He cut a striking figure in all black, possessing the wild and primal beauty that always reminded me of the cave cat I’d once seen. He stood barefoot in the soil reclaimed by Atlantia. And I didn’t think he saw anyone else as I walked forward. He stared at me with eyes luminous even in the sunlight, and an almost startled look etched upon his features as if he were utterly caught off guard. I’d seen that look before, especially when I smiled or laughed. He too seemed unaware of anyone else, even as Vonetta walked ahead and spoke to him. He stared, even as he reached into his pocket and handed her something. And when I let my senses reach him, I felt what I always did from him, except the tartness of conflict was gone, and the chocolate and berries taste was far stronger.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him, not until Vonetta returned to my side and pressed something warm and metallic against my palm.
“The ring. For Casteel,” she whispered. “He had the blacksmith make them.”
I looked down at the gleaming, golden band. There was some sort of inscription on the inside, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
Curling my fingers around the band, I didn’t remember how I got there, but suddenly, I was standing in front of Casteel. He stared at me like I imagined one would if they saw a god standing before them.
“You look…” Casteel cleared his throat as the shadows of clouds drifted over the courtyard. “You look beautiful, Poppy. Absolutely…” His gaze roamed over me, from the braids in my hair, to the diamonds at my neck and then down the fitted bodice to the sheer layers of the skirt that rippled in the wind. A slow grin spread across his lips. The dimple in his right cheek appeared, and then the left. He dipped his head, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear as he spoke. “Am I seeing things, or is that your dagger strapped to your thigh?”
I grinned. “You’re not seeing things.”
“You’re an absolutely stunning, murderous little creature,” he murmured.
“There’ll be time for all the sweet whispers later,” Jasper said, and when Casteel pulled back, there was a fire in his eyes. “You do look quite lovely, Penellaphe.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“What about me?” Casteel asked, and behind him, Naill sighed.
“You look passable.”
“That was rude,” he replied.
“Would you like to go sit in the shade and nurse your wounded feelings? Like you did when you were young and inevitably injured yourself doing something incredibly stupid?”
Casteel’s brows lowered as he looked over at Jasper. “This marriage ceremony is starting off in a really weird way.”
“True.” The wolven chuckled. “Let’s get this started, because I’m sure you’re more eager to finish the ceremony than you are to start it.”
Casteel shot the wolven a dark look, and I wondered exactly what that meant.
“I need both of you to face me,” Jasper instructed, and then he waited until we did just that. He smiled at me, and my emotions were too scattered to read his, but there was fondness in his gaze. “I don’t know how much you know about Atlantian marriages or how they differ from what is done is Solis, but I’ll walk you through it, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Good. It’s pretty simple. There are no vows. None that are spoken, anyway,” he continued as the clouds overhead cast us in shadows. He briefly glanced up at the sky, raising a brow. “Each of you holds your rings in your left hands and joins your right together.”
Casteel held his right hand palm up as I looked over at him. There was no smile on his face then. Just a certain intent to the set of his lips and in his gaze. Pulse pounding, I placed my right hand in his. The jolt traveled up my arm, and based on the slight widening of his eyes, I knew he felt it, too.
“Lower to your knees. Casteel first,” Jasper said, and he did just that. “Now you, Penellaphe.”
Casteel’s hand tightened on mine as I moved to my knees, our gazes remaining locked.
“Place your rings in the soil between you so that they overlap,” Jasper said, and Casteel placed a golden band, one smaller than the one I held, on the sandy soil. I placed the larger one on top so the openings overlapped.
Casteel knew the next steps. He didn’t look away from me as he picked up the dirt and sprinkled it over the rings. He nodded, and I did the same, feeling the grainy dirt sift between my fingers as I repeated his actions.
Thick clouds gathered above us as Casteel whispered, “This next part may hurt, but only for a few moments.”