When Tadhg pulled out a twisted ball of ribbons from his pocket, I could’ve strangled him with them. I’d given them to him separately for this very reason. It took him and Keelynn an entire minute to untangle them from one another. Eventually, they did, and he offered a sheepish smile before wrapping our joined hands.
Technically, the handfasting wasn’t necessary, but I didn’t want there to be any question that the two of us were wed.
My throat thickened as I stared down at my new bride. “My light, my love, my world, I have been intrigued by you, hated by you, and saved by you. To be loved by you is my greatest joy. To spend eternity at your side is my greatest honor. I stand before you of my own free will and offer you my hand and my heart from this day until my last. For you, I forsake all others. To you, my soul is forever bound.”
Silver tears glistened on Aveen’s impossibly long lashes and yet her words never faltered. “My wicked, devious prince. I have hated you and loved you in the same breath. If I’m your light, then you are my dark shadow, always by my side. I stand before you of my own free will and offer you my hand and my heart from this day until my last. For you, I forsake all others. To you, my soul is forever bound.”
I needed no throne, no kingdom, no castle, no crown so long as this woman remained by my side.
When our lips finally met and magic marked our ring fingers with a thin black band, I finally found my missing piece.
46
AVEEN
I was married.
To aprince.
Bloody hell.
Who would’ve thought when I first stumbled upon Rían in that shed back in Graystones, one day I would be his wife? Certainly not me.
I traced the magical tattoo encircling my finger. Solid, black, and infinite, like my love for my new husband.
No fanfare followed the ceremony, only a handful of hugs and well-wishes and a plate of cherry tarts on a tray beside Rían’s bed. How he’d pulled this off in such a short amount of time I would never know. Another plan perfectly executed.
Rían reached into the drawer of the bedside table and tossed something toward me. A glinting gold band hit my knee. The sapphire on top looked familiar. “Is this the ring you gave me when we were pretending to be engaged?”
His lips twitched with the barest hint of a smile. “Maybe.”
“I appreciate you tossing it at me as if it means nothing,” I teased, slipping the cold band over my finger, concealing the tattoo.
“I might point out that you’re the one who proposed to me, so really, you should be the one giving me a ring.”
“Oh, please. We both know this marriage is a sham. I only proposed to you because I’ve always secretly wanted to be a princess.”
A startled laugh burst from his chest.
Warmth spilled through my own. I was so happy, I could’ve spontaneously combusted.
His dark brows arched, and dimples appeared with his crooked smile. “Is that so? You’re only interested in me for a crown? My cock has nothing to do with it.”
“That’s right.”
His bare chest expanded with his deep inhale. “Mmmm. You tell the sweetest lies.”
I collected my second tart and took a bite to hide my grin. My eyes sank closed as pure bliss swirled on my tongue. When they opened again, I found my husband smiling around a bite of his own tart.
A husband.
I’d never wanted one of those, and yet here I lounged, perfectly content.
When I took a second bite, my finger poked through the buttery crust to the warm gooey center, spilling crumbs over the sheets. “There’s only one thing I don’t like about these tarts.”
Rían’s chin jerked back. “Blasphemy.”
“What happened to hearing all the evidence before making a ruling?”