Page 55 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)

He was my past and my future from the beginning. I simply didn’t know it. A heart and soul know when they’ve found their match. Sometimes it takes the mind a little longer.

~Ainslee Emlyn, personal journals

Rhion

The Keep of Steel has never been so beautiful as it is today.

Hundreds of both Immortals and humans sit in the Throne Room.

All of Ainslee’s friends have shown up—Darian, Maeve, Hazel, and even Cole after he was somehow raised from the dead.

My generals, minus a certain missing one, sit silently as they watch the ceremony.

The entire room that is so often empty is filled with hushed murmurs, creating a rising drum of anticipation.

It’s nothing compared to my racing heartbeat.

I’d never expected to bind my soul to anyone, but in a thousand years, there has only been one who made me want to, and today she’s doing me the honor of fulfilling her betrothal.

A blanket of starlight shines from above us, a marriage gift from her mother.

For the first time in history, true starlight shines in the Keep of Steel, and it is more beautiful than I could imagine.

It’s nothing compared to the woman standing in front of me.

Her dress seems to be made of gold, and yet it’s almost made of nothing at all.

She is the Champion of Hope. Goddess-touched, and capable of weaving her power in exciting new ways. And yet, she’s the same girl I fell in love with when I was only a child. Her eyes still sparkle, and now, no one in the world can miss the glow she puts off.

But it’s for me she glows today, not the crowd. Today, her sparkle is mine, as is her radiance. There is nothing in the world I could wish for more. Not the Throne I claimed. Not the saving of the world. Not even my own happiness matters as much as seeing her like this.

Her hands clasp mine, her palms turned downward, and she smiles at me.

I know I’m supposed to say words, but how can I do that when all I want to do is kiss her?

A touch of the fear of my childhood creeps in.

What if I ruin it all? What if she’s only doing this because she promised me?

What if I’m simply the best choice available rather than the man she dreams of?

I wouldn’t want to cause even a moment of her pain, even if it meant my wildest dreams were coming true.

She seems to understand, and her fingers tangle in mine, breaking the ritual stance. She holds them no differently than she did when we were children. She may glow golden, but she’s still the same girl.

“Rhion, would you like to take a walk with me?” she asks with a smile. “A very long walk, for the rest of our lives and beyond?”

I can’t help but grin, but deep down my heart swells. She knows me in a way that no one else does. She may have just become goddess-touched, but I’ve worshipped at her altar for nearly a millennium.

“I don’t think there’s anything I’d rather do,” I respond, and our hands reset into the ritual stance.

“I offer myself to you,” I say, and even though I know this is supposed to be a solemn moment, I can’t help but grin.

My fingers turn into claws, and this time, they don’t dig into her palms. No blood wells up.

Instead, they softly caress her smooth skin.

Her grin mirrors mine as she repeats the words that we said when we first connected our souls.

“I offer myself to you.” The words dance around us, echoing softly in this separate world that we’re currently living in.

No one and nothing can enter it or interrupt us.

There is no crowd watching and no soft murmurs from the people witnessing.

There is nothing in the world other than the two of us.

And those magical words.

Light appears, not like a torch being lit, illuminating the world. Instead, it appears as fireflies, tiny flecks of light that dance around us in time to our words.

“I have protected you,” I say, remembering how I stood over my father’s body.

I’d resisted his commands, not because they were wrong, but because my soul desired Ainslee’s safety more than it was loyal to my father.

Pride wells up inside me at the memory. I fought back, and I won.

Because of the girl I love. Because of the soul that I so desperately want to share eternity with.

The tie between us tightens, slowly melding together and allowing us to share a single soul. And I understand the words steeling light . The fireflies around us shift into actual fireflies, becoming more than light, more than an illusion.

“I have made you smile,” she says, and wings made of light appear on both of our backs, glowing as brightly as any lantern.

Dozens of nights spent together flash through my mind.

The Moonlit Pools, the Hanging Gardens, and, more than anything, the night we were betrothed.

Every moment with her has been an instruction on how to smile wider and laugh more.

We are no longer laughing between the tears. We’re simply laughing. It’s because of her that I know what happiness is now.

“I helped you to stand tall. I’ve shown you how to shine in the daylight.” It’s impossible to ignore how different she is now. The Countess of Light. The Champion of Hope. A gleaming beacon of the House of Light where she was forgotten so easily when standing next to Cole, Darian, or Maeve.

She is strong now in a way I still struggle to comprehend, but inside, she’s more than strong. She’s fierce. She’s independent. She knows that when she speaks, even Cole and Maeve will listen.

Our wings lift us into the air simultaneously, spinning in time with the echoes of our words. Soft flaps that shouldn’t be able to carry us are all it takes to bring us skyward—through the roof and away from those that watch us.

Everything changes. I can see myself the way she sees me.

My gray eyes shine with true happiness. Her body craves mine, but it’s her soul that truly needs me.

She is strong, and she is bright, but she will always want me to stand beside her.

Even though she dwarfs me in power now. Even though she is the most powerful person in Nyth, she needs me at her side.

“I have reminded you that you are strong. And I have helped you to dance even when the night is darkest.” The world explodes with light—golden and shimmering.

She is the sun in the middle of the night.

Her brightness overshadows even the moon as it sits full and beautiful, and the world beyond our little bubble becomes golden.

Her memories flash through my mind now. The way I’d smiled at her when I pulled the stakes from her chest. The way I’d kissed her rather than cried for her pain.

She’s remembering the strength it took for me to face down my father.

She’s showing me the man who didn’t give in even when he knew he was beaten.

I’ve thought myself weak, that I was unfit to rule, that I was the second-place Prince compared to Cole, but I was the one who fought for her.

I was strong for her . Not for the world, not for what was right.

I stood up to the only person I feared, for her, and I won.

I decided that love was more important than anything else, and her memories tell me why she wants me at her side.

Because I truly would let the world burn in order to save her.

“I’m here to save everyone else,” she whispers. “That’s my job. I need you to save me, and I don’t think there’s a man or woman in the world I’d trust to do that as much as you.”

I smile at her as we float high above a golden world, and I tell her the only truth that I am sure of. “You are my world, Ainslee Emlyn, and I care very little for what happens outside of it.”

“You are mine,” I say, “and no one can take you away from me now.” My part of the ritual is done, and I can feel the bond sealing tight. Even a few minutes ago, I’d been worried that I’d ruin this.

Not now. Never again. I know all my fears have been unfounded ever since that first night when I’d refused to dance with her and the fireflies. I’ve never ruined anything with her.

“You are mine,” she finishes. “But you always were. It took a war and Cole’s death for me to understand the truth. You’re my heart, too, and no one will ever come before you. A woman can’t live without her heart.”

Her words fill me with a lightness I’ve never known before. The last pieces of our souls blend together, and there in the sky, we dance amid the golden fireflies. Her lips press against mine, and I breathe her in. She is life and love and goodness.

I’m what is needed to keep that goodness safe. It’s my real purpose, the reason I was born. To be her sword and shield. And her heart.

For the first time in my life, I truly feel whole. I stare into Ainslee’s eyes, and there isn’t a single doubt she feels the same. Terrible things are coming, but that’s part of life.

There will always be catastrophes. There will always be pain and suffering. All we can do is be a light to the ones who fight that darkness, and while I may not have any light of my own, I will happily be the wall that keeps the winds of the world away from the one who does.

We will not smile between the tears. We will dance in the darkness. Like fireflies, we won’t worry when the clouds cover the sun because our love will be a light of its own.