Page 5 of Ties of Starlight (Tethered Hearts #2)

E verything was going perfectly. Idonea took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the Star Lily bouquet in her hands. The thick, voluminous layers of her veil kept her from seeing anything but the fuzziest outlines of what was closest to her. While she couldn’t make out the details of her face, Idonea knew the hand on her shoulder belonged to one of the Constella's servants.

They stood by the door leading outside of the castle and into the courtyard already decorated and almost overflowing with all those attending the Cometa Couple’s wedding. A once in a lifetime opportunity for most.

Idonea assumed they were waiting for the sun to fall in the sky just enough for the first star to appear in the sky to begin, but she couldn't see to confirm whether that was the case. There was no other reason to delay.

Finally, the servant squeezed Idonea's shoulder and turned her in the right direction and opened the door. She said, “Just walk straight until—”

“I reach the arch, I know. It'll be exactly fifty steps for me,” Idonea said, taking another deep breath, her heart jumping. Fifty steps to perfection, to a happy ending, to everything finally going right.

“Right...” The servant shook her head. “Off you go.”

Idonea took her first step out the door and started the fifty steps to destiny. She knew she was walking down an aisle between a vast crowd of elves all looking at her. Not that they could really see her beneath the veils imitating the night sky and the voluminous skirts swirling and sweeping behind her. Her sleeves parted at the wrist to drape down and blend into the purple, blue, white, and gold.

Ten.

She made sure her shoulders were straight and the flowers were at the right angle, her bouquet being one of the few things she could make out beneath the gauzy haze obscuring her view.

Twenty.

She would give no one any reason to say that the wedding was anything but perfect. No reason to accuse her of being Inga.

Thirty.

Idonea's heart was about to leap right out of her chest and tear through the expensive, fine silk covering her. She was about to be married. Even if it was to the love of her life, that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking.

Forty.

Idonea could just barely make out the arch she was coming up on. The Constella stood by the Constellation Font, and Idonea had just counted forty-nine when her foot brushed the cushion on the ground.

It was slightly out of place. Idonea wobbled just a little, as she'd already been preparing for her last step, but managed to get her balance before falling and ruining everything.

Why wasn't it in the right place? Why hadn't they double checked that it was in the right spot?

Still, Idonea took a deep breath. Everything was fine. It was just a pillow. A slightly askew cushion couldn't ruin this.

Idonea couldn't make out the Constella's expression, but she saw him shift, his gaze going over Idonea's shoulder. It was only her immense discipline that kept her from trying to sneak a look over her shoulder at Olaug as he came down after her. Not that she'd really be able to see anything. So she stayed perfectly still, facing forward, heart swelling as every second brought him closer.

A murmur went through the crowd, and Idonea tightened her grip on her bouquet. That wasn't supposed to happen.

But it wasn't ruining anything. Maybe it was because of how desperately they needed this wedding. They were as excited and relieved as she was that it was happening and their people would be strengthened.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye as he reached her, taking his place beside her in front of the second cushion. Of course, with Idonea's height and the veil, she couldn't actually see him. She only saw his shoulder.

“Cometa Couple, kneel.”

Idonea was about to start the delicate process of lifting her skirts enough to kneel, while also holding her bouquet and not dropping it or falling over herself, when a hand was pulling the bouquet from hers and another was on her shoulder, steadying her. That didn’t usually happen.

A warm rush flooded Idonea as she gathered her skirts into her hands and adjusted them so she could kneel .

She hadn't expected that, but that could only be a good sign.

Once she was kneeling, she readjusted the skirts and the bouquet was passed back to her as Olaug knelt beside her. She still couldn't really make out his face as even kneeling he was fairly taller and her veil made him a hazy outline, plus he had the ceremonial paint on him, an echo of the first Cometa Couple and Agnarr’s war paint.

“Today marks the beginning of the Cometa Ceremony and our chance to walk in the steps of our forefathers and connect to the comet that blesses our magic.” The Constella walked in a circle around them, reaching into the pouch on his belt and trailing white and lavender sand around them in a circle. “Today we take this girl with human blood and bind her to a warrior, a leader of our people in the spirit of Agnarr and Gytha who blessed us originally. To carry on their legacy.”

Idonea had long since memorized the Constella's speech, but she did try to focus on it in order to take her mind off her turning stomach. It was normal to be nervous, but this was more than that. She was unsettled.

Unsettled was not how she should feel.

She didn’t know why . Why—

But the Constella was in front of them again, moving to the front. He said, “To begin their union, they will make their vows encircled by sand from the sacred Constellation Pool, and the water from the pool will bind them as husband and wife, while the lilies taken from the edge of the pool will mark their bond for the rituals of the Cometa Ceremony. Their bond to each other will become our bond to the comet. May it be as strong as Agnarr and Gytha’s.”

Idonea reached her hands out and the Constella took them, guiding them until another pair of hands curled around hers, the Star Lilies in the middle. His hands were slightly calloused and rough against hers, and she pushed down the shiver crawling up her spine. She looked through the dark haze of her veil and could only just make out an outline ahead of her, paint and fabric obscuring his features.

“Agnarr's chosen, do you vow to take Gytha's chosen as your wife, to have and to hold, to protect and cherish, and to love until the end of your days?”

“I so vow.”

Olaug's voice wasn't usually—

“Gytha's chosen, do you vow to take Agnarr's chosen as your husband, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, and to love until the end of your days?”

Idonea had no time to examine why Olaug's voice sounded strange. If they wanted the ceremony to keep going smoothly, she had to make her vow.

“I so vow.”

The Constella poured the water over their hands and forearms, cradling the Star Lilies between them. The cold water hit her skin and the rush of magic flooded her. Idonea couldn't help her soft gasp as lilies faded away into their skin. Dark purple and swirling blue dotted with shining flecks of white marked them, binding them.

But before she could pull her hand away, Olaug pulled it closer, bringing her wrist up and pressing a soft kiss to her pulse, right on the line pulsing with the magic infused in them.

She was grateful for her veils that were obscuring her vision, but also hiding her from the world so no one could see how red she turned at the gesture. This was better than she could have imagined. Olaug was being far gentler and more affectionate than ever before, which could only mean this time was going to be truly perfect.

“Adastra, I give you our Cometa Couple!” The Constella gestured to them as Olaug quickly helped her to her feet and faced the crowd. But the cheering wasn't raucous. There was some clapping, but more whispering, and that unsettled feeling came rushing back as well as a frantic nervousness that wasn’t her own.

Were they aghast at his outward affection for her? It wasn't indecorous by any measure.

But before Idonea could figure it out, her husband was escorting her through the courtyard and to their tent for the next part, where he would take off her veil and they'd have some privacy while the other elves celebrated by drinking and dancing.

He hurried her into the large, spacious tent, quickly closing the flap behind them. No one was going to disturb the couple once they were out of sight, but she didn't really understand the rush. However, she also didn’t mind it. This was the night she'd been waiting for for years, and despite the few oddities, everything had gone perfectly. What more could she ask for?

The only thing she couldn’t account for was the anxiety pulsing on the other side of the new bond. What could Olaug have to be nervous about?

She stumbled a little as Olaug let go of her, staying near the entrance as she stopped in the middle and turned to face him. There was a little starlight already set up inside, but with her veil it did her little good. She could barely see his outline, much less his expression.

So why wasn't he moving toward her to take her veil off?

She waited another moment, and the only sounds that could be heard were his breathing and the faint strains of music starting up. His anxiety kept chewing in the back of her mind .

Maybe he forgot what to do next? Olaug hadn't been as interested in learning all the minutiae that Idonea had.

The next steps were to remove her veils and she’d begin washing the war paint off him. Not everything was part of the rituals, but it was tradition, and the Constella’s entire job over the last year had been to educate her and Olaug on the rituals and the traditions.

“This is the part where you take off my veil.”

He didn't respond, and he didn't move to do it.

She took a step closer. “Olaug, everything went perfectly. It may not be required, but isn’t it better to stick to tradition? We shouldn’t eschew it for no reason.”

But he just flinched.

The unsettled feeling returned. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The frantic hum was starting to seep into her, causing her heart to race.

“You... You have to take off my veil. I'm not supposed to. You know that.” She took another step until she was in front of him. She still couldn't see much, but now that she was closer, his height—

Then he moved, closing the distance in one quick stride, taking the veil and lifting it swiftly over her head to drape behind her. “Idonea—”

The second the gauzy haze was gone, the starlight illuminated his features, and they were unmistakable even with the paint. She jerked back as she looked at her husband.

Not Olaug.

King Nyrunn.