Page 34 of Last Knight (Knights Through Time #7)

The doors to the chapel opened. She heard the sound of a harp, and smelled juniper and beeswax from the candles.

The scent of cinnamon and cloves filled the air.

The chapel looked like something out of a fairytale, covered with greenery and candles.

The wedding was to be family only. Afterward, they would join the rest of the castle in the hall for a feast with music and dancing.

Her soon-to-be sisters were dressed in beautiful gowns of every color, their jewels sparkling in the candlelight. And the men… Though all were handsome, she only had eyes for one.

Everyone was watching her. Ashley stumbled and straightened her shoulders. Somehow she made it to the front of the chapel where the priest waited. Christian mouthed, I love you .

“Tonight we come together, celebrating two souls joining together. Without love, life is meaningless; without love, death has no redemption.”

The priest nodded to Christian as a rumble of thunder sounded outside.

“Join hands. Above you are the stars, below you the earth. As time passes, let your love be as constant as the stars, as firm as the earth. Be close to one another, have patience and understanding, for the storm will come. Together you will bend, not break.”

She was so full of emotion she felt the earth rumble.

“What was that?”

Ashley thought it was Charlotte who spoke. So it wasn’t just her. Everyone was looking around and at each other. And Ashley noticed each of the women were pale and watching her very closely. But she’d already survived a storm, and nothing had happened. It was fine.

The priest cleared his throat. “Place the ring on her finger.”

She felt something cool slip over her finger, a momentary pain and warmth. She looked down to see a gold ring with an emerald. It had hit a scab on her knuckle, as she watched, a drop of blood welled up.

Then the priest handed Christian a cup. “Drink and bind yourselves to one another.”

The wind screamed. There were nervous looks, but no one said a word.

Christian drank and handed her the cup. She looked at her hands, the ring from her mother on her right hand and the gold band with the emerald from Christian on her left.

She’d felt awful she didn’t have a ring for him, but he told her not to worry; she could surprise him later.

Ashley drank from the cup and handed it back to the priest, yet it was if she were in two places, here and back in New York.

She could see it all so clearly, hear the sounds of cars honking and people shouting, the subway as it rumbled down the tracks, taste the food from her favorite restaurants, and see her apartment with its big windows.

The priest adjusted his robe and looked to Christian, nodding. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. May your love endure any storm and serve as a guiding light in the darkness.”

The rumbling came again, and she heard thunder.

It was like she was half awake and half dreaming as she saw her new family surrounding her, the man she loved in front of her, and yet she could see her home.

The streets filled with traffic, the smell of the exhaust, overlaid with the smell of the greenery and beeswax here in the chapel, made her nauseated.

She heard a scream, but wasn’t sure if it came from her or someone else.

She felt like she was floating, and Ashley looked down to see that she seemed to be shimmering. Was she dreaming?

She reached out for Christian, and from far away heard him call, “Come back. Don’t leave me.”

She tried to focus on him, but the sounds were so loud. She turned her head to look.

Someone called out, “Ashley. Focus on Christian.”

But she wanted one last look.

Christian had been pleased with himself for getting Ashley to agree to marry him.

They were almost to the end of the ceremony, and he had finally convinced himself she would not run at the last moment, when something odd happened.

He had taken the ring and slipped it over her finger.

But when he did so, it hit where she had scraped it against the stone wall yesterday, and he watched as a drop of blood welled up and fell to the floor.

It was then that the earth rumbled, and as he took hold of her hand, trying to comfort her, he watched his hand vanish.

He would not let go of Ashley even as he felt a great pull. His arm vanished, and Christian heard terrible sounds. He saw everyone in the chapel, but also saw something else.

Strange horseless carriages he knew must be cars. It was as if he had one foot here at Winterforth and the other with Ashley in her world. He looked down to see he was still holding her hand. Yet when he looked up at her, she was still, like the stone walls of the castle .

“Ashley? Do you wish to stay?”

She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “What do you want?”

“I want to be with you. I care not where. If you wish to go home, I would follow. I would follow you anywhere. Without you, I have no home.”

She turned her head, listening. “They’re calling for us. I’ve never had sisters or a big family.” She took a deep breath and one last look, as if she were committing every sight, sound, and smell to memory. The sound of the great horseless carriages and the smells made Christian clench his jaw.

She took his other hand in hers and looked up at him, love in her eyes. “You are my home. Shall we?”

Christian came to sitting on the floor of the chapel, Ashley in his arms. He looked up to see everyone standing around them and the priest on the ground beside him.

“He fainted,” Edward said.

“We’ll tell him he had too much to drink before the ceremony,” James said as William and Robert helped the priest to his feet.

Christian pressed his lips to Ashley’s. “Wake, my wife.”

She blinked a few times and focused on his face, smiling. Christian felt his heart open wide. They had each other, the love of their family. Nothing else mattered. They were complete, and Christian would spend every day of the rest of his life telling her how much he loved her.

“Thank goodness we only have family at the wedding,” Lucy said.

Melinda added, “Can you imagine trying to explain what happened?”

William clapped Christian on the back. “Watching you vanish, I was more scared than when I fought my first battle. We could hear the sounds but could not see what made them. All I could think was that this is what Lucy had come through to be with me. You are a brave man. ”

Christian was overcome. He wiped his eye. “Dust. I have dust in my eye.”

“You can put me down now,” his wife said.

“Nay, I wish to keep you close.”

“Well, as long as you put me down when we get inside. I’m starving.”

Christian laughed, carrying his wife out of the chapel and into the hall, where they would begin their new life together.

Ashley laughed as Christian kicked open the door to the bedchamber. Candles flickered around the room like some kind of fairytale. There was juniper tied with ribbon and wine waiting for them. Her sisters had outdone themselves.

“My Lady Winterforth.”

He laid her down on the bed, staring down at her, and while Ashley had boyfriends in the past, being in love made everything feel like it was the first time.

“Not only are you beautiful outside but you have a beautiful heart, my love.” He removed her shoes, smiling when he saw the embroidery on the tops of her stockings.

Ashley grinned. “Melinda thought it was funny to embroider little swords and hearts on them.”

He kicked off his boots and climbed up on the bed, stretching out next to her.

“If you ever left me, I could not breathe. When you started to go, you took the air with you. You are the air to me, Ashley. Don’t ever do that again.”

“I saw you there with me. And I knew we belonged here, with our family. I will never leave you. We’ll grow old together.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I will keep you safe, treasure you, and love you. ”

She wiped her eyes. “Don’t make me cry. It makes my face all red.”

“As you wish.”

And they spent the night loving each other, knowing they had the rest of their lives together to learn what made them both sigh with pleasure. As the night deepened and turned to dawn, Ashley curled up next to her husband and fell asleep, perfectly content.