Epilogue

Epilogue

Six Months Later...

I examined myself in the mirror and nodded in approval. For the first time in my life, I was happy it was my birthday. Though I would admit that I never expected to be getting married on it. It was crazy how life turned out sometimes.

“Happy birthday,” I said to myself. “And wedding day.”

I knew which I was more excited for. The only downside had been that I hadn’t woken up next to Tamsin this morning. I’d have been all for ignoring that tradition, especially since she’d already seen me in my wedding dress, but by not going to the Oracle when I was a baby, I’d already broken more traditions than my kind were completely comfortable with.

Satisfied that I couldn’t do anything else with my appearance, I turned away from my mirror and readied myself to leave the cave Tamsin and I now called home. I hated being here alone, but she’d stayed at her parents the night before.

The paths outside were clear. Not many people attended weddings here as they happened so frequently. As far as I could tell, it was an oddity for dragons in general. The others at Dragon Soul had said a lot of their ceremonies happened in one go, whether that was once a year in the fire dragons’ case, or more frequently like the water dragons.

I didn’t mind though. The more people stayed away from today, the better. I didn’t need crowds to marry the woman I loved. I just needed her. Well and the person performing the ceremony. I needed them too.

My traditional clothing rustled in the breeze, no more comfortable than the first time I’d worn it. But some things were just necessary in life. Every single dragon who saw me today would know what I was doing.

The alter loomed up to my left, a leafy stone arch covered in carvings of dragons before me.

And beneath it was the most beautiful sight in existence. Tamsin’s hair was loose, flowing down her back and contrasting perfectly with the pale blue of her robes. Huh, odd. I’d have expected them to be green or brown. Typical Earth Dragon colours in other words, but I suspected there was probably more meaning to the colours than I thought.

She looked up and a beam spread over her face as her eyes met mine. I smiled back, but didn’t hurry. Nothing about this meant I had to hurry.

“Hi,” I greeted as I came to a halt beside her.

“Hi,” she whispered back.

The officiator nodded at both of us. “Kneel, please,” he instructed.

We followed directions, our knees resting on the soft cushions placed at our feet. He touched both of our heads and began to recite a blessing over us in the old tongue. Meaning I had absolutely no idea what he was saying.

I snuck a glance at Tamsin and noticed the equally confused expression on her face. It wasn’t just me who didn’t understand then, that was somewhat reassuring.

The officiator picked up a bowl of earth and held it above our heads. I really hoped he wouldn’t pour that over us. As much as I thought our robes were uncomfortable, they were pretty, and I didn’t want them ruined with stained earth.

Thankfully, instead of raining the earth down on us, he placed it between us and gestured for us to put our hands in it. I scrunched up my nose. I wasn’t girly per say, but even I didn’t want to get dirt under my fingernails.

But, this was to marry Tamsin, and I knew that was something I needed and wanted to do. I reached over and took her hand in mine, giving it a quick squeeze before I buried them both beneath the earth.

It was surprisingly dry to touch and a little ticklish. Tamsin let out a small giggling before she seemed to remember where she was and hushed herself. I smiled. She really had let go a little bit since I’d arrived here.

“Bless this dragon union and bring forth the fruits of the earth,” the officiator said. Cryptic words, but at least I could understand them this time. “Angelia Tamsin Eardwulf, you are bound this day forth to Hollis Garland. Do you accept this mating bond?”

“With all my heart,” Tamsin responded, glancing over at me and giving me a shy smile.

“And Hollis Garland, you are bound this day forth to Angelia Tamsin Eardwulf. Do you also accept this mating bond?”

“I do,” I replied, eager to get to the part where our dragons could come out to play again, but mostly because that meant we’d be left alone.

“Then I pronounce your souls bound together forever more. May nothing break apart what has been forged today.”

Without another word, the officiator left us with our hands still buried in the bowl.

“That was somewhat anticlimactic,” I noted once I was sure he’d gone.

Tamsin let out a giggle. “It certainly wasn’t what I expected.”

I gave her a shocked look. “You haven’t been to one before?”

She shook her head. “No, we don’t really go to other people’s weddings.” She shrugged as if that was just a part of life.

“So you had no idea what would happen today?”

“No.”

“Do you know what we’re supposed to do now?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“My Mum told me. It’s not a secret what happens here. It’s just private,” she explained.

“Oh.” I liked that. It made the Commune seem less...communal. “What are we supposed to do?”

“We go through there.” She gestured towards the arch just in front of us.

“Alright then. Ready when you are,” I told her, letting go of her hand and getting to my feet.

I examined my hand, surprised to find it wasn’t as covered in dirt as I’d expected.

Tamsin rose beside me and took my hand again. “Are you ready, wife?”

Wife. The word echoed around my head a few times. I liked it.

“When you are,” I responded.

Slowly, she took a step forward, and I followed. The arch cast shadows over us as we passed through, but I ignored them, focusing instead on what was waiting beyond. The shadow of the mountain loomed up over us and I smiled, a silent nod to Mama. I squeezed Tamsin’s hand gently, a reminder that I was here. The sun tickled our skin and the wind played with our hair in perfect harmony. Within the middle of nature, we connected to Mother Earth, to each other, and to every Earth Dragon that came before us and every couple that’d get married here after us.

I smiled at the brunette next to me, her deep brown eyes lit up with joy. Tamsin. My wife, my soulmate, the light in my heart. It truly was a beautiful day for the beginning of the rest of my life.

Thank you for reading

Dragon Outcast

. If you want more from the

Twin Souls Universe co-written by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape

, then you can try

Soulswap

, a paranormal romance series with vampires and dragons. You can get it here on your favourite retailer:

http://books2read.com/soulshift