Survive by Vera Nazarian

Author:Vera Nazarian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Norilana Books
Published: 2020-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

At last everyone has greeted us and visited the Tree of Gifts. What remains is for Aeson and me to acknowledge each other’s gifts.

Those infamous love gifts.

Oh, help. . . .

In the traditional moment of silence Aeson stands up, facing me as I remain seated.

“Im amrevu Gwen, my beautiful Bride,” he says loudly, looking down at me with a heated gaze. And then he reaches inside his inner pocket and brings out the miniature rose crystal Pegasus I gave him. He lifts it up before the Court, to show everyone. “This is the generous love gift you’ve given me, and I treasure it.”

He returns the crystal miniature inside his jacket pocket.

And then he pauses and turns to look at everyone gathered.

I freeze awkwardly, unsure what to do with myself. Should I just get up and make up something?

But Aeson speaks again.

“My Bride has given me a generous love gift, but I have been remiss. All this time, I have not offered her anything better than the loan of my armband. And now—”

Aeson again reaches into his pocket and takes out a small, odd-shaped item of old unpolished metal, possibly gold, but with a patina of age, like brass.

The thing is about three inches long and shaped like the outline of a four-point star on one end, and the other end has some kind of extended attachment.

“Forgive me, Gwen, and allow me to make up for my shortcoming as a Bridegroom,” Aeson says, offering me the metallic thing. “This is a key—a very old key, and it opens a secret room in the Imperial Crown Prince’s Quarters. I call it my Room of Childhood Secrets. It contains old items of great meaning and importance for me. No one else knows about it, and previously I’ve never shared it with anyone. It is now yours. Please take this key and enter that room . . . so that you might know my heart and know me—you who are my one and only . . . my Gwen.”

Even as he speaks, I begin to tremble. A lump starts in the back of my throat and moisture wells in my eyes. I rise and take the key from his warm fingers.

As our fingers touch, he says softly, “At last—this is my love gift to you.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.