Chapter 27: Sisterly Obligations
Violet woke to the weight of two bodies pressed against her, a wall of warm muscle and fur that made escape feel like a tactical operation. She lay still for a long moment, cataloging the ache between her thighs, the sting of fresh bites along her collarbone, the possessive weight of Cassian's arm slung over her waist and Evander's hand curved around her hip.
She needed to move. She needed air. She needed to find Mira before the entire festival heard her scream again.
"Going somewhere?" Cassian's voice was rough with sleep, his golden eyes cracking open.
"Bridesmaid duties," Violet said, and felt him grin against her shoulder.
"What?"
"Shh. Go back to sleep. I'll be back."
She extracted herself with care, pausing when Evander's grip tightened. His blue eyes were open, watchful, and he studied her like he was memorizing the sight of her naked in the tent's low light.
"You have enough marks to last a month," he said, his voice a low rumble. "The whole festival will know what happened in here."
"Good," Violet said, and felt a thrill at her own boldness. She grabbed a silk robe from the pile of their discarded clothes and wrapped it around herself, wincing as the fabric brushed against her tender skin.
She left them in the tent, already arguing in low voices about how to address their packs, and stepped into the festival morning.
The air smelled of woodsmoke and wildflowers. Witches in flowing robes drifted between tents, some still tangled in last night's couplings, others already dancing to drums that pulsed in the distance. The eclipse had waned to a sliver of silver in the pale sky, but the festival's energy hadn't dimmed.
Violet threaded her way through the camp, following the path she'd memorized the night before. She found the large tent at the edge of the festivities, decorated with hanging vines and glowing crystals, and heard muffled laughter from within.
She pushed aside the flap and stopped.
Aneara had Mira pressed against a support pole, her lips trailing down her wife's neck while Mira's fingers tangled in her pearl-white hair. Mira's silver crop was disheveled, her silk dress slipping off one shoulder. They both turned at Violet's entrance, and Aneara's expression shifted from annoyance to amusement in a heartbeat.
"Vi," Mira said, her voice breathless. She pushed at Aneara's shoulder. "We talked about knocking."
"You have a tent flap," Violet said, crossing her arms. "Knocking seemed optimistic."
Aneara straightened, smoothing her gown with an elegance that made Violet feel like a mess in comparison. She took in Violet's robe, the bites on her neck, the flushed skin visible where the silk had slipped. A slow smile curved her lips.
"My," Aneara said, her voice dry as wine. "The kings have been busy."
"Evander was right," Violet said, settling onto a cushioned bench. "I think they're trying to brand me."
Mira tsked, crossing the tent to sit beside her. She reached out and gently tilted Violet's chin, examining the marks on her throat. "These look fresh. And these look older. Cassian's?"
"Evander's. I think. They alternate, I couldn't tell you which was which after a while."
Mira laughed, bright and delighted. "You're a mess. I love it."
Aneara settled into a chair across from them, crossing her long legs. She was watching Violet with a knowing look, and Violet felt her cheeks heat.
"Speaking of being a mess," Violet said, and took a deep breath. "I have news."
"You came to tell us something," Mira said. "Sisters can tell. You've been vibrating since you walked in."
Violet looked down at her hands. The words felt enormous in her chest, too big to say. But she'd said yes. She'd said yes beneath the waning eclipse, with their marks still fresh on her skin and their devotion burning through the bond. She could say this.
"I'm getting married," she said. "Tonight."
The silence stretched for a long moment. Then Mira let out a sound that was half shriek, half laugh, and threw her arms around Violet.
"Tonight!" Mira pulled back, gripping Violet's shoulders. "The ceremony's tonight? The bonding's tonight? Oh gods, Vi, I'm going to cry."
"Please don't," Violet said, but she was grinning. "I need you to not cry. I need you to be bridesmaids."
Mira let go and pressed both hands to her chest. "Bridesmaids. Plural. Bridesmaids."
"Both of you," Violet said, looking at Aneara. "If you want."
Aneara's lips curved. "I would be honored, little sister."
Mira was already on her feet, pacing the tent with frantic energy. "We need dresses. We need flowers. We need to find a priestess, or maybe a shaman, do your kings have a preference, because wolf rites are different from witch rites, and I know Lupercalia has all the traditions, but we need to know which ones—"
"Mira," Violet said, and her best friend stopped mid-step. "I just need you there. That's all. I need my sister beside me when I do this."
Mira's eyes went glassy. "Damn it, Vi. You can't say things like that."
"I can. I just did."
Aneara rose from her chair, gliding to Mira's side and settling a hand on her waist. She pressed a kiss to Mira's temple, then looked at Violet with those luminous green eyes.
"We will be there," Aneara said. "And we will dress you properly. But first, I think, there is something you should tell me."
Violet blinked. "What?"
"Who proposed?"
"Both of them. Cassian asked, and Evander seconded it. They were very coordinated about it."
"Coordinated," Aneara repeated, and something flickered across her face. "Two kings, one proposal, no bickering. A miracle and a half."
Mira snorted. "Compared to you, everything's fast. It took me a year to get you to say yes."
"I proposed twenty times."
"And I said yes once. Eventually."
"And each of those twenty proposals was a masterpiece of devotion and planning, which you appreciated mightily." Aneara's tone was fond, sharp, and utterly unrepentant.
Violet laughed, and the sound startled her. It felt like it came from a place in her chest she'd kept locked for centuries.
"The eclipse saw our bond," Violet said. "They want to make it legal tonight, before it fades completely. Something about auspicious timing."
Mira flopped back onto the bench, clutching her chest. "Gods. I can't believe this. You're really doing it. You're actually letting yourself be loved."
"Don't make it weird."
"It's already weird. It's the best kind of weird." Mira grabbed Violet's hand and squeezed. "I've been waiting three hundred years to see you happy. I'm not going to pretend I'm calm about it."
Aneara settled beside Mira, her hand finding her wife's knee. She looked at Violet with a softness that made something in Violet's chest ache.
"The packs," Aneara said. "They'll be here?"
"Cassian and Evander are telling them now. They called for a merged gathering at the festival's heart." Violet's stomach fluttered. "I'm marrying kings. Both of them. In front of all their people, who have been at each other's throats for a century."
"And you are the bridge," Aneara said. "The living tether. They'll see you and understand."
Violet swallowed. "Or they'll decide I'm a distraction from their feud."
"Then they'll be idiots, and your husbands will remind them of that." Aneara's voice was gentle, certain. "You are not a distraction, Violet. You are the convergence. The point where two lines finally meet."
Mira leaned into Aneara, her eyes bright. "That was beautiful. Say more things like that."
"When you stop interrupting, I will."
Violet watched them, this easy banter, this decades-deep love, and felt a pang of longing. She wanted that. She wanted to be that comfortable, that certain, that rooted in someone's life.
It scared her how much she wanted it. It scared her more that it was happening tonight.
"We should start preparing," Violet said, rising from the bench. "I need flowers. I need a dress. I need to not think about how many people will be watching."
"You'll be fine," Mira said. "You're the one who faced down a cursed border attack with nothing but a healing kit and sheer spite. A wedding's nothing."
"That was different. There I knew what I was doing."
"And here you're doing something even braver." Aneara rose, graceful as water. "You're letting them see you. All of you. The parts you've kept hidden for centuries."
Violet looked down at her hands. The bond marks on her shoulder pulsed, warm and steady, like a heartbeat that wasn't her own.
"I said yes," she whispered. "I actually said yes."
"Good," Mira said firmly. "Because I already picked out my bridesmaid dress three weeks ago."
"You did not."
"I absolutely did. I have a vision. Emerald silk, maybe some gold threading—"
"Mira."
"—and Aneara in something that matches, of course, we have to coordinate, and oh gods, do you have ideas about color schemes, because I have thoughts—"
"Mira," Aneara said, and Mira snapped her mouth shut.
"Sorry," Mira said, grinning. "I'm excited."
"I know." Violet shook her head, warmth spreading through her chest. "I know you are. I'm glad you're here."
"Where else would I be?" Mira reached out and tucked a curl behind Violet's ear, a gesture so familiar it made Violet's throat tight. "You're my sister, Vi. That's not a duty. That's a privilege."
The tent flap rustled, and all three of them turned. A young witch poked her head in, cheeks flushed, out of breath.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said. "But the word's spreading. The kings are calling for a ceremony at sunset. They're saying there's going to be a royal bonding. The whole festival's buzzing."
Violet felt the blood drain from her face. "It's happening. It's actually happening."
"Did you think it wouldn't?" Aneara asked.
"I think I was hoping for a bit more time."
"Time," Mira said, looping her arm through Violet's, "is a luxury you gave up the moment two kings marked you." Her smile softened. "But don't worry. We'll get you ready. You'll be the most beautiful bride the packs have ever seen."
Violet let Mira pull her toward the tent's exit, Aneara following behind. The festival air hit her, warm and thick with possibilities.
"Bridesmaids," Mira said, practically bouncing as they walked. "I'm going to be a bridesmaid. I need to write this down. I need to tell someone who isn't me."
"Tell me," Violet said, and meant it.
"Consider it told." Mira squeezed her arm. "Now come on. We have a wedding to plan and a bride to make unforgettable."
The sunlight blazed over the festival as they walked into it. And Violet, for the first time in centuries, let herself hope that this was her future. That tonight, beneath the waning eclipse, she would become a queen. That she would belong, truly, to people who loved her.
The thought still terrified her.
But it didn't feel like falling anymore.
It felt like coming home.