“With this ring, I thee wed for all of this life and the next,” she murmurs as she places the ring onto my finger, “by the light of the moon and every moment of every day and night.”
Her ring is similar to mine, platinum with onyx swirled throughout the band, but hers also has a few crystals at the top, so it matches her engagement ring.
“With this ring, I thee wed for all of this life and the next,” I say, not ashamed by the tears glistening in my eyes as she removes her engagement ring so I can put her wedding band on, “by the light of the moon and every moment of every day and night.”
The professor beams. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
“So I can kiss her finally?” I demand.
“Yes, yes, you can.”
I sweep Romelia into my arms, dip her back, and kiss her with everything in me, with my heart and soul. Inside me, I can feel a strange, tingling sensation that I felt when she bit me, and I wonder if she felt the same when she drank our combined blood.
“Before you leave…” Professor Marius smiles at us both. “I have something else to share with you. I sincerely hope that the two of you, that the love you share, will help to usher in a new dawn and a new beginning for vampires and werewolves alike. Love should be what guides us. May the moon shine down upon you both every night and give you the courage to always fight for each other but never with each other. Work together, talk, share, smile, laugh. Don’t argue or sweat over the little things because you will face much larger issues than most newlyweds. Be kind to each other and to yourselves, and be pillars of strength to one another, but also be willing to rely on the other when you need to. Together, you can move mountains, and you can inspire hope.”
I squeeze Romelia’s hand, and then I kiss my wife again.
My wife.
My vampire wife.
My wonderful, precious, amazing wife.
Chapter 23
Romelia
Being a new bride is wonderful. Blackhope Manor has been abandoned for centuries, and we spend the rest of the night there, just Julian and I, sharing our new lifestyle as husband and wife. He means so very much to me, and I cannot articulate in words just how much I adore and love him.
But the future is unclear, at least the distant future. Because we hadn’t come up with another plan, we both had no choice but to fail a course so we can still be attending the academies. It’s the best way for us to be together every day, although Julian was able to spend a few with his family at least.
Leaving the manor in the morning can’t dim my happiness. I am overjoyed, completely over the moon to be a new bride, but I have to admit that I hate that no one knows. My gloves from Tyra hide the fact from everyone, and I am a little bitter that I can’t share my happiness with anyone.
Still, I whistle to myself as I change and put on my uniform for Blood Haven and then head to my class.
Sheeba Serrano is the professor of Elemental Control. Her hair is dark above her headpiece, and she speaks through her cloth. “Romelia, I do hate that you are here. You showed so much promise, but while I do not excel at mind control as my sister does, I do suspect that you are here not because of lack of talent. I do wish for you to tell me why you are here.”
"To learn how to expand upon on control and influence over wind and rain."
Her brow furrows. “You exhibited mastery toward the middle of the year. You excelled, and then you merely stopped.”
I clasp my hands together. “I thought maybe you could tutor me, and if I do well enough, maybe you can show me how to create a storm instead of manipulating one that’s already there.”
“And that is why you failed? To have me as your private tutor? To teach you matters that only the strongest of vampires dare even attempt?”
“I am eager to learn.” I smile widely.
Professor Sheeba eyes me, and I get the impression she might be pursing her lips behind her headpiece. “I will take what you wish to learn under advisement, but only if you—”
The sky outside turns black. A natural storm is arriving, and I grin.
“Do you want me to control the lightning? I can strike a tree with ease. Or do you want to make it more challenging? A can? A quarter!”
“If you can make lightning strike a quarter, I will teach you how to create a storm,” she says.
“Yes!” I reach into my pocket and produce a quarter.
The professor’s eyes narrow. “You planned this all along,” she accuses.
With a grin, I head outside and then toss her the quarter. “Put it anywhere you want.” I rub my hands together in anticipation.
The professor smiles with her eyes. “If you’re sure…”
I nod eagerly.
The professor whips the quarter, tossing it away with us. Only because of my vampiric sight can I even see the quarter. The storm is swiftly moving, and it’ll be over soon, but before the quarter can fall to the ground, I connect with the storm cloud, reaching out with my magic. The electricity building within the cloud is immense, and I direct a rod straight for the quarter. The wind is shifting it, and it takes complete concentration for me to control the lightning as well as cause the wind near the quarter to lessen. The quarter hasn’t touched the ground yet as the lightning strikes it.
Without delay, I race over to find the quarter. In no time, I bring it back to the professor and place it in her hand.
The quarter is now a tiny chunk of twisted metal with a scorch mark down the middle.
Professor Sheeba clucks her tongue. “You are rather manipulative, but then again, you are part demon. I suppose that should be expected.”
My excitement dims, and my shoulders slump. “I was thinking more ambitious,” I mutter, but she probably can’t hear me over the storm.
“For now, why don’t you try to banish the storm away,” she suggests.
It’s something she’s never had us attempt, but still, I feel as if she is trying to back out on our deal.
As it turns out, banishing a storm isn't easy. It feels like I fought a physical battle with nature. By the time I finish, hours have passed. Considering I thought the storm wouldn't last long, I definitely think nature had a hand against me.
“Not so easy, hmm?” Professor Sheeba asks knowingly. “To create a storm when the weather conditions aren’t proper will be no easy feat. We will work you toward that point, but you will first attempt to create a storm under ideal conditions.”
"You mean before a real storm can roll in?"
“Precisely. Now go drink and then rest. You expended a lot of energy. You’ll need to replenish your own before you can dare to try to manipulate nature again.”
My body feels as if I am bruised and battered even though no marks mar me. During the break, there are no humans to drink from on campus, a fact that doesn’t bother me any, and I accept the goblets that are filled from the drinking station. How the goblets are filled I don’t know, but I’m grateful the academy still provides nourishment for the students between school years.
I’m not even sure how many goblets I drink, but it’s a lot. Way more than normal. I’ve gotten quite good at requiring less blood than dead vampires, but I’m guzzling it at this point. My stomach also growls. My demon side wants substance, food to consume and not just blood, but the academy doesn’t have anything laid out, so I just return to my room. To make things easier, the academy allows students to live in the same castle each year, the same exact room, and I live there during breaks too.
As soon as I sit on my bed, I text my husband that I might have overexerted myself so I was going to take a nap. I would call him once I woke.
You’re too tired to come to the manor?
I go to grin, but a yawn cuts me off. I’m too tired to run there.
Then sleep well, my love. I will see you in your dreams.
Oh, how I wish I could infiltrate his dreams! Then I could actually be there, and we could talk and be together even then, even while we sleep. That’s an ability fairie
s have. Hmm. I wonder if demons might possess that skill too.
The manor may be abandoned, so it’s definitely not ours, but last night, we talked about pretending it’s ours at least for a honeymoon-type period. A week, two weeks… After that, we don’t know where to go, where to live. We can’t live off campus for our third years. There is no commuting to either Blood Haven or Moonstone. Still, maybe we can see about purchasing Blackhope Manor and making it our home permanently after our third year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live where we wed in secret?
My eyelids start to close, but before I can fall asleep, there's a knock at the door. My heart skips a beat. Julian wouldn't come here, would he? We've never attempted that, to go to one another's campuses during the break. Since the school year isn't in session, the guards are far less, but several remain around the perimeter, and there might still be spell preventing the other kind from entering the opposing academy grounds.
Still, hope springs eternal, and I slip out of bed, meander over to the door because I’m still exhausted despite my eagerness to see Julian, and open the door.
Tyra is there with a bright smile. “Surprise!” She hands me a bag and strolls inside.
“Tyra, what are you doing here?” I gawk at her and slowly shut the door behind her.
“I thought I would come and see you.” She glances around before turning back toward me. “You can open it.”
I remove a bottle.
“I thought we can try some blood sangria,” she says, rubbing her hands together. She licks her lips and rubs her flat stomach.
“That does sound amazing.” I grin.
“How’s your summer class going?”
"Amazing, actually."
“Is that so? You look a bit tired.”
“Exhausted, yes, but I’m glad you’re here. Blood sangria, huh?”
“Do you want to try it now?”
“Sure! But where are we going to get blood?”
Tyra just grins and takes the bottle from me. “Do you have any cups?”
I grab some, and she pours the juice. The liquid is pink.
“You already mixed it!”
“I already mixed it.” She laughs and clangs her cup against mine.
We drink, and it’s amazing. I tell her so.
“Everything is amazing,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy. Why is that?”
“No reason.”
“No reason at all?” she presses.
Somehow, I’ve drunk all of my cup already, and she pours some more.
Of course there’s a reason for it, for my happiness, but I won’t dare tell Tyra why. As much as it seems like she’s accepting that I’m dating Julian, I just don’t know how she’ll react to knowing that Julian and I have taken the next step in our relationship. I mean, I didn’t even tell her that Julian and I were engaged. Especially considering she’s been battling darkness for a while now. I don’t want to press my luck.
Thankfully, she doesn’t press the matter, and we talk and drink and giggle. We don’t talk about anything important, just nonsense really, and we have so much fun, even though my fatigue doesn’t go away. I just ignore it better.
“You’ve never been this happy ever,” Tyra declares.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” Tyra says slowly, “but I have a guess.”
She’s frowning, and my happiness bubble pops slightly.
“It has something to do with Julian, doesn’t it?” she asks flatly.
“More blood sangria?” I ask to distract her, but when I go to pour her more, I realize we’ve already drunk it all.
Her lips twist into a scowl.
“Can’t you be happy that I’m happy?” I try.
Tyra just eyes me, shakes her head, and then surprises me by saying, “You’re bold to go against your father.”
I shrug one shoulder. “He threatened me a while back, but nothing’s happened.”
“So far. The longer this goes on, the worse it’ll be for you. Don’t you see that? Don’t you understand?”
“I appreciate your concern, but we can handle him.”
“No, you can’t,” she says flatly. “What do you think your father will do if he learns about you two?”
I say nothing, but I’m not scared, and I can’t help smiling faintly.
“You’re going to get yourself and him killed, you realize that, don’t you?” Tyra says angrily. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re more like a sister to me than a cousin, and your father… He and mine are both frightening men. I know you think you can get away with doing whatever you want, but that’s not the case.”
“Tyra—”
A yawn cuts me off. I didn’t realize it at first, but she hadn’t just mixed the blood with juice. There had been wine as well, and while the alcohol doesn’t affect the vampire in me, it does affect the demon. Combined with my exhaustion from overexertion and gorging on blood more than I’ve ever done before, the wine has me so very fatigued that I can barely keep my eyes open.
“You need to sleep and recover,” Tyra says gently.
She firmly helps me over to my bed. I want to protest, to try to get her to realize that we can handle everything on our own, but my eyelids droop, and as soon as my eyes are fully closed, I’m asleep.
Chapter 24
Julian
Romelia’s text has me smiling. Maybe I can try to make a surprise for her. The rose petals leading the way to the catacomb-like basement in the manor gives me an idea. Maybe I can purchase some rose petals… No. It would be more meaningful if I were to go and find roses and pluck their petals, right? Then again, I don’t like the idea of destroying roses for the sake of art and love. Silk rose petals it is.
Now, where can I buy some? I reach for my phone so I can find the nearest location. It starts to ring, and I nearly drop my phone.
“Hello?”
“My boy,” Dad says. “We miss you. It was so nice to have you around for a few days. There wasn’t a break like that before last year, was there?”
"No. I think the academy implemented it because of the lockdown."
“Yes. A shame that. There wasn’t anything like that when your mother and I attended. I can’t believe what the world is coming to.” I can picture him shaking his head and frowning slightly, and Dad’s not a frowner.
“Yes, a real shame,” I echo. “Dad, I’m glad you called.”
“Oh, yeah? Have something on your mind then? Need advice from your old man?”
“You are practically ancient,” I tease.
Mom’s laughter sounds over the phone. “Yes, he is, isn’t he?”
“You’re only four months younger than I am!”
“Four months younger and yet I look four years younger,” she retorts before laughing.
“You go ahead and believe that.” He snorts. “Can you believe her?”
“Are you trying to say I look older than you?” Mom asks.
I just shake my head, listening to them playfully tease each other. There’s no denying the love they share. They’re made for each other.
Just like Romelia and I.
“You don’t have me on speaker, do you, Dad?” I ask, cutting in.
“He doesn’t,” Mom answers for him.
“I can hear you just fine, Mom.”
"Stop that," she chides. "You have werewolf hearing. Acting like I talk too loud. You know I don't appreciate that."
Dad laughs.
“You’re supposed to back me up,” Mom informs him.
“Son, don’t disrespect your mother.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say.
“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Dad asks.
“You were right—”
“Your dad was right about something?” Mom teases. “Today’s a banner day!”
“Your mom is in rare form today,” Dad says, “in case you couldn’t tell.”
“Did the babies let you sleep last night?” I ask.
&nb
sp; “Yes, actually.” Mom laughs. “It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for you.”
“You sound happy.”
“You do too,” Mom says, sounding a bit more serious.
“I am.”
“Even if you’re stuck at the academy again for summer school, we’re still proud of you. You haven’t gotten involved in all of that fighting nonsense, and you’ve been one of the helpers. You’re a hero,” Mom says.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I protest.
Dad clears his throat. “I’m still waiting to hear what I was right about.”
“About love,” I say in a rush before either of them can interrupt me. “Love really can change a person, and first impressions can mean so much. But they’re only so much too because sometimes you have to hide who you are, but when the truth comes out, if you still care about one another, that’s how you know it’s real.”
“You’re still stuck on that same girl, aren’t you?” Dad asks.
“Yes. I’m crazy about her.”
“I’m glad you found someone,” Mom says. “You want to know who else has found someone? Lily. She’s six years old, but I swear she acts like she’s sixteen. She’s been going around, calling Xavier her boyfriend. You remember Xavier?”
“He’s our neighbor, right? He has to be … He’s eight now, right?”
“Yes. And you would think that an eight-year-old boy wouldn’t want anything to do with a six-year-old girl, but no. They’re inseparable, and it’s driving me crazy.”
“I’m sure it’s young and innocent, Mom.”
"Most likely, but I can't believe she's already thinking about boys in terms of boyfriend/girlfriend. They asked to go for a walk, and I gave them permission, but then I saw that they were actually holding hands, so I had Felix tag along."
“Did Lily object?” I ask.
“Not at all.”
“Are you still unwilling to bring this girl home?” Dad asks.
I hesitate. “I want to, and I will.”
“You just don’t know when yet,” Mom says softly.
Blood Haven: Year Two: A Mayhem of Magic World Story Page 15