Solemnity, not scandal, filled the council chamber. For once, the whispers were quiet, and the eyes were reverent, not ashamed. Everyone was aware that this day had been long overdue.
Luna Evelyn of Whitedawn and Alpha Marcus stood on either side of Thomas. The polished armor of a man shedding a skin he'd worn out of duty left his expression unreadable. Standing in silver and white at the far end of the hall, Serafina held her head high, not as a rejected Luna but as the Flame Pact's leader. Roman stood beside her, guarded.
The council's high speaker, Elder Merin, stated that the union had reached its end because it was established under the guise of alliance rather than genuine bond. The marriage between Lord Thomas of Whitedawn and Lady Serafina of Silverwind is hereby dissolved with the approval of both parties and by the Great Council.
There was a heavy silence. Then Serafina spoke up, her tone clear and unaffected.
She said, "Thomas, I release you." "And I hope your next journey brings you truth and peace."
As one warrior to another, rather than a man to a former lover, Thomas bowed his head to her. "I'm grateful, Serafina. For your strength—and your grace."
Then Susanna came in from the other side of the room.
She only had the traditional crest of her reclaimed noble house pinned to her shoulder; she had no jewelry or formal attire. As soon as her eyes locked with Thomas's, the air became thicker and began to crackle with long-denied invisible threads.
With an audible ripple that caused several council members to gasp, the mate bond suddenly clicked into place.
Thomas clutched his chest and stumbled a little. As if she had been holding her breath for years, Susanna let out a breath. One tear trickled down her cheek.
"I sensed it," she muttered.
"So did I," Thomas said, panting.
Ignoring the gasps, the shifting seats, and the barely disguised awe of those watching fate seal itself in real time, he crossed the floor to her. Thomas went to one knee in front of everyone, not out of submission but out of promise.
With a raspy voice, he said, "Susanna of House Caerwyn, will you create a future with me?"
With shaky fingers, she grasped his hand and raised him. "Only when you stand next to me, never in front of or behind me."
The weight seemed to lift from his shoulders for the first time in a long time when he smiled.
There were no cheers. As an alternative, there was a respectful quiet, broken only by Alpha Marcus's footsteps.
"Let people know that Whitedawn supports the House of Caerwyn," he said. We have moved on from the past. The future is being forged by fire.
Leah, Serafina, and Roman nodded silently from the gallery.
The old world's ties were coming loose.
And the new one, truer and stronger, was only getting started.