Page 36 of A Vow of Embers

“I will have him,” I finally said.

There. It was done.

Maia handed her torch to Thrax and then held out her hands to both of us. When we gave them to her, she joined our right hands together. I’d been so careful about not touching him that when our palms pressed together, and his fingers wrapped around my hand, I almost jumped. That spark was there. An ember still glowing with heat, waiting for a small puff of air to bring it back to life. My skin flamed up everywhere that he touched me.

I had honestly thought this reaction would go away now that I knew the real him.

But as he held on to me, all I could think about was how that hand had touched parts of me that no other man ever had.

She wrapped a long green ribbon around our connected hands and tied it with a knot. “Then the goddess joins you together, as husband and wife. May you live a long, fruitful life together.”

As soon as she released us, I slipped my hand out of the ribbon and got it away from him. I had started to sweat and tremble and I didn’t want him to know.

We hate him,I reminded my body, but it didn’t seem to be listening.

Maia hugged me. “This is where I leave you. I go no further. This is your new life.”

There had been a comfort having her fill this role. I hadn’t realized she would leave. I had thought she would stay with me to the end.

She added, “I’m here whenever you need me. I’ll pray for the goddess to watch over you and keep you safe.”

“Thank you” was the only thing I could think to say. It felt inadequate. I wanted to beg her to stay, to not make me face this by myself.

Maia leaned back and smiled at me. “Remember that you are loved and you are not alone.”

She took her torch from Thrax and began her walk back to the temple. I wanted to watch her go but I felt Alexandros’s fingers wrapping around my wrist. My instinct was to pull back but Io had told me about this part. That he would take me by the wrist and lead me to my newhome, symbolic of his dominance over me and my obedience to him. It infuriated me.

We approached the entrance, and the woman I’d guessed was his stepmother watched us. She was slight with long, thick dark hair. She was an extremely beautiful woman.

When we got close, she said, “I am Queen Erisa, Prince Alexandros’s mother.”

I felt the way he flinched when she said that.

“Welcome to your new home, and we welcome you to our family.” There was no warmth in her voice, and all I could think about was how she had hurt Io, over and over again.

I wondered whether she was on the list of people I was not allowed to kill.

She gave the torches to someone and walked into the palace. I had started to follow her when the pressure on my wrist increased.

“Wait,” the prince said.

Then, before I knew what was happening, he put one arm around my back and the other under my knees and swung me up into his arms.

And this wasn’t the first time he’d done it.

Last time he had taken me to his bed. This time he was taking me into his home.

“I can walk,” I told him. I wanted to struggle against him, fight my way free, but was aware that people were watching us.

“It’s bad luck if the bride trips while crossing over the threshold,” he said without looking at me. “This is tradition.”

Nobody had warned me about this part. I was still angry but a small part of me was impressed by his strength. Before he had carried me only a few steps. This was quite a bit farther. I wasn’t small like Io—it couldn’t have been easy, but he wasn’t even breathing hard.

As we went down a hallway, far past the threshold, he continued to carry me. Was he worried that I was going to try and run away? At one point I thought he had stooped his head to sniff at my neck, but when I glanced up at him, his gaze was straight ahead.

Wonderful. Now I’m imagining things.

We reached a massive dining hall, where a great fire roared in the center of the room. The hearth of the home.