Chapter 274: The Promise
Lara looked away first. Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, the color blooming across her face like fire racing through dry grass. Her heart thundered wildly in her chest, each beat loud enough, she feared, for Alaric to hear. What was happening to her? Why did the mere sound of his voice make her breath catch? Did she... like him?
Outside, the soft pitter-patter of rain began to drum against the carriage roof, a gentle, rhythmic cascade that grew louder by the second. The scent of damp earth and summer air wafted in as the sky darkened. The coachman clucked to the horses and guided them beneath a sprawling tree, its thick canopy offering a shield from the downpour. They were only halfway to the Norse mansion, yet the sudden pause in their journey felt like the world itself had taken a breath.
"Look over there!" Prince Alaric said, his voice alight with wonder. He pointed to the east.
Lara followed his gaze, leaning forward and craning her neck. Her breath hitched.
Suspended in the misty sky was a double rainbow, two brilliant arches painted across the heavens. The first rainbow blazed with vivid hues—red, orange, gold, and green, each color more vibrant than the last. The second, fainter and more ethereal, hovered like a whisper of magic behind the first. It was as if the sky itself had split open to reveal a secret meant only for them.
"I told you," Alaric murmured, his voice low and reverent, "we are fated. Even the heavens bear witness—and grant us their blessing."
He took her hand gently, their fingers slipping together like two puzzle pieces finding their match. Slowly, deliberately, he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft, lingering kiss upon her knuckles. The sensation sparked across her skin, a warm tingling coursed up her arm and spread through her chest like wildfire.
Lara’s instincts warred within her. She ought to pull away, to protect herself—but she didn’t. Instead, she soaked in the warmth of his touch, the sense of being seen, cherished, as if she were the only person in the world who mattered.
She turned her gaze upward again. The primary rainbow had grown even more radiant, like a celestial torch lighting the sky. The secondary arc, softer and ghost-like, shimmered in the background—a mirror image created by the light’s secret dance within the same raindrops.