AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, my queen. As you wish.”
***
I walk down the aisle, which is empty. There are no bystanders in the pews, and it’s not even in a church. We’re near the edge of the forest of lost souls, surrounded by the beauty of nature. The path I walk is lined with white and red roses the size of my fists, and the forest is alive with the sound of birds and the rustle of leaves.
My dress trains behind me, held by none other than Clamara as we head toward the altar at the end of the path. It’s nestled within what’s left of a Greek looking gazebo. I’m not quite sure what it used to be, but now it’s become a trellis, filled with vibrant blooms and vines that stretch and wrap around the columns. Some are broken and crumbled in places, but otherwise, they still hold up a half moon structure.
Two stand at the end. The high priestess, being one. A crown of spikes sits on top of her head, made to match her fully metallic, silver eyes. A blue dress covers every inch of her body from the neck down, draped in sweeping layers. Next to her is the man who owns my heart.
Kai’s eyes meet mine, and his lips tug into a mischievous smirk. He’s in the same suit he wore earlier, with his dark hair swept neatly beneath his crown. His chin no longer is clad with the stubble I’ve sort of grown to adore, but now shaved smooth, revealing his chiseled jawline.
I stop next to him and he reaches for my hand, weaving out fingers together and never taking his eyes off me, even as the priestess begins the verbiage to bind us for eternity. Though it’s not her voice that I listen to. Instead, my attention is focused on Kai and the words he speaks inside my head.
“Are you sure?”he asks, his eyes never leaving mine. I nod gently, to not interrupt her.“It can’t be undone. It’s not like marriages on Earth. For immortals it’s till death. We’ll be bound, your power becoming mine and mine yours, and similar to the paint ritual, you’ll forever feel on a less extreme level, what I do and I you. If you have any hesitations, we can stop.”I squeeze his hand. There’s no backing out of this. Two entire kingdoms depend on this marriage for unity, not to mention that there’s no one else I love more.
The priestess holds out a dagger, and Kai lets go of my hand to slice his own, before turning and doing the same to mine. I hiss, but the sting of the cut fades, and we hold our closed fists above a bronze bowl in the woman’s hands, our blood pooling and mixing within. She chants something in an ancient language I’ve yet to encounter before signaling for us to stop and dipping his fingers in the crimson liquid and drawing an Yangtze on both of our foreheads, a symbol resembling two zigzag lines interlocked. A moment later, power rushes through me, stealing my breath, swirling until it fizzles out all together. I meet Kai’s wide eyes… He felt it, too.
“There shall be no beginning, middle, or end. You are bound, blood of thy blood, and like the light and the darkness, one cannot exist without the other…” the high priestess says.
The oracle I saw on the way to Solaria… His words swirl through my mind.‘Even the light cannot exist without the dark, Alice. Should either one perish, the fabrics that built this world will crumble.’He was talking about us.
My heart is beating fast, and I feel like I’m floating through a dream. Kai spreads my fingers, slipping on my ring before dropping his in my hand. I do the same, gently sliding it over his knuckle.
“You may now kiss your bride, My King,” she says, and my skin breaks out in goosebumps. Kai’s eyes meet mine and his hand wraps around the back of my neck, pulling my face to his. Our lips connect and the world ceases to exist. In this moment, there’s only me and him and the explosion of tingles that spread through my body.
He is mine, and I am his.
33
Kai
Swiping a match across the sandpaper swatch, a flame burst to life and I use it to set the lanterns in the small room ablaze. Once upon a time, this used to be a guest house for my father and mother when they needed to get away from the hustle of the castle. The weight of the crown doesn’t loom so harshly here.
I had it prepared for tonight, needing to have Alice all to myself. Within these walls, we can forget about the world and the issues piling up. It allows us to live in the moment and cherish it while it lasts.
“How do you feel?” I ask, shaking the match out.
“Feel? I don’t really feel any different. A bit nervous, I suppose.” My eyebrows bounce as I turn to where she sits on the end of the bed. I sensed that much through our now permanent bond. It’s not as sensual as the bond felt with the paint, but there nonetheless. It’s more of an overwhelming sense of knowing than experiencing the other person’s emotions or sensations.
This little house doesn’t have much. It’s just outside the castle garden, and made of only one bedroom. Yet, it makes for the perfect getaway. Close enough that we can be informed if shit hits the fan, and far enough that the servants in the keep will leave us be.
My fingers slip through the buttons of my suit jacket, freeing them and shrugging the thick, weighted fabric of my shoulders. Next, I open up the collar of my blouse, hating the way it constricts around my neck. If I’m this uncomfortable, I can only imagine how she must feel. The woman hates corsets and now I’ve shoved her into one twice in as many days.
“Come here,” I plead, sitting in one of the winged back chairs around a small dining table for two. She doesn’t hesitate, nor argue, but she kicks her heels off before journeying across the room.
“Are you going to smear my lipstick?” she teases, and I chuckle silently.
“Not yet, but if I’m suffocating in layered shirts, I think it’s safe to assume you feel the same cinched into that dress.” She cocks her head, her eyes dropping to stare at the planes of my chest visible in the unbuttoned section of my shirt. “Give me your back so I can rid you of it.” Quarter turn at a time, Alice does, lifting her hair up so I can untie the laces binding up the back. Little by little, I unravel her like a present, until she’s left in a strappy silk slip. “Better?”
“Much,” she says, letting her hair fall in coils, rolling down her back. The woman could wear a trash bag and still be mesmerizing to me.
“I’m sorry, there wasn’t time to do it all. The reception, the ball and the after party… all of it.” If I had more time, I would’ve made sure every creature with a minuscule of intelligence in the seven realms would’ve been present to see her take her vows. I would’ve made this day everything she ever wanted, even if I had to stop the world from turning to do it. If only I had more time…
“Don’t be,” her dark red lips tip up, and suddenly it’s hard to breathe, “Today was everything I wanted. I don’t need some elaborate wedding, even though what you managed to throw together was much more elaborate than most I know who’ve exchanged vows, and you put it together in a day. That in itself was an impossible task, and far more than I could ever ask for. The only thing I wish could’ve been different was that my family was here to see it.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pull two stones free and set them on the table next to me. “What if I told you they’ll get to? They won’t be able to be there, obviously, but they can relive it.” My fingers wrap around one of the hematite stones, holding it up so she can admire its dark mirror-like surface. “It’ll only work for a witch, as I’m sure you know, but your aunt should be able to take your uncle into the memory with her. Same for your mother and father.”
“You made these for me?” she says, her eyes glossing over as tears brim her lower lashes, threatening to fall at any moment.
