Page 155 of Queen of War and Ruin

My gods, I love this woman.

Petrys coughs next to me, and I realize I’m standing still. I force myself forward, walking toward the most beautiful woman in the world like I’m moving in a dream. And then I’m at the altar, and the heat of the candles rises to meet me.

“If you would take each other’s hands,” the priest says, in a voice that makes me think he’s finding all of this very amusing.

I reach for Lilias. Our fingers lace together. I feel stronger now that I’m touching her. The priest wraps our wrists with his scarlet ribbon as our palms kiss. He gives us the vows that I’ve heard in every wedding for my entire life, and we give them back to each other.

And if anyone notices that the name my wife uses as she whispers her promises to me is not Zarek, well, they keep that observation to themselves.

The priest closes his hands around our wrists. His touch is warm and firm, his hands rough from a lifetime of hard work. He turns to me, then to Lilias.

“What is bound in the eyes of Mirdia,” he announces, “she who protects and upholds all vows, can never be unbound.”

I stare into my beautiful wife’s dark eyes.

“Good,” I whisper.

And then I lean forward and kiss the woman I love with everything I have.

When did Elrick and Anura get married?