Chapter 141

My voice trembled as I began. “Ryan… I vow to stand beside you, even in darkness. To learn to love you in the way you deserve, not because of fate… but because of choice. I vow to be yours—not just in bond, but in will.”

A whisper passed through the crowd, soft approval at my words.

The elder raised the dagger again.

“Then, by the laws of our kind, the blood shall be exchanged before the mark is given.”

He made a shallow cut across Ryan’s palm and handed the blade to me. I winced slightly as I did the same. Our hands joined over a sacred silver...