Page 151 of A Courage of the Chosen

When I follow him in, he’s braced over the sink, and his back is stiff when I place a hand between his shoulder blades.

“I fucking hate it. Hate that this is another thing stripped away from you. Anamara are rare for a reason, and now this is being forced on you.”

Our connection springs to life, and his outrage slams into me, but underneath it, there’s bitterness that he’s denying the existence of.

“It’s not being forced. I can choose not to do it, but with that comes the risk of him taking a piece of my soul anyway. And I refuse to allow that. He gets nothing more from me.”

There are many things that I lack the courage to face, but this? This isn’t one of them.

I tug Callahan upright, and we remain silent as his jaw works back and forth.

That bitterness batters out of him before he can stop it, coating the delicacy of our connection in a cloying emotion that brings him a sense of deep shame.

“You can’t possibly think there’s anyone else I’d ask other than you?” I say in response to it.

Callahan’s heart slows, then picks up a galloping pace, and I say what I need to before I question his silence too much.

“I know what we are is still new, and there’s a lot we need to work out. But there’s no one I’d trust more with a piece of me, Callahan, if you’ll have me?”

He closes the distance between us until there’s barely an inch of room. “Do you mean that?”

The quietly spoken question reminds me that this strong, self-assured man is someone who isn’t used to being chosen, and despite the things I’ve still yet to tell him, this might be the easiest decision I’ve ever made.

“Every word.”

His mouth meets mine, just once, and he pulls back. “It would be my honor, mo sholas. But I have one condition.”

I remain silent as I wait for him to continue.

“Marry me.”

“W-what?” I gasp.

Callahan’s fingers dance over my face as he traces a path from my forehead, down to my cheek. “It’s not the most romantic proposal, and I promise I’ll give you one worthy of the woman you are in the future, but if you’re willing to offer me a piece of your soul, then I want you to have every little part of me. As your Anamara, and your husband.”

Chapter 44

Callahan

The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind, and in the midst of it, I’ve had to try and rationalize the fact that Dhia herself appeared to protect Elsie from the anguish my cousin was trying to inflict on her. There have been few accounts of this happening in our history, the goddess only choosing to show herself during moments of great change within Elfayne.

Her presence was all-consuming, and if I wasn’t holding Elsie, my body would’ve thrown itself at her feet, I’ll be forever grateful for the way Dhia rescued her when I couldn’t. Her screams will torment my waking and sleeping thoughts for many years to come, and I find myself asking if that’s how she sounded when he’d held her hostage.

There’s no love lost between Tavish and I. We’re related by blood, but he’s not someone I see as kin. He always has been, and always will be, my enemy. There’s been too much death at his hands, and after what he’s done to the only woman who’s ever created a home in my heart, there is no world where he won’t get what’s coming to him. I’m not ashamed to say I’ll celebrate his death when it happens.

But perhaps the most important thing to have come out of this . . . she said yes.

Elsie agreed to be my wife, and I’ve never known true happiness until her watery eyes met mine and she gave me her forever.

She didn’t want to wait, claiming it wouldn’t be long before Tavish tried to complete the bond again. So tonight we will fuse our souls together, and tomorrow, we’ll become man and wife.

We rallied after she accepted my inadequate proposal, and told who we needed to tell about the wedding, while keeping the fact that we’re going to become Anamara a secret only our closest friends know about.

Which at the moment is reduced to Reyne and Eòghann, since Brodie and I still aren’t really speaking.

The council objected to our wanting the ceremony to take place tomorrow night, stating it wasn’t enough time to plan a royal wedding. Elsie shut it down quicker than they could finish their sentences. We don’t want a big fuss. All I care about is that I am hers, and she is mine. Since their queen had decided it, there wasn’t much more to be done beyond prepping in the short time available.

Mother cried happy tears as we told her and the rest of the council, and when she embraced Elsie, I heard her whispering how proud Màiri would be.