When Vaelric produced the rings, even his father's composure wavered. A ripple of shock swept through the hall.
Kaelen, seated among the Virelia delegation, leaned close to Therion and muttered, wide-eyed,
"When in Vireon's name did he buy those rings? In fact… what in the storm is going on?"
Therion shook his head, equally stunned. "I am as speechless as you. To think Lord Valerian came here to preside over judgment...and now finds himself bound in marriage? Gods, I think I might faint."
Rael, who had been silent until now, leaned forward, his tone deliberate. "I think the young lord planned this."
Kaelen's head snapped toward him. "Planned? What do you mean?"
"Remember when Valerian said his son made him swear an oath in Vireon's name, to grant him a wish no matter the cost?" Rael asked, his eyes never leaving Vaelric.
Therion frowned, recollection dawning. "Yes… Valerian was uneasy about it, saying Vaelric had never before demanded such a vow. He feared it even, for as the storm lord, swearing upon the Storm God is no trifling matter."
"Exactly," Rael replied. "And then, today, Vaelric begged to sit beside his father, to see how matters were conducted. And now.....Valerian asks for Lady Aurelia's hand."
Kaelen and Therion exchanged looks, both struck dumb. Finally, Kaelen croaked, "Don't tell me… the boy demanded this marriage as the price of his oath?"
"You saw how the skies darkened before the proposal was spoken," Rael said grimly. "The oath was bound in storm. Valerian could not refuse."
Kaelen swallowed hard. "But why? What in Vireon's name does the young lord hope to accomplish by binding his father to a cursed woman?"
He turned to Rael as though the man might hold all the answers.
Rael spread his hands helplessly.
"How should I know? Perhaps none but Vaelric himself knows and understands. We'll see what lies behind it...and we'll also know why he's doing what he's doing after this wedding or trial... I don't even know anymore."
The hall held its breath.
The storm outside rattled against Caelmont's great stained windows, thunder rolling as though the heavens themselves demanded witness. All eyes fixed upon the where Aurelia stood, her pulse so fierce she thought it might echo in the silence.
The High Oracle Elyria lifted her hand, her voice fluid and commanding.
"Bring forth the bride and groom."
Valerian rose. His presence seemed to shift the very air, a tide cold and inexorable. Each step he took was deliberate, carrying the inevitability of a storm front.
His presence was a tide...cold, inexorable, pulling all eyes to him. He walked with measured steps, neither hurried nor hesitant, as though time itself obeyed his stride.
When his gaze fell upon Aurelia, she felt the ground tilt. He did not reach for her immediately...he inclined his head instead, a silent invitation.
Her legs trembled, yet she obeyed. Step by step, she joined him before the altar. The world narrowed until there was nothing but his shadow beside her and the storm at their backs.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Vaelric grinning like a boy who had bent the stars to his will. The sight almost made her laugh...if her lips weren't shaking so badly.
The Oracle's voice rose, carrying to every corner of the chamber.
"Before gods and men, in the sight of fire and storm, these two shall be bound. Let none scorn what the heavens bless, nor break what destiny has woven."
The sky above caelmont roared with restless thunder, as though the heavens themselves bore witness to what was about to be sealed.
The sky roared in answer. Lightning licked across the spires of the caelmont, silver arcs gleaming against the dome of cloud.
Inside the Hall of Balance, torches strained against the chill that seeped through the storm, but no guest dared stir.
It was tradition...the Stormbornes did not wed beneath calm skies. Their vows were always spoken in the tempest, the storm itself sanctifying their union.
Aurelia's palms were damp. Her heart hammered in rhythm with the thunder, each beat reminding her she was stepping into a fate she had never imagined.
Was this deliverance? Or simply another gilded cage?
Then Valerian's hand brushed hers. Steady, warm, anchoring. Not forceful, not claiming...only resolute.
The Oracle's voice rang like distant thunder.
"By the will of storm and sky, by the covenant of old, two shall be bound this day."
Valerian faced Aurelia. His eyes, pale as lightning caught in ice, fixed upon hers.
No smile touched his lips, no tenderness softened his gaze. Yet in their depths lay a promise: unyielding, unbreakable.
"Speak your vow," Elyria commanded.
Valerian's voice was low but clear, and it cut sharper than steel.
"I take you, Aurelia. Not by whim, nor by fragile desire, but by vow. You shall stand beside me as storm stands beside sky...unyielding, inescapable, inevitable.
No tide shall sever, no flame consume. From this day, you are mine, and I am yours, bound beneath the witness of thunder."
He extended his hand....not trembling, not hesitant, but inevitable as the storm itself.
Aurelia drew breath, her voice faltering only at its beginning.
"I take you, Valerian. Not for ease, nor for safety, but because fate has set your name upon mine. I will endure the storm with you, bear its fury and its silence. In the tempest, I will not turn away."
Her words steadied, not soft but resolute, and the air tingled as though the storm itself approved.
The Oracle turned toward Vaelric.
"Bring forth the rings."
The young heir strode forward, eyes alight. He presented the case with a flourish, as though he had been born for this moment.
When he opened it, the bands gleamed....silver laced with stormsteel, catching each flicker of torchlight.
Gasps rippled through the assembly. Even Aurelia stared in awe. These were no gaudy ornaments, but symbols: elegant, enduring, crafted to outlast generations.
Valerian took the first ring and slid it onto her finger. His voice carried, low but unyielding.
"Let this bind you, not in chains, but in strength. Not as prisoner, but as partner."
Aurelia's throat tightened. Tears pricked her eyes as she mirrored him, slipping the second band onto his hand.
Her voice trembled, but she forced it to steady.
"And let this bind you...not as storm that destroys, but as shelter in the tempest. Not as shadow, but as light."
Elyria lifted her hands, her voice echoing through the hall of balance like sacred flame.
"By the covenant of storm and flame, by the witness of gods and men, I seal this vow. What is bound in storm cannot be undone. Let their bond endure as long as the heavens themselves.
"Let the heavens bear witness. Valerian Stormborne. Aurelia of Ashmere. You are one."
The words fell....and thunder cracked so violently the walls of the citadel trembled. Lightning split the sky, flooding the hall with silver fire.
Gasps tore through the assembly. Some bowed their heads in reverence, others stared wide-eyed, as though the storm itself had answered.