KARIS

“You’re pissing him off,” Iric whispered as he handed me a glass of faery wine and took one for himself.

“You probably shouldn’t drink that. It can have strange effects on humans, from what Loftin’s told me.”

“Good,” he asserted, gulping it down. “If Loftin’s about to kick my ass for touching you when he can’t, I want to be good and drunk when he does.”

I rolled my eyes. “We were just dancing.”

“Look at him, Karis. He’s like a frayed rope. One thread is all that’s left of the man, and it’s about to snap.”

I glanced at him. Iric was right. Loftin was miserable. This wasn’t what I wanted. I just wanted to teach him a lesson, for him to see how bad it felt to be rejected by someone you loved. “I’ll make it right,” I promised.

Iric let out a pent-up breath. “Thank God. I’d fight him for you, but I’d lose.”

“You won’t have to.” I walked toward Loftin and stood beside him, watching Iric for a moment. I was worried about him. I’d encouraged him to make new friends, fae friends. Fae lady friends. He stood awkwardly at the drink table for a moment, but before long, a female approached him. She glanced at me and I gave her a nod that expressed I was grateful she was trying, and also a warning for her not to hurt him. Be careful with him.

She accepted the glass he offered and the two began talking.

“Looks like you’ve lost your dance partner,” Loftin grumped.

I smiled. “Maybe I was coming to call a truce and ask my true partner to dance.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Come on.”

* * *

LOFTIN

I held her in my arms and we swayed to the slow music. The muscles in her back tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“Lita is here,” she growled.

“So?”

“So,” she concluded, “you were supposed to marry her.”

“‘Marry’ isn’t the term the fae use,” I instructed, pulling her back into my arms. “And you’re the only one I want beside me.”

My words calmed her down for the moment. She relaxed a little, but I felt her watching Lita over my shoulder.

“What word do you use?” she asked, a sharp edge to her voice.

“We join with another fae. But it’s more than just two people saying they want to be together forever. There’s a fusion that takes place. A ritual is done to make sure the two fae come together; like two halves of a whole meeting together, but much more powerful.”

“It sounds painful.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “They say it’s ecstasy. And that every… intimate moment after two fae are joined is indescribable.”

Her eyes flicked to mine and she swallowed, glancing away. The briefest hint of pain flashed in those gray eyes before she hid it.

She cleared her throat. “Do you have to have a permit? In Ironton, the Governor approved all marriages.”

“No, but you have to have a seer bless the union to make it official.”

“A seer?”

“Each court has one. They’re precious, so they were the first thing the Courts hid when Nemain attacked. They were protected even before the Queen and Kings were. And then there are seers who aren’t attached to any court. The Washer, for example. She just happens to enjoy her solitude and refuses to tie herself to any of the courts. There are a few others like her.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you see those two?” I nodded to a couple dancing near the musicians. “They bear each other’s marks. That means they’re joined.”

“All joined couples wear marks?” she implored, panic filling her eyes.

“Some are different, but every joined couple has something distinct that sets them apart from the other fae.”

Her eyes fastened on one of the buttons on my tunic. “What if a couple isn’t joined and they’re intimate… Will people be able to tell?”

I leaned in and brushed my lips down the shell of her ear. “No.”

She pressed against me and rose up to breathe against my lips. It’s your move, she professed with her eyes. I decided to make it.

“Will you join with me, Karis?”

“What?” she sputtered, trying to pull away, but I held her tight. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do, and I mean right now.”

I ticked my head toward the tree line where the Washer stood, a serene smile on her face. Her white dress wasn’t stained and she wasn’t crying.

I’d invited the Washer. I sent fae to the far corners of Faery to invite anyone and everyone who would listen. And she came.

* * *

KARIS

“You’re serious,” I mused, searching his eyes to make sure.

“I’m yours and you’re mine. I think it’s time to make it official.”

“What do we do?” I asked, still in shock. My heart pounded as he took my hand.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because this is a promise that will potentially last an eternity.”

“I am. Are you?”

He winked. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

As we stepped behind the trees away from prying eyes, the Washer was more than happy to join us. “Take each other’s hand,” she instructed.

Loftin rubbed his thumbs over the backs of my hands and stared into my eyes.

“Give her your vow,” the Washer stated to him.

He gripped my hands tightly. “I never expected to find you, but when I did, you were nothing like I thought you’d be, and I’m so glad for that. You’re more than I deserve, but everything I want. I promise to protect you, to stand by your side as an equal, and to love you in the only way I can for as long as I live, and even beyond that. You once gave me your heart to protect, and even though it beats in your chest now, I’ll keep it safe forever. And I give you mine in return.”

“And yours,” the Washer attested, giving me a smile and slight nod.

“My whole life I was damaged, but you came into my life and put all the parts and pieces of me back where they belonged. No one else could have done that. No one else ever really saw me, but you looked past my heritage, past my flaws, and found my soul. It’s yours forever. You were made perfectly for me, and I for you. I love you, Loftin.”

He took in a shuddering breath as the Washer clasped her hands over ours and began to mutter something beneath her breath, and then the most magnificent feeling washed over us. The sensation was fiery and arctic, intense and gentle, and for a brief moment, I could feel every part of him; every artery and every piece of bone, every ounce of flesh and muscle. He could feel me, too. And when the Washer removed her hands, I peered up at Loftin and watched a small vine creep up his neck. It was copper, so pale it was barely there, but it glittered when the light caught it.

“You’re beautiful,” I breathed.

His eyes widened as he took me in. “Karis...” The explosive feeling of my name on his lips was too much.

We thanked the Washer, who walked back into the clearing to join the festivities.

“Walk with me?” he asked against my ear.

My skin pebbled in response. I would walk with him anywhere.

He tugged me into the darkness where his arms wrapped around me, his hands brushing up and down my back. I wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him close.

“We’re joined now,” I said numbly.

He smiled against my lips. “We are.”

“Does that mean you’ll finally stop fighting me?”

He pressed a soft kiss to my lips, and I was immediately floored by the ricocheting sensations. I could feel every ridge of his fingerprints, hear his heart beating in his chest, and the air whooshing in and out of his lungs. He was mine and I was his. We were whole with each other.

Loftin trailed tender kisses down my throat and across my collarbone. I raked my fingers through his hair and down his back, reveling in the feel of him; how his muscles rippled beneath his skin, and how that skin was on fire, the flame within him aching to escape.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“Do you want to go back to the Festival?”

I shook my head. “I just want you. Here. Now.”

He swallowed audibly.

I let my hands trail over his chest and down his stomach. “Now, Loftin.”

He nodded and then captured my mouth with his.

“There’s something I should’ve told you before…” I started.

He searched my eyes, his brows furrowed.

“I’m… scarred. There are marks on my body, although they aren’t scars in the traditional sense, like raised skin. I think when I threw Nemain’s darkness out, there was a price to pay. Part of that effort burned into my skin.”

“I love every part of you,” he affirmed, pulling me closer. “Every part. And I promise to show that to you now, and each day for the rest of our lives.” His fingers brushed over my jaw. “I love you.”

And then he took his time showing me exactly how much he loved me.

It truly was indescribable.

* * *

“Make it stop!” I whisper-shrieked.

He chuckled. “I can’t. I don’t even know how you’re doing it.”

“It’s not funny. Everyone will know!”

“Everyone’s going to know we’re joined, anyway,” he responded with a shrug, puffing his chest out a little bit.

“It’s not funny,” I chastised. “At least wipe the smile off your face.”

“Not a chance.”

In addition to having gray and copper glittering vines climbing up and down my body, I was glowing. Literally glowing. Like one of those damned glow worms I made appear in the caves beneath the catacombs. I was a glow worm.

“I’m sure it’ll fade. With all the twinkling lights, maybe no one will notice.”

“There aren’t that many lights, Loftin.”

My lip twitched at his beaming, proud smile and he took it down a notch, clearing his throat. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

“How was I supposed to know my loving was so good it made a woman glow?”

“Surely I’m not the only woman you’ve ever been with,” I teased, watching his reply in my periphery.

“You’re the first that mattered,” he remarked. My heart vowed his was being honest.

I groaned. “Maybe we should wait here for a little while and see if it goes out?”

“The festival is starting to wind down. We need to see the boys home safely.”

He knew where my soft spot was. “Fine.”

Hand in hand, we walked into the clearing to see couples still dancing and people still eating, including the boys. The festivities were definitely not dying down. I squeezed Loftin’s hand until he gritted his teeth.

Mage ran up to us. “Why do you look like that?” he asked innocently.

Root and Dusty joined him, poking at my skin. “Stop it!” I batted their hands away.

“It’s pretty,” Dusty admitted. Duncan stood beneath a tree far enough away that no one was bothering him, but close enough where he could still watch over his brothers. He told me he’d lost too much time with them already.

Iric was still talking to the female fae he’d given a glass to earlier. He pointed to me and waved for her to come with him, and as they approached, he ticked his head to the side. “Why are you glowing?”

I couldn’t fight the blush that spread across my cheeks, and my previous bluish light turned pink.

His brows shot up and his mouth opened. “Oh. Ohhh. Um… sorry I asked.”

“We were joined,” Loftin announced so loud that it drew everyone’s attention. The musicians stopped playing, a bow screeching to a halt across its strings.

The Kings and Queen snapped their attention to us and slowly closed in. Alistair appeared at my side, with Vivica at his. I was glad for both of them.

“What seer blessed the union?” Queen Gwyndlyn bit out.

“I did,” the Washer contended from across the clearing.

The Queen of Spring gave her a withering glare. In answer, the Washer inclined her head to us respectfully and disappeared.

“You may have ended Nemain’s rule, but this is our world, and you must abide by our law,” she spat at me.

“We were well within the law,” Loftin bristled. “The seer blessed us. You have no authority over her or our union.”

“You may live in the Court of Reflections, but we will never acknowledge its power. The Seasonal Courts are the only ruling courts in Faery,” Gwyndlyn commanded. “No heir of Nemain will ever rule Faery again.”

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t want a court or power, but… I’ll tell you what. We’ll abide by your laws; however, if you harm the King of Autumn, Loftin will become King and I will rule by his side. So really, it’s up to you whether an heir of Nemain rules a portion of Faery again,” I testified, punctuating it with a false smile.

She pinched her lips together and called for her subjects to follow her. The Kings did the same, and soon, our strange little family were the only ones left.

“Why, Karis. You’re positively glowing,” Vivica purred. “I always told you that you were different.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

As we prepared to leave, the boys filled napkins with the leftover pastries and fruits from the tables. Not that they were going hungry anymore. They just loved sweets.

Alistair and Vivica strolled toward our new home.

Duncan called out for the boys, who followed him confidently into the darkness. Iric gave me a side hug.

“Congratulations,” he beamed. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” I sputtered, hugging him back. “Are you still leaving in the morning?”

“Yeah. Thanks for trusting me with the job.”

“You’re the best person for it,” I added sincerely.

He would travel to the human villages, one by one, to try and smooth things over between the humans and Seelie fae. Alistair was going with him. Using another of my newfound talents, I found a way to take his hunger away. He still needed blood, but the insatiable hunger was gone, and he was a much happier Leancan.

Loftin’s eyes zeroed in on my hand casually resting on Iric’s arm and loosed a growl that set my teeth on edge.

“Oh, calm down. He’s like my brother,” I chided.

“And you’re mine. I can’t help it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then take me home. Maybe the walk will make me stop glowing.”

He grinned. “You should embrace it, Karis. Or at the very least try to get used to it. I predict you won’t have a chance to stop glowing for an exceedingly long time…”