As soon as the door closed behind Regan, all my courage drained away, leaving me a shaking mess. My legs wouldn’t support my weight anymore. I sank to the edge of the bed, covering my face with my hands.
“Nicely done,” Owen said.
My eyes burned. “Shut up.”
“I mean it.” His voice softened and I realized he was trying to compliment me. “Your sister can be intimidating. You didn’t back down.”
I dropped my hands from my face and Owen came forward, slowing as he noticed my tears. He reached out and wiped them away with his thumbs. I leaned into the circle of his arms. “You are radiant when your passion is lit,” he murmured, smoothing a hand down my back. “You truly are a woman befitting the position of alpha.”
I snorted and pulled back, angry at that, although I didn’t know why. “Why? Because I hurt my sister?”
“Because you have fire.” A smile played around his lips. “If you can stand up to her, you can stand up to anyone—the stuffy werewolf elders, and perhaps even the most ancient vampires in my family. Maybe even my mother,” he added and I shuddered.
“No, thanks. I’d rather fight Regan,” I mumbled.
“You may get your chance,” he said and my stomach tightened.
“Tomorrow—” I began, but Owen cut me off.
“You’ll focus on the test. Don’t worry about me or about anyone else. Just stay focused on your task.”
“Do you think they’ll make us fight?” I asked.
“No. The Test of Knowledge is about information.”
“Like a pop quiz,” I said, brows raised. It sounded too easy. Unless, of course, someone tried to kill me during it.
“Exactly. You focus on that and I’ll do the rest. Stop worrying,” he said, reaching out and smoothing the lines above my brow with his finger.
I smiled ruefully. “I’ll try but what Regan said about her mom and the way she died … It’s pretty obvious someone on our side had to orchestrate all that—”
“Charlie.” Owen’s finger smoothed the lines again and he smiled. “You’re doing it again. Stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. It’s not like I can think of anything else right now,” I said.
He tilted his head to study me, smile fading. “Did you know that vampires mate for eternity?”
The change in subject surprised me—and distracted me, like I knew he’d intended. I shook my head. “Do you mean, like … forever-eternity or is that figurative? Because, I’m going to live a long time but not—”
“Yes. Our marriages are unlike those of humans, or your wolf pack. What we do to bind ourselves—our beliefs and rituals—have been carried through generations of vampires.” He trailed a hand down my shoulder. I leaned my head on his chest and gazed at the line of his jaw from below. “Vampires are immortal, and so are our relationships.”
“Even if you outlive your mate?” I asked, feeling funny on the last word. I couldn’t wrap my mind around eternity with one person. Having been raised by a single mom, there had had been a parade of potential father figures through the years. She’d never stuck with any of them longer than a few months in order to keep our secret. What would it be like to have someone you could share everything with? Someone you could keep?
Owen gazed out the window. He looked distant, like his mind was with his ancestors in centuries past. “Our marriage ritual binds the souls together. We call upon the ties of blood, the power of the heart, the integrity of the mind…” He turned that intense gaze on me. “To marry, we must truly give our entire selves to our mates.”
“It sounds…” I hesitated. Scary? Wonderful? Both? “I can’t imagine it.”
He smiled. “You will.”
Owen leaned down to kiss me. Standing together in the moonlight almost warmed his cool body to the temperature of a normal human.
“Tell me more,” I said.
He brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “A vampire marriage involves a small exchange of blood. Nothing more than a light nip, of course.” His finger trailed along my throat, and I shivered. “The blood tie binds the heart. And then we share an oath to bind our minds.”
“What’s the oath like?”
He looked deep into my eyes. “I, Owen Rossi, solemnly swear to guard and uphold you. To protect your heart, your body, your soul. To dedicate myself to your comfort and joy. With your blood as my blood, we will be one for all of time to come.”
Something like static shot through me and I jolted. It was the sort of twitch you feel when your body involuntarily reacts to some nerve just before you fall asleep and your whole body jumps. Owen’s arms came up and gripped my shoulders. His body shuddered as well.
A pit of warmth had formed in my stomach at his touch. It was spreading now; Owen’s touch no long felt cold against me. Owen and I stared at each other. I wondered if he’d felt it, too.
“That was beautiful,” I whispered.
“And it will be real very soon,” he said.
It was probably meant to comfort me, but my hands started shaking again at the reminder of our uncertain future. “What if Regan tells someone? What if we’ve ruined the treaty? What if—”
“Your sister will keep her word,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“Because she is your sister, and despite what you may think, that means something to her.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he pressed his finger to my lip and silenced me with a look. I sighed, torn between believing his assurances and accepting the reality of Regan’s anger at what I’d done. Evidently satisfied at my silence, he dropped his hand, letting it graze my chin as it fell.
“It will work out. We’ll get through it.” He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on top of my head. It wasn’t the passionate embrace that we had shared earlier, but it was exactly what I needed. “Together.”