Two black hooded figures approached the priest each carrying a large wooden box. Each box was ornately carved, one had a large ruby encased on the lid whilst the other had a crystal that appeared cloudy with a silvery sparkle to it. Apparently vampires loved symbolism.
The box with the ruby was opened first and inside it was a dagger much like the one I had seen the night of my transformation. My body immediately protested beginning to tremble. I fought the movements but I couldn’t keep my eyes from flashing about the room like I was searching for an escape route. The priest raised his eyebrows at me, clearly not approving of what he was seeing.
I didn’t want to go through the transformation ceremony again and didn’t know if I could. I was quickly losing my composure and my breathing grew ragged when the red hooded figure beside me squeezed his fingers between mine and held them gently. It was an unexpected kindness and comfort I had not expected and I found myself squeezing back.
Seeming appeased, the Priest continued. The dagger was raised to the night sky and it glittered, sending fragments of moonlight around me. He then opened the second box which contained a beautiful crystal goblet and a small vial of a shimmering liquid. He again raised the items above him as if he was showing them to the goddess Nyx for her approval.
He poured a single shimmering drop of the silvery liquid into the goblet and handed it to the man at my side, who took it steadily after releasing my hand. I was surprised to feel that I longed to hold his hand again. Not sure what I should do I left my hand aloft and the priest then handed the dagger to me. I looked at him expectantly but as met only with a grimace and emotionless stare, he was clearly annoyed that I didn’t know what to do.
The man beside me kneeled, his head downcast and the crystal goblet raised upward. That’s when it dawned on me and my mouth fell open in shock. I had to fill the goblet with my blood. How the hell did they expect me to do that? By cutting myself? They had to be crazy.
I knew there was no way out of this and I couldn’t leave this man waiting next to me forever. Everyone watched me patiently waiting. I knew somewhere in the crowd was Nicolae and Evilyn and everyone else waiting for me to cut myself, waiting for me to complete the ceremony. There was no chickening out, I didn’t have a choice.
I turned fully to him and with a deep breath I dragged the edge of the blade against the flesh of my palm. Pain seared through me like a burning flame. I held in a scream as tears escaped my eyes and allowed my blood to drain into the goblet. As the first crimson drop hit the shimmering silver liquid the glass began to sparkle and shine like the moon. When it grew full it emitted tendrils of silver that was visible unlike any ribbon of emotion I had ever felt. When it touched me I realized it was a ribbon from the goddess herself. It licked at my wound healing me instantly and wrapped around me in a loving caress. I felt like I was hugging the moon as the bright light warmed my skin and showered my face with silver. It lifted my hood and that of my red capped mate.
As his hood fell back he rose to stand tall before me and my eyes widened in complete shock. His eyes smiled back at me yet his face remained emotionless. He was incredibly handsome and somehow familiar though I had never seen him before. I watched him unblinkingly as he raised the crystal goblet to his lips and drank its contents in a single swallow.
He fell to his knees as his body heaved and wretched. His groans of pain were deep and echoed throughout the temple. I looked about not knowing what to do and no one was coming to his aide. I knelt beside him and hesitantly rested my hand on his back as his body shuddered. When he finally began to breathe normally I stood and waited for him to rise.
We then turned to the Priest and looked up toward the statue towering before us like a colossus. “In the eyes of the goddess let these two be bonded!” the Priest proclaimed allowed.
Instead of the crowd breaking out in applause the room erupted in an orange glow of candle light as every wick blossomed a single flame. I turned and gazed up at my new Blood Mate.
“I am yours,” he said as he looked at me longingly, His eyes flooded with emotion and lingering pain. There was so much love in his eyes. I sensed the crowd was slowly exiting the temple, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. He was the figure in the dark that I had searched for, he was my mysterious man and he now belonged to me. He was now my Blood Mate, my sworn protector.
Chapter 15
The night had taken an unexpected turn. I hadn’t figured that I might actually like who I would be joined to, I had only expected the worse and now I didn’t know what to do.
“Hello Claire.” His voice was deep and steady, sounding exactly as it did when it traveled across the ribbon of emotion he had sent to me in my room.
“You know my name?” It was a stupid question, but I didn’t know anything about him. By the look on his face he knew much more about me than I probably would like him to.
“Of course,” he said as he guided me to take a seat on a pew beside him.
I smiled politely, but scooted a little further away from him than he seemed to prefer. My emotions were conflicting and I was having an internal battle. “Are you okay?” I wondered if the transformation was as painful as mine.
“I’ve felt worse pain.” He eyed my reaction and when I didn’t seem impressed he smiled, “I am well.” Show offs didn’t impress me.
“Right…” his politeness was starting to annoy me, but I tried to brush it off. “Let’s um… go for a walk. It would probably be a good idea if we got to know each other a little better,” not wanting to go easy on him I decided to call him out, “and you can tell me why you’ve been sneaking around so much.”
He raised his eyebrows at me clearly enjoying the playful jab and flashed a brilliant smile at me. I noticed he didn’t have fangs and I found myself staring at his perfectly straight teeth. I had gotten so used to seeing fangy grins and expected that he would have fangs as well. “Oh, I don’t have fangs Claire. One of the many differences between a vampire and a Blood Mate,” he winked at me and I both loved and hated the way it made my heart flutter.
He rose from his seat and removed his cape. The velvety crimson fabric fell onto the seat beside me but it only stole my attention for a fleeting second as I quickly found myself staring at him. He wore all black, with a slightly tight fitting button-up black shirt, his muscles flexing with the fabric as he moved. The contrast between his dark clothes and tan skin complemented him beautifully. Yet, it was his eyes I most desired to look at, they didn’t take on the dark limitless pools as all vampires have. He couldn’t be called a soulless monster. His eyes were an amazing shade of green and the more I focused on them I realized one of his eyes had an odd splash of brown, giving him a uniqueness that was oddly attractive.
He offered his hand, but I ignored it against my almost overpowering internal urge to hold it again. I removed my cape as well, dropping it atop his. As I turned to face him the expression on his face made me suddenly feel very aware of my exposed flesh and decided that I might be better off keeping the cape on, for the time being at least. Arrick smiled at me but didn’t say anything as I slid the cape back on, leaving the hood off. I knew I would be too warm as we walked outside, but I wasn’t prepared to catch his eyes wandering anywhere they shouldn’t be. I couldn’t trust that I wouldn’t slap him or start kissing him madly.
Part of me was simply upset about the feelings I instantly had for Arrick, which was quickly giving me a mountain of guilt that was weighing heavy on my heart for Dmitry. Things were turning out exactly as he feared they would.
We made our way silently throughout the palace. It was as quiet as it had been earlier in the night, aside from the occasional servant or passerby. I kept my eyes peeled for Dmitry, but I didn’t see him or sense his presence. I knew it was unlikely especially with Arrick walking beside me, but a girl can still hope. I needed to see him, to speak with him and reaffirm that he was still in my heart. I desperately tried to convince myself that what I was feeling was just lingering effects of
the ceremony but deep down I knew that was a lie.
As we reached the palace gardens and began to walk amongst the moonlit foliage I skipped the pleasantries and got right down to the dozen questions I was going to demand he answer. “So, Arrick, why have you been…” I didn’t want to call him a stalker, so I avoided the word altogether, “whatever it was you were doing?”
“Nicolae asked that I not interfere with your day to day life until after the ceremony. He said that he had already asked much of you and didn’t want to add more to your plate than necessary. And I agreed with him.”
I nodded, although I only slightly understood his answer. “So, you just watched me?”
He laughed a deep laugh that rumbled pleasantly in his chest. “When you say it like that it does sound a little stalker-ish.”
I giggled slightly and was relieved to see he had a sense of humor, “Hey, you said it not me.” I raised my hands up in embarrassment.
“Claire, I have known that I would be bonded with you for quite some time. My feelings for you are much different than what you feel for me I’m sure, but in time I hope that you can at least grow fond of me.”
I avoided his gaze not wanting my face to reveal that he was wrong. I feared that my feelings were growing, beyond my restraint. He sounded so formal and proper I couldn’t help but blush at him. In an attempt to hide it I quickly turned to smell a rose that lined the walkway, while Arrick waited patiently nearby his hands clasped behind his back.
When I was certain my cheeks had removed their rosy tone I turned back to the pathway to continue our walk. “So…stalker,” I smiled at him and he returned it with his sparkly grin, that made something inside me flutter, “why did you want to be my Blood Mate?”
“Where I come from, being a Blood Mate is a great honor, especially for a royal family member. And you are very important to me.”
“Where you come from? You’re not from this region?” I was shocked. I had never met someone from another region before. I knew I probably should have asked why I was so important but meeting someone from another region and them openly admitting it was like meeting an alien.
“Yes.”
I waited, but he didn’t say more. “You want to elaborate on that?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Well why not?” I hated not being told the truth and it was becoming the habit of too many people I knew lately and I didn’t want Arrick to become another one of them, so I pressed not caring if I was being too pushy.
When I opened my mouth to ask him again he interrupted me, “Could you explain to me the tension that exists between you and one of the other vampires in the palace, Ana?”
He could avoid my question all he wanted, but in the end I wouldn’t let him get away with it. “I would call it more than tension, I would say she hates my guts.”
“She has been of great concern to me. The night of your coronation ball confirmed it.” I watched him as he walked and even though his hands were clasped behind his back I could distinctly saw the muscles in his jaw flexing and how he looked steadily about as he surveyed our surroundings. I was starting to get the feeling he wasn’t as poised and proper as he was letting on. He was extremely vigilant. If the breeze had caused a branch to sway too near to me I was certain he might attack it.
“I assumed as much. She’s pretty much had it out for me since day one. Robin said that Ana had thought that her family would assume power and she would become the Princess or something like that. Honestly I don’t care what she wants.” I ripped a leaf from a nearby tree and twirled it in my fingers as we continued our stroll.
“You should care. What that monster is up to should be at the forefront of your mind Claire,” Arrick said, taking on too much of a bossy tone for my liking.
“Isn’t that why I have you now?” I thought the whole point of having a Blood Mate was so that they would watch my back.
Arrick huffed angrily and slashed his hand against a plant, sending a flurry of leaves onto the stone pathway. “I suppose I can thank your human upbringing for that way of thinking.”
“Hey! What the hell is that supposed to be?” It sounded like he was demeaning me and my human mom and I certainly wasn’t going to stand for that. I yanked on his arm and spun him toward me. Even angry, his face was incredibly handsome, but I refused to let that sway me.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You are just so very special and I hate to see you be so careless with your safety.” His eyes pleaded with me as they grew luminescent like tears were forming, but they never fell.
“Why am I getting the feeling that there is something you aren’t telling me?” Sensing the emotions of a Blood Mate was different than other vampires. I could feel inside me what he was feeling and I sensed hesitation. I followed my instincts knowing I was right. He was hiding something from me. Something big.
Arrick raised his hand to touch my face. He stopped just short but my skin could still feel the warmth of his so close to its surface. I tried to express in my eyes that I wouldn’t push his hand away but he retracted and slid his hand through his brown hair instead. “There is much I want to tell you, but for now you must know that I have one goal and that is my duty to protect you.” He said the words so sternly and with such finality that I knew he had spoken them before, in an oath long before he became my Blood Mate.
I found myself mesmerized by the way his lips moved when he talked that I tried frantically to think of another question to ask just so he would speak. My heart was racing as it yearned for Arrick yet my mind protested saying it was so much desire too soon. My body ached for him like a lost lover I had known for centuries but it was a feeling I had never known before and my mind couldn’t understand.
It felt like hours had passed, but the moments of my heart’s battle lasted only seconds and immediately halted when Arrick locked eyes with me. His knowing smile told me he knew very well what I was feeling and confirmed a future victory for him that I would soon be his. This connection could prove very troublesome for me, considering I was already so terrible at hiding my emotions.
We had taken the long way around the pond, but finally made it to my favorite bench. I had wanted to avoid it, not certain if I was ready to take Arrick there, when a loud explosion rattled the night. A flash of golden light illuminated the front of the palace and I covered my mouth in shock.
Arrick grabbed my arm with incredible speed and a growl rumbled in his chest. His grip grew tighter and was nothing compared to that of Robin’s hugs and a squeak of pain escaped me. Were Blood Mates physically stronger than vampires? “Sorry.” Arrick rubbed my arm and pulled me close to him protectively, but it didn’t cause the same feelings as it did the last time I touched him.
“Someone has attacked the front gate,” he said. I stood up on my toes but couldn’t see past the plants of the gardens. Arrick’s tall, six foot four frame more than towered over everything, especially me.
“Who has?” I was surprised at how calm I was, but the animal inside me was revving up and I found myself enjoying the thought of a battle.
“We must go.” He grabbed my hand and we rushed back to the palace. After a few stumbling steps I managed to rip a slit in my dress, which made my sprint much more successful. I barely needed to take a second breath before we were at the base of the stairs at the palace. Arrick ascended them as stealthily as a cat and kept an arm held out in front of me.
“Go to your room and lock the door!” He shouted over his shoulder at me and moved closer toward the front of the palace.
“No!” I put my foot down, “I’m not going to let someone attack my home. Whoever or whatever it is, they’ll be sorry they did! After I’m done they will never think to attack the palace or get anywhere near it again.” A fire was alight inside me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I was human I was never known for showing aggression or even sticking up for myself, but as soon as I had had my first taste of it defending Robin against Ana I rather enjoyed it.
&n
bsp; Arrick ran to me, his green eyes burning with anger and fear. His grip was firm but not so much so that it hurt and I squirmed in his grasp. I knew I could break free if I really wanted to but it would only cause trouble between us and now wasn’t the time. “Please Claire. I can handle this. Fox and his guards are already at task.”
The mention of Fox quickly squelched my desire to be a part of the fray. There was something about him that I really didn’t like, but could never quite put my finger on. “Tell me who is attacking the palace and then I will decide whether or not I will go to my room.” He might be my Blood Mate, but I was still in charge and I was damn sure going to make sure he knew that, no matter how I felt about him.
“They are just humans. It is best if we deal with them.”
“Humans? But why would they attack us and who is we?” I pushed his arms off me and started to make my way around toward the front of the palace, but Arrick ran ahead of me and stopped.
“Listen to me Claire.”
I huffed, “Fine.”
He seemed to relax a bit and exhaled before explaining. “We as in Blood Mates. Fox and I and the human palace guards. Humans don’t know about us, so they will think I am one of them. If I had to guess I would say that they are attacking the palace because of what happened at the coronation ball and it’s probably in the best interest of everyone if vampires weren’t involved in any part of this attack.”
I could see the logic in his words and fought my stubborn nature. “Fine, I’ll go, but don’t think I’m the kind of girl who is just going to run away every time something looks dangerous. I’m not that kind of Princess. You get me?” I pointed my finger at him and he gave me his knowing wink.
“Oh I know you’re not. Now go and don’t open the door for anyone but me. Okay?”
The interior of the palace was pandemonium. Palace guards were rushing through hallways taking up multiple positions. I steadily made my way down the hall deftly dodging a running guard or frantic servant as I made my way to my room. Several of the guards recognized me and demanded they guide me to my quarters for safety, but I raised my hand and did my best to politely decline, stating that the safety of the palace was more important than escorting me to my room.
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