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“You’re welcome to consummate the marriage anywhere within the temple, but first you need to be wed for it to count.”

Aurora fought a blush and lost.

Theron laughed.

“Aunty, may I present my soon-to-be wife, Aurora.”

“Aunty?”

“I was once a princess of Aureum, and half-sister to the late king, but that’s a story for another day. If you hope to be married before the palace realises what’s happened, we shouldn’t delay.” Myrina winked before her brows knit with concern. “Goddess, but you’re tiny. Hmmmm.” Myrina clucked over Aurora, sizing her up and then Theron.

Theron set her back down on the pink and ruby mosaic floor as Myrina whispered to one of her acolytes, who rushed off. Then the high priestess ushered them to kneel at the feet of Passion’s statue.

“Now, let’s get a good look at the two of you,” Myrina said, her eyes seeming to look right through them. “Oh,” she said, tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s a blessed day after all.”

“Aunty?” Theron asked, his brow raised in question.

“Bound by the thread of fate and dyed in the deepest red. My goddess blesses you with Her passion,” Myrina said, her breath catching. “I’m so happy for you, my little lion.”

Theron gazed down at Aurora, blinking owlishly, more shocked than she’d ever seen him.

Her mind raced with the implications. They were fated? But what did it mean that the person Passion had chosen for her had been born thousands of years before her? Was she always meant to come here, to this time, this man? If they wed here and now, she would alter the history she knew—for he would marry a commoner, not a princess. Was she meant to change history—fate—after all? Could she be meant for more than just suffering? Tied to more than just the worst things in the Tapestry?

“I thought…I thought the only fate I was bound to was Drakon’s,” she said, her voice hitching. Was it possible her fate was not entirely soaked in the garnet tones of Death, her life not wholly one marked by loss and despair? Was Theron her hope? The light to balance the bitter darkness of her path?

“In all things, balance. Chaos and peace. Tragedy and love. This Drakon might have stained your path with Death, but Passion has blessed you as well.”

Aurora bit her lip and wiped the tears from her eyes. It seemed she was fated to be a mess today. She must look atrocious. Aurora laughed.

“Are you ready?” Myrina asked.

“Yes,” Aurora replied.

“Yes,” Theron said, clearly still recovering from his shock.

“Then make your offerings to Passion,” Myrina said, her eyes glowing with divine power. Suddenly Aurora could feel the goddess’ gaze on her, a hot, nearly choking heat that wound its way around her.

Theron took off one of his golden cuffs. Aurora took off one of the bracelets she’d been given. They laid them amongst the other offerings. She recognised Epicasta’s necklace and one of the staffs wielded by the groom’s warriors. It must have been Hyllus’.

“Bind your chosen, your fated, from this breath until their last, to be reunited in the Loom and spun anew with your blessings.”

The fiery heat sank into her sinew and bones. Aurora crumpled to the floor, melting as she was prepared to be reforged anew. Theron was there beside her, struggling against the weight of the goddess’ brand. He reached out to her and gripped her hand in his. Something within her unfurled and then tangled, anchoring her with a weight she didn’t recognise. She kept her gaze on Theron’s. His eyes flashed with red flames before the pressure suddenly eased. Catching their breaths, Aurora and Theron simply stared into each other’s eyes. Deep inside, something settled into place. They stood up on shaky legs as Myrina smiled.

“You are wed by Passion. Please complete your prayers anywhere within the temple. If you prefer privacy, my acolyte here will lead you to a room.”

Aurora flushed again, looking up at Theron as her heart raced. The marriage wasn’t binding until they consummated it. She remembered the sight of him nude on the first day she met him, wide and solid and strong. But she also recalled just how large he was. Everywhere. Trepidation bloomed in her chest.

“Please take these as a gift from my temple,” Myrina said as another acolyte approached with a small case decorated in suggestive imagery. “And not to spoil the mood, but you’d best hurry. I’ll keep them off your scent as long as possible, but it won’t be long now.” She urged them to follow the acolytes. “If you run into any, erm, difficulty , remember that an orgasm each will suffice for the purposes of the binding!”

Theron shot Myrina a killing glare. And if Aurora wasn’t mistaken, the tips of his slightly pointed ears heated. For some strange reason, it made her less nervous about what was to come. In record time, they were taken to a cosy room on the third floor with a view of the crowded plaza below. The attendants set the case inside the room, wished them well, and closed the door behind them.

Aurora and Theron stared at each other as the silence dragged on. Fated. She’d never given the idea of a fated match much thought. Such things were rare. Precious. And her life had held enough precious things in it—her family, her scholarship, Phaedra—that she’d never wished to tempt bad luck by wishing for more. She swallowed, her throat suddenly parched. Aurora spied a pitcher of water and poured herself a glass.

Theron was frozen to the spot, staring at her with the same disbelief she felt. No doubt it was doubly jarring for a king. Royalty never married for anything but politics. She glanced away from him, looking around the room but seeing nothing. And always her eyes were drawn back to him. A man whose thread was intertwined with hers. Triad, this was awkward. She tried to speak, but the moment she opened her mouth he did the same. Aurora shut hers, just as he covered his own and coughed.

She’d thought she would simply feel the urge to leap into his arms and lose herself in him, but this was different. They were different. Something important weighed heavily between them—a lifetime commitment, the blessing of a goddess, two lives made one. Fate was not to be taken lightly. It made her nervous. Perhaps she should have drunk the whole of Epicasta’s paint-peeling alcohol.

“I’m—” He pointed at his clothes.

“Right—” Aurora gripped the fabric of hers, palms sweaty.

They had to see things through, to pray—to consummate.

“Perhaps we should—” He tipped his head towards the bed.

Fear galvanized her steps.

“I’ll go see what’s in the box.” Aurora rushed over to it, swallowing a groan.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid .

When she opened it, the contents did nothing to quell her anxiety. Her mind reeled as it processed what was laid out before her in a custom, velvet-lined case. She choked on her next breath, slamming the lid shut.

Theron padded over, his hand on the lid.

“No!” Aurora fought him to keep it closed.

Merciful Triad, please let a hole swallow her up and take her shame with it.

“It can’t be that bad,” he argued as they wrestled for the case.

She covered it with her body, clinging to it with all her might. But Theron was a trained warrior and he quickly pried it free, one limb at a time. When he finally won it from her, holding it above where she could reach, he peeked inside.

“Hmmm. She’s nothing if not practical.”

“P-practical?! T-there are d-dildos in there! Glass dildos! EIGHT of them! What are we meant to do with eight dildos?! ”

“And in a range of sizes,” he said, a slow smirk lighting on his face. He plucked one from inside and tested it in his palm. “Catch,” he said, tossing it to her.

She caught it before it shattered on the floor. Like a fool. Her face blazed. Her fingers didn’t even meet when she held it the damn thing was so enormous. He set the case aside.

“Why would you—”

“That’s my size,” he said, his eyes raking her with heat.

“But this is the biggest one!” she accused him, shaking the thing at him.

“So it is.”

“Oh goddess…”

He advanced on her. She backed away, holding the dildo out as if it were a sword. It might as well be. She could probably kill someone with it. Given the size, it might do her in.

“Will it fit?” he asked, backing her into a corner, looming over her until she was holding the dildo less like a sword and more like it was a lifeline. She averted her eyes as her mind spun. He tipped her chin up so she was forced to drown in his golden gaze.

Just the heat in his look made her ache. Her grip on the glass tightened.

“I don’t…uh…maybe? Its…the…well, um… it’s really big,” she spluttered out, her words ending in a whimper.

He wrested the dildo from her grip and set it aside.

“Then we’ll complete our prayers another way. Once we’re fully bound, I’ll go slowly, ruining you one toy at a time until you can take me. Would you like that, Aurora?” he purred.

Heat crept up her neck again as she envisioned just what he might do to her. Things she’d only dreamt of.

She nodded.

“Then say it.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Yes, what?”

Her breath came fast. Was this how it was to be between them? Him speaking her fantasies into being, making her say words that had spent a lifetime trapped in the back of her throat? She swallowed.

“Yes, I would like that.”

“And if at any time you don’t like something, what will you say?”

Merciful Triad, she was required to think during this ordeal? They were both quite doomed.

“Stop?”

He smiled.

“Good enough. Clothes on or off?”

“Off. On! Wait…oh, I don’t know,” she groaned.

Theron chuckled and scooped her up, his eyes glittering gold. He sat down on the edge of the bed and arranged her in his lap, the skirt of her gown hiked up around her thighs as she straddled him, her knees on either side of his hips. He divested her of her veil and began pulling the pins from her hair, massaging her scalp. She leaned into his expert touch, the tension leaving her shoulders as he freed the last of her hair from its confines. Aurora helped him out of his headband, necklace and earrings. He ran his finger along the edge of her ear, sending a shiver down her spine when he freed her from the weight of her earrings. Her eyes were on his lips. She remembered how soft they were, how sweet his kisses could be, and how demanding, how consuming. He leaned in for a kiss and she placed a finger on his lips.

“You’re really alright with this? There’s no going back. No undoing it.”

The question took him aback. A flash of something, maybe vulnerability, crossed his face. He looked away, threading his fingers through hers.

“In a perfect world, I would have preferred more time to know you. I know you’re courageous, infuriatingly soft-hearted, that you’re intelligent, devious when it suits you, but I might have preferred to wait until I knew if you could smile for me the way you do for Hyllus, if you could laugh with me as you do him. In a perfect world, I would have liked to give you the choice of temple, the choice to leave if you so chose. But this world is flawed, as are we all. I’m a jealous man, a bad man who has chosen to be a good king, honourable when it suits me and wicked when it doesn’t. In this world, you’re the only one I would choose to bind myself to. But maybe the more salient question is this—are you alright with this, knowing there’s no going back?”

Aurora swallowed. He wasn’t looking at her, giving her time to sort through her thoughts without the pressure of his desires. But the answer was yes. She’d wanted him from the start, much as she’d tried to resist. She knew he was flawed, calculating, possessive, but he’d also, time and again, seen her through the worst both she and the ancient past had to offer and still chose to remain by her side. That didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of what the bond would mean, how it would alter her life, her future. But courage was not borne out of fearlessness.

With her fingertips on his jaw, she turned his head to hers, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. She chose to be brave—to take a leap of faith and trust that this man who was meant for her would stand by her side for all that was to come. That what they had together now would blossom and grow.

He deepened their kiss, one hand on the back of her head, the other slipping under her skirt. Nerves assailed her as she placed her hands on his chest. His heart hammered against her touch, and a part of her anxiety quieted. Theron was as nervous as she—of course he was. Warmth bloomed in her chest. They could be brave together.

He rubbed her through the fabric of her underclothes, swallowing her cries. She fought his belt off in increasingly jerky movements as he played with her. When Aurora finally freed him, she took his silken length in her hands and explored him as much as she could while he teased her to distraction. She wasn’t certain how something that large would ever fit inside her, but as he brought her to the edge of the precipice, she found herself more and more eager to discover the means.

Theron’s kiss became rougher, more demanding, his hips rising to meet her strokes. And yet his touch on her remained feather-light and maddeningly close to the ecstasy she needed. Aurora returned his kiss as punishingly as she was able. She needed and he was denying her. As she crested the peak of desire, she squeezed him harder. Bucking in her hold, he growled as he spent in her hands. He pressed hard on her soaked underclothes and she broke off their kiss to cry out as she joined him. Breathing ragged, she rode his palm until the pleasurable shocks faded.

It was unfortunate their first time had needed to be rushed like this. Their eyes met as they caught their breaths.

Aurora gasped.

Fire raced down her spine, her nerves set alight with unexpected pleasure, as strong as the orgasm she’d just experienced. Her mind felt foggy with lust and need, the world taking on a haze of red. A need so overwhelming, so voracious, crept up and over her, until she was shaking. Theron stiffened, his eyes wide as the gold was replaced by fiery red.

What was happening? Fear and arousal rode her in equal measure.

“Theron?”

“It’s alright. It’s alright,” he groaned, a shiver racing down his spine.

The heat concentrated on her core, building and building until Aurora was a panting, shaky mess. She’d never felt such need before. It trampled every other thought in her mind, every other sensation, until she was nothing but overwhelming lust trapped inside the flesh of a woman. Seeking the pressure of his hand, her body demanded another release.

Theron wrapped his hand around hers, pumping it along his hard length as he gave her what she sought with the heel of his other hand. Without finesse or control, they used each other for pleasure, overcome. Their lips met, each fighting for dominance. Everywhere he touched, her skin felt scorched, and she yearned for the burn more than her next breath. Aurora sank the nails of her free hand into the flesh of his chest, drawing blood, a savage need to claim him, to mark him riding her hard. He repaid the pain with his own, kissing the column of her neck until he could mark her with his teeth. She mewled as pain mingled with and then was overtaken by pleasure. She was close again, his rough handling only sending her further over the edge. When at last he gave her what she sought, she screamed, stars bursting behind her eyes, her body alight with a pleasure so intense she felt it down to her toes. She pressed her forehead to his chest and whimpered in the aftermath, kissing the marks she’d left on him in apology. Theron swore, releasing a second time.

When it was done, the haze lifted and her mind returned to her. The animalistic desire ebbed from her body until she felt herself again. Aurora shivered. She dared look up to find Theron’s eyes were gold once again.

They collapsed on the bed, faces flushed and eyes wide.

“It’s done,” Theron panted. “We’re bound by Passion.”

That was the sacred binding ceremony?

A laugh bubbled up inside her. If people knew the goddess Herself gave Her couples an extra, mind-numbingly good orgasm when they were wed, how many more would have signed up for a lifetime binding ritual? Aurora giggled.

“Do you think that happens every time?”

Theron’s face lit in a smile. Her heart stuttered. He winked.

“Give me a few minutes and we’ll test it out.”

She grinned, feeling playful.

“It’s an understudied aspect of temple rituals. We’ll have to do it several times. For the sake of scholarship,” she said, tracing circles on his chest and fluttering her lashes at him.

“Oh of course. Purely for academic reasons,” he replied nobly, even though his gaze devoured her.

“Never doubt the rigour of my scholarly pursuits. I take these things very seriously,” Aurora added, sidling closer.

“Do you, now? In that case, we should test it out in all of Passion’s temples from here to Altanus. You know, to be thorough,” he purred.

“I knew you’d see it my way.”

“Was there any doubt?” he asked.

She leaned in to kiss him as happiness fizzed through her veins. He obliged, their kiss soft and playful. Her worries eased in her chest. It had been so long since she’d felt even a little bit mischievous. They could be silly together. Her heart pumped something warm and full of light through her body. Fate had taken so much from her, made her feel like she might never get even a slice of her former self back. But here she felt a tiny spark of her old self. Aurora could have wept with the magnitude of her relief, of her gratitude, of her hope. They’d made the right choice in each other.

Shouting in the temple halls interrupted them. They stood, Theron urging Aurora to stand behind him. The palace had discovered them.