“I don’t need a ring.” She laughed, shaky and wet. “I just need you.”
Relief crashed through him, dizzying and complete. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”
He caught her, held her, buried his face in her hair and just breathed. She was here. She was his. She was saying yes.
“Okay, okay, you can kiss later,” Anya called. “We have a ceremony to do.”
Corinne pulled back, laughing through tears. “A ceremony?”
“Maeva helped me plan it,” he admitted. “If you would like that. We can do it now, or wait, or?—”
“Now.” She gripped his hands. “Let’s do it now.”
Maeva stepped forward from where she’d been waiting near the stern. She wore formal robes, deep green and flowing, and carried a small book.
“I’ve been ordained to perform bonding ceremonies on this world,” she said, voice warm and official. “If you’re both ready, we can begin.”
Corinne nodded, breathless. He couldn’t speak, could only hold her hands and nod.
Maeva smiled. “Then let us start.” She opened the book, though he suspected she didn’t need it. “We gather here, on this vessel, on this water, under this sky, to witness the bonding of two souls.”
The words washed over him, formal and beautiful. Anya moved closer, Mikoz in her arms, standing witness. Jarrek stood at attention, smiling.
“Selik,” Maeva said. “Do you promise to love Corinne, to protect her, to stand beside her through joy and sorrow, through calm and storm?”
“I do.” The words came easily. “I promise to love her, to cherish her, and to give my life for hers if needed. I promise to be her partner, her protector, and her mate.”
Her eyes filled again, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Corinne,” Maeva continued. “Do you promise to love Selik, to stand beside him, to build a life with him through whatever comes?”
“I do.” Her voice shook but held strong. “I promise to love him, to trust him, to be his partner and his mate. I promise to build this family with him, to choose him every day, to—” Her voice broke. “To choose joy with him, even when I’m scared.”
His throat closed. She understood what that had cost both of them—the fear, and the choice to love anyway.
“Then by the authority granted to me,” Maeva said, “I declare you bonded. Mated. Joined in the eyes of this community and this world.”
She closed the book and smiled. “You may kiss.”
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled her close, careful of her belly, and kissed her with everything he had. Everything he felt. Everything he was.
She melted into him, kissing him back, her hands fisted in his shirt.
Anya cheered. Mikoz babbled. Jarrek whistled. And he held his mate—his wife—and felt something settle deep in his chest.
Official. Public. Declared.
She was his. He was hers. Forever.
They celebratedon the deck as the sun set, turning the sky orange and pink and gold. Maeva had brought food, simple but delicious. Jarrek produced a bottle of something sweet and sparkling.
Corinne sat beside him, her hand in his, her head on his shoulder. Anya held Mikoz, teaching him to clap to the rhythm of Jarrek’s drumming.
It was perfect. Simple and beautiful and theirs.
“I can’t believe you did this,” she murmured. “I can’t believe you planned all this.”
