AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Both of them sobered up, nodding in respect.
Kozien turned back to his bride-to-be, holding out the crook of his elbow for her to take. “Shall we?”
She smiled and hooked her arm around his, letting him lead her up the stairs and into the courthouses.
Long hallways and steep staircases met them as they crossed the threshold. Other species were milling about, all with purpose in their strides as they marched in and out of rooms.
Kozien held Gianna close to him, leading her down toward the officiant side of the courthouses. Their mating wouldn’t take long, thankfully. He couldn’t wait to finally make all of this official with his brothers and hers as their witnesses.
Even with the differences between him and his brothers, he’d been pleasantly surprised that they’d showed up to support him in this. It was what a true family did, after all.
As soon as they were called into the courtroom, Kozien marched them and their party inside and up to the officiant. He stood proudly with Gianna at his side, his excitement bubbling over when the officiant spoke clearly about accepting their intentions for each other.
Grux leaned forward, his hand coming to rest on Kozien’s shoulder while he spoke quietly. “Once you do this, brother, you will be forever severed from the Lorr throne.”
Kozien couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Good.”
Grux nodded and stepped back away from him, giving them the space they needed in order to speak their decrees and finally be bonded together.
Gianna’s eyes teared up when the officiant pronounced them mates, which Kozien couldn’t help but find endearing. He took her face in his hands and gently cupped it, bringing her in for a soft and tender kiss.
Chapter 23
Thebondingceremony,whileshort, was exactly what Gianna wanted.
She’d gotten choked up right when the officiant had declared them mated, her tears finally falling when Kozien had taken her face in his hands and kissed her perfectly.
Even though no cosmic force had come between them and meshed their souls together, it sure felt like it. She felt connected to him in a way she never had before. As if her heart beat in the same rhythm as his.
They felt tied on a whole other level that she’d never thought were possible.
After the ceremony, Kozien’s brothers had bid them both goodbye and headed back to their business in the city. She hadn’t been expecting them to show up but was happy they had. Kozien, even though he didn’t show it, needed the support from the only remaining family he had left.
He didn’t want to stay on Noxxa for long, not wanting to draw any more unwanted attention now that Gabe was out of the drug-trading business. They didn’t need anyone recognizing him and dragging him back to the D’Narvius gang to force him back into being a mule.
Kozien had suggested that since their ties to the Noxxa city were pretty much severed, they should take their ship to another part of the planet and see about settling elsewhere instead.
The thought made her hesitate, only because being away from the heart of Noxxa was risky if you didn’t have enough resources to survive.
Not to mention that leaving the city and traveling outside of Noxxa altogether had caused her and her brother nothing but trouble and had landed them both in more hot water than they bargained for.
Fortunately, her new mate reassured her that no matter what, they would be able to make themselves a better life than the one that could be given to them if they stayed in Noxxa’s inner city.
Gianna couldn’t help but agree with that. The state of Noxxa as a whole—from where it currently was—wouldn’t be able to sustain any of them.
No matter how much they wanted to make it work, the city wasn’t safe. And they deserved the peace and quiet that came with finally solving their battles and overcoming the obstacles that otherwise would have crushed them if given the chance.
So, to the ship they went.
They ended up coasting around the planet for a few days before Kozien alerted them to a southern island called Tageind, right around the middle of the Aeqor Sea.
Gianna couldn’t help but be glued to the sights outside of her window. The lush trees and the plentiful water sources that surrounded them as they slowly descended made her want to jump out of the ship and run around immediately.
Kozien had offered them a few pieces of trivia as they’d landed, telling both her and Gabe—who showed equal excitement—that this place was a fishing capital and made for peaceful living along with lots of land they could build off of.
The entire idea excited Gianna more than she thought it would. Being out of the city was strange, especially considering she’d grown up there for most of her teens and all of her adult life. They’d lived on the streets and found ways to support themselves.
Maybe this was just the kind of break they all needed—the peace and quiet of a faraway island in the middle of a large sea that required aircraft travel to get to.
