"We gather tonight to witness the joining of two souls, two bloodlines, and two destinies." The officiant said as he looked at the assembled crowd of guests.
"In our vampire society marriage isn't temporary. It is not a contract to be torn apart when convenient, not a partnership to be abandoned when things get difficult. It is eternal."
He turned to look at Azrael and Lyanna. They were holding hands but Lyanna looked less like a bride and more like a prisoner tied to her captor.
"The bond we forge tonight transcends death itself." The officiant continued. "If one partner falls, the other carries that connection forward. The bond remains unbroken even if centuries pass. This is not just a political alliance or a romantic union, this is the intertwining of two souls so deep that the human mind can't even wrap itself around this concept."
Lyanna felt dizzy. The corset was too tight, her breathing was too shallow, and the heavy words made her want to scream and walk away.
But Azrael's grip was like iron on her hand. It was a reminder that she can't run away anymore.
"The vows you speak tonight will bind you forever. Once spoken, they cannot be unspoken. Once sealed, they cannot be unsealed. You will be bonded mates for eternity." The officiant paused. "If either of you wants to walk away, speak now. Once we proceed, there's no going back."
Silence fell in the hall. Lyanna's heart was like a trapped bird fluttering in her chest. This was it. Her last chance.
She could say no. She could pull her hand from Azrael and walk away. She could choose to die as Lyanna Graves rather than become his possession for eternity.
The seconds stretched into a minute. Azrael gently squeezed her hand.
Is this meant to be comforting? Threatening? Or is he reminding me that he can crush my hand if I try to pull away?
"Proceed." Azrael said.
The officiant looked at Lyanna. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave a small nod.
"Very well."
The officiant then turned to look at Azrael.
"Azrael Thornfield, King of the Thornfield Court. Sovereign of the Northern Territories. Master of the Dark Woods and all lands between the Grey Mountains and the Whispering Sea."
The titles seemed endless.
"Do you with full knowledge of the eternal nature of this bond, take Lyanna Graves as your bonded mate, your wife, your queen? To rule beside you, to bear your heirs, to share your immortality, to honour and cherish, to protect and provide for, until the end of all things?"
"I do." Azrael responded immediately.
He spoke those words in his cold voice, with no warmth whatsoever. His eyes were fixed on Lyanna as he said those words, and she could see the truth in them clearly.
He looked at her as a prize he had finally won and kept in a cage. Everyone in the hall knew it.
The guests started whispering. Some were happy that the girl who rejected him years ago finally got what she deserved. Others seemed uncomfortable viewing it as a mockery of marriage. But no one objected.
Then the officiant turned to Lyanna.
"Lyanna Graves, last daughter of The House of Graves, last remnant of a bloodline that is both noble and tainted, survivor of a massacre."
Each word was stripping her down in front of everyone, reminding them what she was, where she came from and why she was here.
"Do you with full knowledge of the eternal nature of this bond, take Azrael Thornfield as your bonded mate, your husband and your king? To serve him in all ways, to bear his children, to honour his authority, to submit to his will until death claims you or immortality is granted by his grace?"
The vows were different from Azrael's. His vows were about ruling together, about partnership, about protection. Hers were about service, submission, bearing his children and honouring his authority. His vows were about power, hers were about surrender.
The inequality was blatant, and deliberate.
Hundreds of vampires were waiting for her answer, to see if history would repeat itself.
Lyanna looked at Azrael. He looked back at her with a mocking challenge in his eyes. He expected her to break.
If I died here, all of them would remember me as a traitor's weak daughter. No one would ever know that not all of The House of Graves were traitors.
She thought about Clara, who'd been kind to her. The guards who'd treated her with respect despite everything. The maids who'd prepared her for this moment. If she refused, Azrael would punish them all, would make them suffer despite being innocent.
And beyond every logical reason, she had a desperate, and stubborn will to survive.
She'd survived the massacre at Graves Castle, had survived days of psychological torture here. She wasn't ready to die, wasn't ready to give up. It may have made her weak and a coward. But she wanted to live.
Lyanna took a deep breath and looked straight into Azrael's eyes. She wanted him to see that she wasn't broken, and she was walking into his cage with her eyes open.
"I do."
Her voice was loud enough for everyone present there to hear. Azrael's expression didn't change but he smiled slightly as if satisfied.
"By the ancient laws of vampires, established in the First Age when our kind first walked on this earth, by the power vested in me by the First Blood, by the old magics that bind soul to soul and fate to fate. I pronounce you bonded mates."
He raised his hands, and Lyanna felt a strange, cold, and buzzing sensation in her body. The magic intensified, wrapping around them, sealing them as bonded mates.
"King and Queen of Thornfield." The officiant's eyes glowed with power.
Lyanna gasped as the bond finally settled.
"You may now seal the bond."
Azrael didn't wait. He moved like a predator. His one hand slid around her waist, pulling her closer to him with enough force to make her stumble. The other hand tangled in her hair, scattering her pins.
"You're mine now, wife." He said.
The threat in his voice made her shiver. He didn't wait for her response. He leaned in and claimed her lips. He didn't kiss her like a groom, he kissed her like a conqueror marking a map.
It wasn't a kiss of affection, it was him claiming his territory. Lyanna made a small sound and his grip in her hair tightened.
He bit her lip, just enough to taste her blood. She watched his eyes darken as he swallowed it. The gesture was so intimate that it made her knees weak.
Her hands were on his chest, but there was no strength in them. She kept drowning in his sensation as the kiss deepened.
Lyanna's head started spinning. The corset was too tight, her breathing was shallow, and the kiss was stealing what little air she had. She felt dizzy, breathless and overwhelmed.
His tongue swept into her mouth, demanding entry. Just when she thought she'd faint, he pulled back, just enough to let her breathe.
His eyes were glowing as he looked down at her, still holding her. Her lips were swollen and red from the kiss.
He leaned closer and brushed his lips against her ear. His breath was hot unlike his cold skin.
"Tonight, there will be no more secrets between us. You belong to me now." He whispered.
The hall erupted in applause and cheers. Lyanna stood there, breathless and dizzy.
Azrael's arm around her waist was the only thing keeping her standing, and she realized that the marriage wasn't the beginning, it was the moment the cage door finally shut.