Page 101 of Ringmaster

“Do you, the Kings of the Infernal Realms, agree to bear witness to the consummation of the mating bond?”

“I do,” they answer in unison.

“Then so we shall begin,” The Present cackles.

The mage-lights flicker then extinguish as the wards around the thrones protecting Selestina and I shatter.

When the mage-lights burst once again, illuminating the throne room, the wraiths stand between our thrones. The Past holds a dagger, the Future holds a basin, and the Present smiles.

“Stand and join before us so that you may be properly bound,” they chant.

“Your threads have been spun together since the beginning of time. Once more, you’ve found each other. We’ve watched as this new world forged you, making you stronger, challenging your strength, and most of all testing your individual resilience. The scars you carry are a source of power as well as oaths yet unpaid,” The Past says, her tone heavy and serious.

The Present continues, “Before shadow and bone, you stand unmasked. Choose now to become bound, for what you make cannot be unmade.”

“The path you select tonight will echo beyond death, beyond time. You’re not promised happiness, you’re only promised each other.” the Future adds.

The Past holds up the dagger. “Azrael, step forward accept this dagger and make your vow.”

I do as she commands. I reach for the blade, but she yanks it back.

“Do you take Selestina—shadow-kissed and fallen, ruler of the dead—as your fate-bound mate? Do you vow to guard her even when she brings ruin to the realms, to love her even when love costs your soul?”

“I do,” I answer.

“Make your vow, and slice your palm.”

I accept the dagger, and gripping it in my hand, and turn to stare at my mate. “I take Selestina as my mate. I vow to protect her in the name of shadow and in bone. Let my soul perish if ever I forsake her. If I betray her, Death deny me peace. She’s my light, my balance, my undoing, and I am hers now and forever, until the end of time.”

I drag the dagger across my palm, watching as my jet-black blood trickles out.

“Good,” the Present says, motioning for me to pass the dagger to Selestina.

“Selestina,” the Present whispers, “Do you take Azrael, winged and cursed, ruler of Hell, as your fate-bound mate? Do you vow to rule with him, to love him even when love calls for blood?”

She takes the dagger from me, our fingers barely brushing, just enough to feel a zing. “I accept him in all his darkness. In shadow and in bone. Let my crown turn to ash if ever I forsake him, and let the dead rise to curse me, rotting for an eternity should I ever betray him. He is mine, and I am his.”

“Now slice your palm,” the Present says anxiously.

The Future speaks next. “Do you seal this oath with blood, that the Fates may bind you, and with soul, that none may sever you?”

I look at Selestina, and she returns my stare. In unison, we answer, “We seal it with blood, with soul, and with shadow.”

When our palms touch, shadows explode, binding us together, pulling bits of soul from each of us to create one thread, one future for us both. The Fates collect the dripping blood in the basin, then light it on fire. We watch as it burns black as night, and the bond locks into place.

Chapter 47

Selestina

“You must consummate the mating bond to lock it in place. Your witnesses are assembled. Don’t keep them waiting.” The wraiths disappear in a cyclone of darkness.

My pulse races. I thought I could do this, but now the idea of doing things with Azrael in front of his brothers terrifies me.

I reach for him through our bond.What happens now?

Now, little angel of mine—my mate, my queen, my love—I’m going to claim you in front of all of them.

Goosebumps race over my skin, and my stomach twists in knots. Part of me doesn’t think I can go through with this, and the other part longs to feel him inside of me again. Thinking aboutit makes my core ache with desire, wetness pooling between my legs, leaving me to self-consciously wonder if he can scent it.