Chapter 53 Vows And Revelations

• The cathedral was packed with nobility from both kingdoms, their faces a mixture of political calculation and genuine celebration. I walked down the aisle in my wedding dress, the skull relics at my throat pulsing with increasing urgency as ancient magic stirred in the air around me.
• Aldric stood at the altar, resplendent in his ceremonial armor, but I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand rested casually near his sword hilt. Through our soul-bond, I felt his readiness for violence, his determination to protect me from whatever trap was closing around us.
• The High Priest began the ceremony with traditional words, but I barely heard them over the whispers of the dead. The skull relics were practically burning against my skin now, their voices rising to a crescendo of warning.