelie may have been fine with it, but he certainly wasn't.
"Do they repulse you?" Aurelie caught him off guard with the question. He released his hand, and she was finally able to stand and seek her dress. There was no way she was getting rid of them, not unless she had to. The scales had brought on a feeling of pride, funnily enough. As far as she knew, she was the only dragon that possessed themâa wingless one, that is.
Kirin frowned. "Of course not!" He shook his head. "But what happens if they spread if they're dangerous? Do you feel different? Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"
"If it's dangerous we can try removal, but so far, all they've done is protect my injury. It's as if they're defending me, you know? It's like a shied that I do not have to carry." Aurelie found her dress on the floor in front of the couch. She bent down to pick it up and ended up sitting down completely just looking at the fabric. "You say I don't repulse you, but that look on your face . . ." she said looking up, her eyes stung and she made no effort to hide the tears that were about to form.
Kirin came to his knees beside her. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he just shook his head with his shoulders lifted. "I was just scared that you were hurting. And that I was the reason you had them in the first place," he said.
Aurelie felt a tear slide down her cheek. His lips pursed downward and wiped it away with his thumb. "I think you're brighter than the sun and had I the power, I would make the world revolve around you."
He traced the scales again. "The things I'd do for you," he stared down her body. His hand rose, caressing her breast. Aurelie inhaled sharply and felt her cheeks burn. Even her magic stirred to his touch. A familiar flame filled her eyes, and she watched as he took off his shirt, motionless, trying to remember to breathe.
Kirin pressed himself against her, his hand running down her back. He leaned forward and lay her down on the soft carpet. "Tell me if I hurt you, okay?"
"Wait," she whispered as he leaned down to kiss her scales.
All the candles in the room extinguished at her will, and all the world fell away with it. The soft glow of her eyes revealed his face in the dark room. It was all she ever wanted to see.