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“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” my father says while I chew the inside of my cheek. Sebastian stands to my right, his arm mere inches from mine. Even with the venom in his system, he’s stoic, his strength unwavering. It’s commendable, but he reeks of copper and the sour stench of venom, and who knows how much of the blood on his skin is his. He needs a healer… and a bath.
The oracle stops next to my father, who’s a few feet ahead of us now, barking orders at his staff to prepare for Sebastian’s stay. I’m not sure what there is for them to do at the last minute. It’s not like they have a room to prepare. From what I understand, he’ll be staying in mine.
“I think that’s our cue.” Sebastian’s voice is in my ear, still holding that dark, mysterious tone it held before. I jolt away, craning my neck toward him, only to find that he’s leaned closer. His dark eyebrows arch up, drawing my gaze to his striking green eyes. They’re gorgeous. I’ve never seen eyes like his, like the color exploded in the rings, creating a thousand different shades. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, princess.”
“You didn’t.”
The corners of his lips tip up as he takes off his necklace and pockets it. Must be a pirate thing. “Sure, I didn’t. I must’ve imagined it.”
My father waves us over, his arm cast out, but his gaze stays put on the priestess.
“That’s definitely our cue.” Sebastian’s hand grazes my shoulder blades, urging me forward. My spine straightens and he quickly drops it, sensing my unease–I think–and we stroll forward.
When we reach her, the priestess’s vacant eyes seek us out. “Will there be a blood oath?” She tilts her head, awaiting Sebastian’s response. Her movements are almost sinister, exaggerated, and slow. Then again, she’s over a thousand years old. It wouldn’t surprise me if the time had taken its toll on her mind.
“Does the princess want one?”
Years of training fly right out the window with that one spoken question. My head snaps to the right, my eyes widening. Most men would have answered yes or no. I never anticipated him asking what I want, or even caring about what I have to say.
He smiles, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “You have to use your words, Scarlet.”
Shaking myself out of the confused trance, I turn back to the priestess. “Uh, yes.”
She doesn’t react, just stares at Sebastian, needing him to say the final word.
“You heard the lady,” he says without missing a beat.
The priestess holds out her hand, drawing her dagger from the sheath on her hip. The cool blade meets my flesh and she pulls. I gasp and my entire body tenses as the sting settles in, but my blood quickly beads and starts to roll off the sides of my hand.
The blood oath binds one soul to the other. It’s a mate bond for non-shifter beings, and like shifters, there’s only one way to end a bond like that. Death. If he plans to hurt me, the bond will make him feel every ounce of agony I experience. And if I take it, then I will feel as he does too. The fact he’s willing to make the oath in the first place is a good sign, but Zelix’s warning rings loud and clear in my head.
Sebastian hates witches…
If he were to find out I’m marked, I might have to protect myself. I’m not a warrior. There’s no way I’d be able to fight through pain. If I had to stab him, I’d crumble and he might not even bat an eye. That much is clear by the fact he’s wounded now and barely showing it. It might not be wise for me to participate, but having him do so would be in my favor. He might hesitate if he’d feel it, too.
When the priestess is finished collecting my blood into the goblet, she hands it to my father before repeating the same thing on Sebastian’s hand. Once our blood is mixed, she speaks in a tongue I don’t understand. Her hands wrap around the goblet and something inside of it starts to glow. She dips her fingers into the mixture, our blood taking on a luminescent hue, and her white eyes turn toward Sebastian. “With this, you’ll be linked in more than just spirit. Do you wish to be bound, not just in soul, but in mind?”
“Yes,” Sebastian says, lowering his head so she can touch her fingers to his forehead, drawing a small sigil.
Moving to me, she dips her fingers again. “Do you wish to be bound by both soul and mind?”
“No…” I feel the air change. This is my only right. The only choice I’ll be given in this ritual. I don’t want to believe he’ll go back on his word or hurt me, but just in case, any advantage I can get is a must. “No, I don’t.”
“Very well,” the priestess says. “The Dark One will feel as you do. He’ll know every emotion, but you will not share his. Are you sure?”
“Yes.” My eyes drop to the ground. I can’t bring myself to see how Sebastian reacts. He won’t understand… not unless he’s been in my place, seen the things I’ve witnessed.
The priestess grabs both of our hands after giving the goblet to my father. “You have my blessing.” Her grip tightens around us, and a sigil burns beneath my skin on the top of my hand, forming a reddened circle in my flesh with quirky letters, and a star overlapping it. At each point of the star, there’s a symbol for the elements. Air, water, earth, fire, and spirit.
I’ve been taught what to say for this ritual, over and over, for as long as I can remember. At this point, it’s second nature. Standing up a bit taller, I look at the priestess. “Under the spirit, I vow. A union of souls.”
Sebastian repeats the phrase, his voice steady and calm at my side.
“Under the spirit, you are wed,” the priestess says, smiling like she’s giving us our happily ever after and not binding us under grim pretenses. “You must speak your vow to the other elements. Once they’re all complete, and you’ve consummated, your claim to the throne will be solidified, and your marriage will be permanent until your souls pass into the next life.”
Sebastian dips his head and, against my better judgment, I look. He eyes the sigil on his hand, the spirit symbol glowing a bright orange hue.
“Please tell me that goes away,” he whispers.
