“Faith.” Merral’s voice cut through the emotional moment, gentle but commanding from the doorway. His formal attire was immaculate and his bearing regal, but his eyes held warmth. “It’s time.”
Liora moved with practiced grace, lifting the delicate veil from where it lay across the bed. The gossamer fabric caught the afternoon light as she positioned it carefully over Faith’s long brown hair, smoothing each fold as though sealing the final layer of her transformation.
“There,” Liora murmured, stepping back with satisfaction. “Perfect.”
Faith inhaled deeply, feeling the weight of destiny settle around her shoulders like the finest silk. She stepped into the corridor, Gerri and Liora flanking her like joyful guardians, their presence grounding her even as anticipation sent sparks through her veins.
The palace corridors had never felt so alive. Late afternoon light spilled gold across the marble, painting everything in warm honey tones. With every step, Faith felt the nervous flutter in her chest intensify, but it wasn’t fear—it was pure, electric excitement.
The clearing in the palace gardens soon came into view, and her breath caught. Kovrak stood beneath the handcrafted wooden arch, and the sight of him stole every coherent thought from her mind. His formal royal blue jacket with silver threading transformed him into something magnificent—not just a man,but a king. Elder Corwin stood at his side in ceremonial robes while Thalen waited as best man, but Faith saw only Kovrak.
This sacred space where they’d first surrendered to each other, where walls had fallen and truths had been whispered in the darkness—now it would witness them binding their lives together forever.
The mate bond pulsed between them, warm and sure, carrying his emotions to her in waves. Awe. Love. Protectiveness.
Liora moved ahead as maid of honor, her steps graceful and sure. Merral’s arm was steady beneath Faith’s hand as he escorted her down the makeshift aisle, but Faith’s eyes never left Kovrak’s. His ice-blue gaze burned with heat that made her skin flush.
When she finally reached him and placed her trembling hands in his larger ones, his smile was soft and reverent—not the controlled expression of a prince, but something purely him. The rebellious swoop of hair across his forehead caught the golden light, and she resisted the urge to brush it back.
“You’re absolutely radiant,” he said softly.
Elder Corwin’s weathered voice rose over the intimate gathering, offering the traditional proclamation of unity and strength that had bound Auryx mates for centuries. But Faith barely heard the words. She was lost in Kovrak’s gaze, and in the feeling of his hands anchoring her to this moment.
When Elder Corwin finished, Kovrak’s voice rose, steady yet thick with emotion as he began his vows.
“Faith,” he said, her name a reverent prayer on his lips. “I promise not just protection and partnership, but choice. I will choose you every day, not because duty demands it, not because the crown requires it, but because you are the other half of my soul. You make me better—not just as a king, but as a man.”
Faith’s own vows rose from somewhere deeper than rehearsed lines, words flowing from her heart with startling clarity.
“Kovrak, you taught me that love doesn’t diminish strength—it multiplies it. I choose you, not because fate decided it, but because you see me. All of me. And with you, I’m not losing myself—I’m becoming who I was always meant to be.”
When they sealed their promises with a kiss beneath the open sky, the world fell away. For one perfect heartbeat, she forgot entirely that a crown awaited. She knew only that she had married the man she loved.
After they broke apart, they followed Elder Corwin inside the palace to the grand ballroom, where hundreds of pride members stood in anticipation. The massive space hummed with energy as Elder Corwin called them forward, his official declaration echoing across the vaulted ceilings.
Kovrak took his king’s oath with unwavering strength, then bowed his head to receive the crown. Faith watched him rise taller than ever, power and humility fused into something magnificent. Then it was her turn—her oath spoken clearly despite the tremble in her chest, the weight of the queen’s crown settling into her hair like destiny made tangible.
The pride’s cheers swelled until the room vibrated with celebration. Through the roar, she caught Kovrak’s gaze—astonished, proud, utterly in love.
When Liora’s mother and grandmother wheeled out the finished wedding cake, flawless and gleaming, Faith laughed in pure delight. Together, she and Kovrak moved to cut the first slice, feeding each other gently amid thunderous applause.
The sweetness melted on her tongue, and she thought it tasted like happiness, like promise, like the extraordinary life they’d chosen.
TWENTY-TWO
FAITH
The opening day of the Festival of Twin Suns blazed across the palace gardens in a symphony of warmth and vibrant celebration, the air alive with the melodic weave of traditional music, the snap of ceremonial banners catching the breeze, and the electric pulse of joy that Faith now felt thrumming through her very bones—not as an outsider looking in, but as one of its vital, beating hearts.
A year ago, she had stood trembling beneath this same expansive sky, her hands shaking as she’d smoothed her borrowed royal blue gown, uncertain and overwhelmed by the weight of hundreds of assessing gazes. Now she stood with serene confidence, one hand braced protectively beneath the pronounced curve of her very pregnant belly, feeling the gentle, secret movements of the twins nestled inside her.
The mate bond between her and Kovrak glowed with quiet, fierce pride as they prepared to open the festival together—not as prince and potential mate, but as king and queen, unified and unshakeable.
“You’re glowing,” Liora murmured as she approached, her bright blue eyes sparkling with affection and barely contained excitement. “Pregnancy suits you, Your Majesty.”
Faith laughed softly, the sound carrying genuine warmth. “These two are certainly making their presence known today.” She pressed her palm more firmly against her belly as one of the babies kicked, sending a ripple of movement across the silk fabric of her ceremonial gown. “I think they’re as eager for the celebration as everyone else.”
The pride was strong, unified, and hopeful—transformed from the fractured, uncertain group she’d first encountered. As elders approached with genuine smiles, as Merral inclined his silver head with paternal affection, as Thalen offered his characteristic nod of respect, Faith felt that deep, anchoring truth settle warm and sure in her chest. She belonged here among these magnificent shifters, human or not.