“Sacred,” the older basilisk repeated, cutting him off. “Used for marriage rites. Binding rituals. Oaths before witnesses seen and unseen.”
The word hit her like a slap.
Marriage.
The lingering warmth in her body iced over.
“Marriage?” she repeated faintly. And then she shoved Maldenis away from her as though he’d burned her.
He blinked, startled more by her reaction than the accusation. “Liora?—”
“You did not tell me that,” she snapped under her breath, heart racing for entirely different reasons now.
The elder basilisk clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly. “You two don’t know what you’ve gotten yourselves into, do you?”
Silence stretched. The spring suddenly felt much smaller, and the stars less romantic.
Maldenis looked between Liora and the elder, confusion tightening his features. “With respect, Elder, we did nothing but?—”
“You entered the spring,” the elder said sharply. “Unwed. Unbound. You touched in the waters.”
Liora’s face went hot for an entirely new reason.
The elder’s eyes flicked meaningfully to where they stood waist-deep.
“And you completed the rite’s final threshold,” he added pointedly.
Her mouth fell open. “That was not a rite!”
The older basilisk’s expression did not soften. “The spring does not differentiate between ignorance and intention.”
Maldenis swore softly under his breath.
The elder folded his arms. “The water binds what it witnesses. The spirits below mark what is sealed within it.”
Liora’s heart hammered painfully against her ribs. “Sealed?”
The elder gave them both a long, measuring look. Then, with maddening calm: “Congratulations on your wedding.”
Chapter 3
Maldenis
After all these years of always being called a fuckup, an irresponsible loser, and good for nothing bum, Maldenis thought he was finally getting his act together.
Even beforethe incident, he’d been somewhat of a rabble-rouser. Getting into trouble was his specialty, and by the time he was ten he’d seen more of the principal’s office than any other student in his class, or maybe even the entire school. Vandalism, some petty theft, breaking into the teacher’s lounge, setting the library on fire—he’d pretty much done it all.
Then,the incidenthappened.
It was the wakeup call he needed, and he vowed to stay out of trouble. Since then,
he had opened a business with his cousins, and even started to gain back the respect of his community.
He had moved out from the shadows of his youthful indiscretions, and the even longer shadows of his accomplished mother and siblings.
Yes, after all these years, he was finally turning things around.
Or so he thought, up until this moment.
