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Etain realized they had no mouth, and she nodded her understanding to the being.
The Chronicler led Ciaran and Etain through several motions which symbolized different aspects of what it is to be mated. They held a large rock together in their hands as a symbol of the strength they would have for one another if the other was lacking. They washed each other’s hands in a large emerald bowl to symbolize the way they would care for one another. Then they each cut a locket of hair and gave it to the other to show their willingness to give themselves to each other.
The final part of the ceremony was the exchanging of blood. As she had seen Kes and Anin do, Etain and Ciaran sliced their palms with an emerald knife and clasped their cut hands over a chalice. The Chronicler gave them the words to repeat out loud together.
“Blood of my blood, heart of my heart, together we share this life.
My body is yours, my mind is yours, and half of my soul lives within you.
Our bond will be unbreakable, as will be our love.
In this life and the next, I shall follow you.
To whatever may come and whatever shall pass,
You will always be my constant.
As I will be yours.
With my blood I make it so.
With my words I make it true.
With my soul I am bound to you.”
Ciaran lifted the chalice with his free hand to Etain’s lips and she took her drink. Then Etain did the same for Ciaran. Still holding their bleeding hands together, they sealed the ceremony with a kiss.
The second their lips touched, Etain felt the place in her chest she knew to be the mate bond suddenly begin to burn. It only lasted a breath. Then it felt like the bond, which had always felt stretchy and pliable, became solid as the rock they had held earlier. She realized she could feel what he felt now, as if he were sending his feelings directly down the bond to her. He was overjoyed, and the love he felt for her was near breathtaking.
The newly mated pair turned to face the crowd as they lifted their joined hands as high as Etain could reach. Noticing how Ciaran simply bent his elbow and raised his forearm, Etain worked her wings and flew high enough to help his arm reach up just the way hers did. The room broke out into a raucous cheer; even the court members who clearly didn’t want Etain to be their queen.
It looked like none were unaffected by witnessing a mating ceremony. Anin had told her fated mates were typical enough, so everyone knew of them, but not common enough that many had never seen a mating ceremony take place.
Ciaran wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in to kiss her deeply. In the past, she might have been embarrassed to be this bold around this many beings. Now, she found herself uncaring who witnessed their love. He untangled their hands, and Etain noticed he had already healed their cuts, leaving their marks behind. A mate bond’s mark could never be healed away. Etain watched it turn the same emerald green the knife had been. She inspected Ciaran’s and noticed his was the same, just a little less visible on his blue skin.
“Well, my mate, are you ready to become a queen as well?” Ciaran asked.
Etain’s nervous flutters returned to her stomach. Ciaran must have felt her emotions the same way she had felt his because he remarked, “There is nothing to fear, little witch. Remember what I said at the falls?”
Etain recalled the way he had eased her mind. She repeated the moment in her head over and over until she finally believed herself ready to be queen again.
“I’m ready,” she said with a nod.
Ciaran smiled proudly at her, then set her down to move on to the coronation. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He looked back down at her.
“I love you, too, my prince.” She realized it would be the last time she could call him that. He was about to become a king, and she a queen.
Ciaran guided Etain to the dais and they each stood in front of their thrones. He kept their hands entwined between them. He wasn’t completely sure what to expect. It had been generations since a true King and Queen of the Night Court had sat on the thrones. He knew the magic the land of his court held would crown them itself since the curse had been broken. He could tell it had been broken the second his lips met Etain’s it was as if the bottom of his well of power had crumbled away. He tried to feel its new depth, though it seemed to have no end.
Ciaran was surprised when the Chronicler told the room of the curse Ciaran had been under, and how Etain had been the one to break it. No one besides Kes had ever known about it since it wasn’t something he had been able to speak of before. Only now, he knew why. Kes was also cursed.
The Chronicler went on to explain how Ciaran and Etain were the first true king and queen to take the throne in generations, and how the previous kings and queens had crowned themselves with crowns of their own making. Since they were the true king and queen, the Night Court itself would anoint them with a crown of the land’s creation as soon as they sat on their thrones. The land would then imbue them with specific powers it chose to gift each of them.
The Chronicler indicated they should take their seats. Neither Ciaran or Etain released the hand of the other as they sat with their hands held firm between them. Ciaran started to grow concerned that perhaps he was not the true king after all since nothing was happening. Then suddenly, from underneath them, moonlight shot up into the sky and a powerful force twirled around them as if it was inspecting both of them closely. The force settled as if it had come to a conclusion.
Ciaran could feel the force communicating to him, telling him of his new powerful abilities. He couldfeelthe entirety of the Night Court. While overwhelming at first, it slowly seeped into the back of his mind and became more of an awareness.
He saw himself pulling a star from the night sky and throwing it to decimate whatever was in its path; he knew this was something he could use once in his lifetime as a last resort. His final gift was the ability to shadow walk. Not only could he move anywhere in the realm as long as it was from shadow to shadow, but he could also create shadow duplicates of himself.
