Chapter 32

Erhan

The palace gardens shimmered with iridescent flowers, vibrant pink-blue grass, and glittering pools of turquoise water. At least they did to Erhan. For the rest of his and Kleena’s thirty or so guests, the gardens looked slightly different.

Whatever they’re seeing, though , Erhan thought, I’m certain it’s beautiful since that’s what they keep telling me.

“Prince Erhan, this place is so magical!”

He turned to see Calla grinning at him, transformed from the humble villager he and Kleena had left behind to a noble beauty in her formal wedding garments. By her side, Marcus beamed in his equally impressive formal dress before throwing himself at Erhan’s middle in a hug that caught him off guard.

“Marcus!” Calla scolded, tugging at his shoulder. “That’s no way to greet a prince!”

“It’s the perfect way to greet an old friend, though.” Erhan laughed, hugging the young boy back. “And you don’t have to call me Prince Erhan now. You never did before.”

“You were wanted before,” Calla told him truthfully as Marcus finally extricated himself from the hug.

“You two are practically family,” Erhan assured them both. “Honestly, without you, Kleena and I wouldn’t be here. In more ways than one.”

Calla gave Erhan another shy look but he pulled her in for a hug anyway and she relaxed into the prince’s grip.

“Congratulations, to both of you,” she told him. “Speaking of which, where is the bride?”

As Erhan pulled out of the hug, he grinned. “Apparently human mating rituals dictate that I’m not allowed to see her until the ceremony. We’ve tried to pay homage to both our customs.”

Calla went to answer, but suddenly the hiss of a rainstick quietened the small, intimate crowd and signaled the beginning of the ceremony. Along with the other men, Erhan began to snake his way around the clearing. The rainstick, carried by Erhan’s brother, King Garon, shook and shuddered in rhythm, and soon the men began to hiss in the traditional mating ritual opening.

Soon, the women joined in, forming a larger circle around that of the men and moving in the opposite direction. They hissed in sync, the non-Naga guests mimicking the sound as best they could with their own tongues.

As the circles wound on and on, Erhan found his eyes drawn again and again to the curtains that closed off a small portion of the garden. He knew that any moment now, they would part to reveal his beloved mate.

Softly, slowly, the melodious tinkling of a harp joined the hissing. This was Kleena’s tradition, and it mingled with the Naga’s sibilant song in a way that reminded Erhan of water rushing over rocks.

As the hissing reached a crescendo, so did the harp, and at its peak, the curtains were pulled aside. Erhan almost forgot what he was doing as he gazed at his mate-to-be. She was stunning, dressed in her people’s traditional white lace dress, clutching a bouquet of flowers that sparkled. More flowers were threaded through her curly chestnut hair, which had been pulled up into an intricate braid.

Erhan felt his entire being erupt into joy at the sight of her, and as she walked up the aisle demarcated by a rich purple carpet, Erhan thought his chest might burst right there and then.

It wasn’t just the sight of her . It was the sight of her belly, a small bump beginning to show beneath her dress where her hand rested lovingly. Erhan kept his eyes on her as he circled, hissing his tune to her and to their unborn child—a promise that vibrated through him as he slithered.

As Kleena walked, the Naga and other guests continued to circle until they parted to welcome her inside. Erhan broke off from the other men then, joining her in the center of the maelstrom until finally, with a single resolute rattle of the rainstick, the party fell into an abrupt silence.

King Garon and Queen Azha joined them in the center, with the rest of the guests now moving soundlessly around them, the circles winding continuously.

“My dear brother,” Garon began, gazing at Erhan with love and respect. “You have found your chosen mate. What is her name?”

“Kleena Marcson,” he replied for the whole gathering to hear.

A round of hisses signaled the confirmation that his loved ones accepted his claim to her.

“Dear Kleena,” the queen said once the sound had died down. “You have found your chosen mate. What is his name?”

Kleena gazed at Erhan as the circles moved behind her. “Prince Erhan of Nirum.”

Another round of sibilant confirmation rang through the garden’s clearing.

“And now, in the human custom,” Erhan’s brother announced. “Prince Erhan and Kleena will exchange vows.”

The circles continued to spiral around them as Erhan readied himself to speak. He hadn’t known exactly what he was supposed to say at first, but when he’d sat down to write his vows, he found that they came easily to him. He only had to tell Kleena what he’d spent a lifetime trying to avoid.

“Kleena,” he began, taking her hands and looking into her eyes. “You have broken through me and entered my heart, despite my best efforts to resist you. You are strong and intelligent, brave and kind. You are everything I never dared to hope for.

“I have fallen completely and irrevocably in love with you, and everything about you tells me you’re my mate—both chosen and fate. I promise to spend every day of my life making sure you know that. I promise to love you and our nirling with all of me. I promise never to let you down.”

Another hiss of approval came from the circle, as Erhan waited for Kleena to speak.

“Erhan,” she began, smiling in a way that made his heart swell. “Our fates were intertwined from the very first moment we met—the moment you saved me. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of knowing you, of seeing the parts of you that no one else sees. I love all of them. I can’t wait to be the mother of your nirling, to share my life with you, and to love you more and more every day.

“I can’t imagine a life without you, and I promise I will love you, support you, and cherish you for the rest of my days.”

The circle hissed once more, and finally, the king and queen gave their blessing.

Erhan stretched out his tail in the traditional ritualistic way, wrapping it gently around Kleena’s body. Its tip snaked up and around her until it supported the nape of her neck, and the rest of him was drawn up close to her.

“I love you,” he whispered, letting his forehead rest against hers.

“I love you, too,” she replied, and Erhan felt the happiness of those words flow through him.

When his lips brushed Kleena’s, it was like a spark suddenly ignited. Their first kiss as chosen mates sealed their bond, and their guests let out a round of cheers, whoops, hisses, and rattles to celebrate the union.

When Erhan finally unwound himself from Kleena, he found that she was absolutely glowing.

“That was…” she uttered, her hands still resting against Erhan’s chest.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to find the right words, but she couldn’t.

Finally she shook her head and smiled up at him. “I’m just so happy.”

“Good,” he replied, bringing his hand up to stroke her cheek. “I want you to always be happy.”

“I think I will be with you,” Kleena told him before glancing down at her belly. “And with our baby.”

Around them, the guests were beginning to approach them to offer their congratulations. But even as he greeted them and thanked them for their presence, Erhan always kept one eye on Kleena. Truly, he couldn’t look away.

The guests remarked on it, with Marcus even teasing him about his “girlfriend,” but Erhan didn’t care. He would only have eyes for her, as long as he lived.

As the sky overheard turned purple with the evening light the ceremony shifted to what Kleena called a “reception.” Guests talked and laughed while Erhan and Kleena danced together. They began with a waltz—something Erhan had taken great pains to learn in the month since he’d proposed. It wasn’t easy for a Niri without legs, but as he twirled her around the dancefloor, he knew Kleena didn’t care. She was clearly thrilled just to be there with him, and so was he.

As the ceremony died down, though, Erhan knew that the next part of the mating ritual would be his favorite. It was, luckily, a custom shared by humans and Niri alike.