Page 121 of Embrace the Serpent

I took the other ring. Together, Rane and I rose. The world went soft and silent, and before everyone, he slid a ring on my finger, and I did the same to him.

I drank in the sight of him.

Our first wedding had been one of necessity, born of fear.

Our second had been desperate, not a celebration but a funeral for what we could have been.

And this, our third, before all his people and all of mine, felt like we were tying together the long, winding paths of our lives. Our next steps would not be alone—we would never again be alone.

“It’s rude to refuse a wedding gift,” Rane murmured in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. His hand drew patterns on myback as we smiled at the next couple who came to present their gifts.

The line behind them was long; it seemed everyone was determined to give us a gift before dancing or partaking in food and drink.

I had already received delicately embroidered shoes that would let me dance all night (but could do nothing for the quality of my dancing). Tools that would never dull. A whistle that would let me call an eagle (what I would do once the eagle had come, I didn’t know). A set of riddles to trick a dragon. A box that I must never open, but if I ever needed aid, I was to bury it on a moonless night. A lily pad large enough to sit on, that would transport me on water (and unlike a horse, it couldn’t bite me). Each was more wondrous than the last.

“Why are so many of them for me?” I asked Rane.

One of the eagle folk overheard. He was huge and regal, crested in a plume of feathers the color of morning sunlight. “You have given us freedom,” he said, gesturing at his amulet, “and asked nothing in return. A gift so great as what you have given us cannot be repaid, but allow us to present you with these paltry tokens of our gratitude.”

Paltry tokens? Even the Emperor hadn’t possessed such riches. It was more than I would’ve made in a lifetime of jewelsmithing, even if I had been paid five times as handsomely as Galen.

I ducked my head, embarrassed and overwhelmed, and Rane kissed my temple and whispered, “Shall we make our escape?”

I nodded.

“Thank you all,” he said to the crowd. “Please, drink, eat, make merry. But I’m afraid I must steal away my wife....”

Rane led me across a bridge, and my shoulders relaxed once we hadleft the party behind. I shot him a grateful look, and he winked. We stopped before the palace steps, the lapping waves almost drowning out the distant sounds of revelry.

“They’re too kind,” I said.

“I think, perhaps, they see you clearly. As I do.” He pulled out a sheaf of papers from inside his jacket and held them out to me. “I may not be a perfect husband, but you should know that I’ll always keep my promises to you.”

I unfolded the papers. The first was a drawing of a tall three-story building surrounded by a low wall. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. The next was similar, but with several more diamond-paned windows and a chimney belching smoke.

And the third, was Galen’s old workshop. My old workshop, with the circular window at the top.

“All three are available. Say the word, and it’ll be yours.”

My breath caught. I’d forgotten our bargain, but he’d remembered. I was so different from the old Saphira who’d made the deal. Her world had been so very small that the best she could imagine was a way to keep jewelsmithing without all of the bad things that had come with it.

I folded up the papers. My world was so much larger now. “I don’t want a shop on Gem Lane.”

A bright, surprised smile flickered on his face, but was quickly replaced with an intent look. “Are you sure? It was your dream.”

“I’d rather keep working in the palace.” I had moved out of the submerged cavern and into an unused bedroom. The little desk had worked well enough for the amulets. “I don’t mind.”

A grin blossomed across his lips as if he’d heard my thoughts, and then a touch of mischief entered his eyes. “Well, if you’re sure.” He patted his jacket, and something rustled. “Oh, I forgot. There’s one last option.” Rane pulled out one last drawing and held it up. It was of a workshop I had never seen, with flowers spilling down the side and softly rounded curves. A lake glimmered behind it.

He lowered the drawing, and across the lake, at one edge of the mostly rebuilt town, there it was. A little, perfect shop at the edge of the water. A streetlamp cast light on the gleaming glass windows, and there was a sign that hung over the door, too small to make out, but I imagined what it could say: Saphira’s Jewelsmithery.

The sunset light glimmered softly in Rane’s eyes. He hadn’t shown me this little perfect shop until he was sure that I wasn’t giving up a dream for him. But he didn’t realize that knowing him had made me into something greater than I had ever dreamed. I wanted to grow with him, for him to grow with me. I wanted to make jewels by his side. I wanted to see how loving him would continue to change me.

I stood on my tiptoes, my lips close to his, and whispered, “I have a new dream.”

He said, “Let’s make it come true.”

Our breaths mingled, and it became a promise.