The Lark Taps Twice

Chapter 25: The Third Bond

As much as Miriam wanted to remember every detail of the third tie ceremony, her apprehension about the dragons returning and possibly bringing the roof down on her head – again — blurred many of the details. Still, despite being obviously rushed, the depth and beauty of the experience shone through.

The words for the formal vows were clearly familiar to Jonatham, and he spoke them with confidence and no little haste while staring into her eyes. King Riquerdo led her through her own vows to Jonatham, blurting out a phrase at a time so fast she had to guess at his words more than once, and one phrase replaced the next in her memory leaving little trace behind. The most striking part of the vows was the end, where both of them swore to remain true to the other "until every star becomes a starburst and fades into darkness, taking with them all the light of the universe."

Next came the mixing of blood and possessions, the portion of the ceremony Miriam initially feared the most, and thus the part she remembered best. Jonatham anticipated her reluctance and took the lead, first pricking her pinky finger and his with a scalpel-like blade the king pulled out of his pocket. The blade's handle appeared to be a golden wreath woven with jewels and precious stones, but it was difficult for Miriam to make it out clearly, as the prince's hand swallowed almost the whole small circle as he sliced strips from the hems of their shirts and handed the knife and rags to his father.

This done, he turned to her and said, "Blood and material goods here mingle, to be separate no more. Weakness pressed to weakness, bound forevermore. From this moment forth, our fates are one; now fused, never to be undone." He raised his hands and spread his fingers wide apart before interlacing his loosely with hers, palms facing; only his wounded digits and thumbs remained uncurled and hovering tip over tip with their twins on her hands.

She repeated the words carefully while shifting slightly so her knuckles, smallest fingers, and thumbs all touched. This aligned the undersides of their forearms, the whole suspended between their bodies at the level of Miriam's chest.

Without warning, the king encircled their wrists in loops of intricately braided rope. Miriam recognized the pale blue and burgundy of the scraps from their shirts in the weave just as King Riquero yanked the ends of the rope, tightening the knot and forcing their hands tightly together. Whatever words he spoke next were lost in the screams of the returning dragons and the sting of her pinkies crashing into Jonatham's.

The din of the creatures above faded as a growing tingle replaced the pain in Miriam's fourth fingers. As she stared at their joined hands, their injured flesh began to glow. The light started red, only to morph almost immediately to white as it brightened and began to spread like cold maple syrup over a steaming stack of fresh-made pancakes. Within a few seconds, the radiance had reached their wrists, picking up speed as it encompassed more and more surface area. The tingling sensation followed in its wake, but to Miriam's surprise, the feeling was pleasant, more like the tickle of eager anticipation than the niggling prickles of lost circulation.

Abruptly the luminescence flashed blinding bright as it enveloped their feet, and Miriam closed her eyes against the glare. A pulsing silhouette negative of her own glowing shoes appeared inside her closed eyelids, testament to the damage done to her retinas from the brilliant flare.

Mir, you need to open your eyes and look at me. It's time for the final vows, and we must hurry. We must confront the dragons on their next pass, or all may be lost.

At his coaxing, Miriam fought her instinct to protect her eyes from further assault and opened them a tiny slit. White warm light still emanated from the two of them, though its intensity had faded to a more tolerable level, thankfully. Relieved, Miriam widened her eyes and swung her gaze to Jonatham's. The swirling metallic bands in his irises did not glow: they glittered, like miniature rivers of gold, silver, and copper stars. Wonder swelled in her mind and then ebbed away, an impact wave on a pond traveling away from its source to an unseen shore.

A return wave of affection rolled over her, an exact match to the love in his stare. The effect overwhelmed her, and tears raced each other down her cheeks. Of all the times to be denied use of my fingers. At least I'm not wearing mascara or this would be even more awkward.

As though he could hear her thoughts as clearly as his son, the king roused himself from gazing between the two of them and dashed a tear from his own eye before declaring, "Let the final vows now be spoken, sealing this bond and authorizing the blending of strengths between these two. Repeat after me, as one: As the sun rises every morning, so our love will rise above every hindrance. As the sun sets every evening, so any anger between us will fade at close of day. Where you are weak, I will strengthen. When darkness threatens, I will defend you. I give you all of myself: all that I own, all that I desire, all that I am. From this moment forward, let us be not two individual souls, but one soul only, divided between our separate bodies, otherwise sharing one essence, one mind, one magic, and one destiny. So be it."

As the final words left the couple's lips, King Riquero tugged free the rope binding their hands together and looped it around their waists, yanking it tight as faint roaring filled the room, a sure sign of the dragon's imminent return.. Jonatham's arms flew around her and pulled her close as sparkling green vines erupted from the floor around their feet and wound themselves around ankles, thighs, shoulders, skulls, until all Miriam could see was Jonatham's eyes of stars inches from her own face.

Then the vines constricted, pressing forehead to forehead, chest to chest, leg to leg, foot to foot until Miriam was no longer certain where her own body ended and his began. Still the vines pressed inward, imprinting themselves into her skin and restricting her breathing; panic flooded her veins when she tried to squirm, to create space for her lungs to properly expand, and discovered herself immobile. She closed her eyes to block out at least one input of the gathering storm.

Now the magical bindings began to burn her flesh, as though they sought to sink into her bones, and she felt the overwhelming need to fight, to scream, to flail about heedless of the consequences to her immediate environment. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and gray dots danced behind her eyelids as her lungs cried for air. Unconsciousness tempted her, promising sweet oblivion from all this chaos, if only she would give in.

Mir! Stay with me! Look into my eyes and know you are not alone in this! Please, love! It is nearly finished!

Without deliberate intent, her eyes opened and met his, where panic and worry faded into warm assurance that pushed away much of her own intense anxiety. At once, the worries about the pain, the helplessness, the lack of oxygen seemed far less important than the fact that she was sharing this experience with her prince, her soulmate, and she wished she could kiss him one more time before she fainted.

As you wish, my princess.

He twisted his chin to one side a few millimeters with great strain, and then his lips were pressed to hers. She expected sparks, a rush of heat, as always before when they kissed. Instead, white hot lava poured into her mouth, with another wave joining it from Jonatham's mind. She was both exhilarated and terrified as the sensation torched its way through her veins, replacing the panic caused by the pressing vines with a burn that was intense, though not exactly painful. When the burn reached her heart, she could take no more, surrendered to the lurking darkness and knew no more.