CHAPTER 25: LEY TO LEY, LIFE TO LIFE

In the entire history of Dawnhaven, there had perhaps never been a time when the city was under siege, yet its people went about their daily lives without the slightest care.

Let alone hosted a wedding among the ruling house.

The bells of the Grand Mausoleum rang out across the city, their echoes carried within its walls.

After the barrier had been expanded to include the lands outside the walls and the farmland within them, few gave much thought to the Ignarion forces hammering away at its shimmering rustlight with explosive spells.

Some even whispered that with each passing day, the barrier grew brighter, perhaps whatever change it had undergone meant it would last forever.

Because of this, Dawnhaven’s residents cheered and tossed flowers toward the carriages carrying the bride and groom.

Two separate chariots: one for Caedrion, the other for Aelindria. Both had spent the morning being dressed and prepared for the day.

As was tradition, Aelindria would be led into the chapel first, her face hidden beneath a veil that would only be lifted once they sealed their vows before the graves of their ancestors, and the Architect whose blood flowed through their veins.

That’s right... the ceremony was closed to the public, witnessed only by House Ferrondel and the silent generations entombed around them.

When the carriages stopped, Sylene stepped out first and led her daughter inside.

For the time being, Caedrion remained in his own carriage, his father sitting opposite him.

Malveris seemed more anxious than his son, who lounged lazily against the window.

It did nothing to calm him; in fact, it only provoked him.

"How can you not be the least bit flustered!?! Today is your wedding day, boy! Don’t you care in the least?"

Caedrion turned to him, bewildered.

"What do you mean? Why should I be worried? Aelindria and I have known each other all our lives. Other than the ceremony, how is today any different from yesterday or tomorrow? We’re always by each other’s side, and always will be. This wedding doesn’t change that, it’s just a formality."

Malveris didn’t know whether to be furious or pity his niece, whom he had raised like a daughter since she was a child.

He sighed and shook his head, realizing exactly who he was talking to. His frustration faded, replaced by a gentler expression.

He rested a hand on his son’s shoulder and offered a final piece of advice.

"Of course... but Aelindria probably doesn’t see it that way. For her sake, can you at least pretend like today matters?"

Caedrion hadn’t intended to carry this cavalier attitude into the ceremony, and honestly, he thought it was a little insulting to assume he was that shameless. Did everyone in his family truly think he was so irresponsible?

Now wasn’t the time to voice that grievance. Instead, he made his father a promise, if only to put him at ease.

"Alright... for her sake, I’ll behave myself. But just this once, old man. You don’t get to ask this of me a second time."

Malveris looked like he might explode, but instead broke into laughter, which Caedrion soon joined.

---

Beneath her veil, Aelindria’s lips were set in a pout.

Her arms crossed, her foot tapped against the polished white stone, each tap a countdown.

She had meant it two days ago when she told Caedrion she’d hunt him down and drag him to the altar by the scruff of his neck if he dared be late.

When the clock was about to strike the fifth minute, the doors to the Mausoleum opened.

The place looked more like a Baroque cathedral than a tomb for their family’s dead.

There were no witnesses, no priest, only Malveris, Sylene, and their children.

Caedrion stepped forward at last, stopping before Aelindria.

He lifted her veil and found himself staring into her glimmering, rust-hued eyes, his words caught in his throat.

He had teased her too often in the past, but here and now, in her pure white gown, she was like a living goddess from a dream in another life.

Malveris broke the silence.

"Ahem... now would be the time to hold hands and say the oath."

Sylene nodded quietly, watching the scene, or more precisely, watching the leylines on Caedrion’s hands as his fingers closed gently around Aelindria’s.

They began to chant the oath, and as they did, a magic circle bloomed before them, its rustlight glowing brighter with every verse.

"By the light of the First Flame, and the shadow of the Last Dawn,

I call upon the blood that binds us,

And the soul that claims us both.

From this breath until my final,

From this heartbeat until the world’s last,

I am yours, and you are mine.

Ley to ley, life to life,

Let our currents merge as the rivers meet the sea,

Until none may tell where you end, and I begin.

May our lines be etched in the same pattern,

May our pulse be one song,

And may no hand, god or mortal,

Unmake what we join here.

So sworn before our ancestors,

So written upon our flesh,

So sealed in the deep places of the world."

When the final words were spoken, a blinding light overtook them; a flare so pure it seemed to drain the color from the world.

The air grew heavy, thrumming with a low resonance that rattled their bones. All else fell away; even sound seemed to retreat into the glow.

Only Caedrion and Aelindria could see what happened next.

The leylines that had marked their bodies since birth, those glowing constellations of power, rose from their skin and hovered between them, two living maps suspended in radiance.

They spiraled inward, threads of light weaving and knotting, until the two patterns were no longer distinct.

What returned to their bodies was a single, perfect design, mirrored in each of them, shaped only by the subtle contours of their forms.

A pattern unseen before in all the Architect’s bloodline.

For a long moment they simply stared, wide-eyed, breathing as though they had run a race, knowing without words they had been changed forever.

Malveris and Sylene exchanged a single, knowing nod; as if this was the moment they had long been waiting for.