Xandria jerked her head up and glared at him. “Silence, please.”
Ari took Zwaantie’s hand and squeezed. She smiled up at him and watched Xandria again. It was fascinating.
Zwaantie’s blood separated into seven multicolored strands. Xandria waved her hand, and the strands disappeared among the dozens of potion bottles. She plucked out six different bottles, each of which had a strand of Zwaantie’s blood wrapped around it.
Xandria creased her eyebrows and searched for another bottle. Finally she found what she was looking for. She frowned and hesitated before she placed the seventh bottle with the others. She snapped her fingers, and the blood left in the bowl disappeared.
She took the seven potions and mixed them together in a red chalice. Then she did the same for Ari, but his potion went in a purple chalice.
Xandria brought both cups to them and gave Ari the red cup first.
“Ari, Zwaantie gives you a foundation of honor. To that she adds love, peace, laughter, passion, affection, nurture, and sacrifice. Do you accept this gift that she has given you and take it upon yourself?”
“I do,” he said and took a sip from the red chalice.
“Zwaantie, Ari gives you a foundation of passion. To that he adds friendship, love, amusement, compassion, honor, selflessness, and desire.” Her lips twitched on the last word. “Do you accept this gift and take it upon yourself?”
“I do,” Zwaantie said and raised the glass to her lips.
“Don’t drink it all, just a sip,” Xandria said.
The sweet fruity liquid slid across her tongue and down her throat. She grinned up at Ari.
Xandria moved back to her table and poured both chalices in a small gold dish. She handed the dish to the marriage mage, then backed away and stood by Sage.
The marriage mage stood in front of them, the bowl held out. “Grasp hands and hold them up.”
Ari took Zwaantie’s right hand into his own and turned to face her. They held their hands up at chest level. The marriage mage took the bowl and began to slowly pour the contents over their hands. It was a warm clear silvery color.
“Do you promise to love each other unconditionally?” The marriage mage asked.
“Yes,” they both responded, and the liquid turned a deep red. The potion continued to flow into their hands.
“Do you promise to respect and honor one another till the end of your days?”
“Yes.” The liquid turned a royal blue.
“Do you promise to stay together throughout eternity and dwell together among the stars?”
“Yes.” The liquid turned bright white, and the little bowl was empty, the potion disappearing into their hands. Zwaantie hoped they would live a long time before they would dwell together in the stars.
“Kiss your wife,” the marriage mage said.
Ari held her gaze as he placed his lips on hers. She never kissed with her eyes open before, but an energy flowed through them. It was as if she was connected with Ari in ways she couldn’t understand. She melted into him, allowing her eyes to close. This moment would be one she’d never forget. The moment she and Ari became one.
Sage squealed and threw her arms around the both of them.
Chapter 29
The Honeymoon
Ari led Zwaantie over to the other boat, and Sage left with the marriage mage and Xandria. Butterflies danced in Zwaantie’s belly. Was this the part where they went back to real life? Told Leo, dealt with her father, and became king and queen?
“What are we doing?” she asked.
Ari ran his hands down her arms. “We are spending some time alone on a small island the royal family uses as a retreat. There are no other inhabitants. I know how much you love the stars, so I figured we’d stay out there for the few days. We should get back two days before Leo does. While we’re gone, Sage is going to do some reconnaissance concerning your father. We need some time before life starts, because I have a feeling after this, it will be a very long time before we find true peace.”
Two days alone with Ari. Yes, please. She wanted to forget about all the attempts on her life and the responsibilities of being a queen. She was grateful for his foresight.
The little boat didn’t go much farther before Ari drove it up onto a sandbar. A small castle sat perched several hundred feet away. Zwaantie made to go up the path, but Ari caught her around the waist. “We’re not going in there until we have to.”
He spread a blanket out on the beach and gently laid her down. He looked deep into her eyes and kissed her lips with the lightest of touch, but held so much tenderness. His slid his hand along her bare thigh, and she shivered. He smiled. Her heart filled, and she was ready to become his. Forever.
They made love under the stars. It was everything she dreamed it would be and more. She wished for a moment that time could stop.
Later in the evening Ari led her into the small castle. It had no windows and only one heavy steel door. It was tiny inside, with only four rooms. After they sealed off the door, she followed Ari into the bedroom, and they snuggled under a blanket.
“I don’t want to go home,” Zwaantie said. “I want to stay in Stella. Maybe Raaf can become king once we get rid of Father.”
Ari shook his head. “That won’t work. Part of ending the curse is joining the kingdoms. Which won’t happen if you decide to let the kingdom go to your brother.”
“But the same thing will happen if you give Stella to Leo.”
He chuckled and ran his hands along her ribs. They were incredibly distracting.
“You misunderstand. I have no intention of living in Sol or giving Stella away to anyone. What if you gave Sol to Leo? Then we would be crossing the kingdoms.”
Zwaantie frowned. “I don't think Leo would be very happy in Sol. What about Pius? Raaf would be so angry though. I’m not sure I’m comfortable giving up my kingdom.”
He kissed her nose, his fingers tracing circles on her stomach.
“Well, we’ll figure it out later. When we get back, we’ll discuss this with my father. He’s good at finding solutions. We’ve got to do something about Leo too. We owe him that after I stole you away from him.”
Zwaantie didn’t know how he could think about politics at a moment like this. His hand was driving her crazy. She leaned forward and kissed him. “Let’s not talk about this right now.”
***
Zwaantie stared at the dark and foreign water skeptically.
“You want me to go in there? Don’t the vipers come from the ocean?”
Ari sighed with exasperation. “I’ve been swimming in here hundreds of times, and I’ve never seen a viper. Come on, you have no idea what you’re missing.”
She took a few steps forward, letting the water lap up on her feet. It was warmer than she expected, but she still wasn’t convinced.
Ari drew her close and kissed her, pulling her farther in until the water was up to her calves. Nothing had brushed up against her leg yet, so she was still okay.
“You’re trying to distract me.”
He reached down and swooped her up into his arms. “You bet I am. Do you know how to swim?”
“Yes. I swam in the lake at home a lot. This is different.” She clutched onto the back of his neck, nerves coursing through her body.
He continued his descent. Cold water hit her back, and she squealed. She clung tighter to him.
“Ari. Take me back.” This wasn’t fun. Not at all.
“Nope, you’ll thank me. I promise.”
He leaned down and planted a light kiss on her lips, and then he tossed her into the air.
She screamed as she hit the water and came up gasping. She wiped her eyes and spun in circles looking for Ari. He snaked an arm around her waist and tugged her against her body. “See, this isn’t so bad.”
“Until I get eaten by a viper.” They had to tread water to keep from sinking.
“Look up there.” He pointed to a star that lit up blue.
“Yeah.” She clung
to him. She wanted out. She could look at the stars safely from the shore.
“That’s Sigma. He’s the god of water. He will protect you.” Ari ran his hand over her eyes and nose. “Now you can breathe and see underwater.”
“What?” she asked.
“I spelled you to see and breathe underwater. Come, a whole different world exists under there.”
He gripped her hand and plunged into the water.
It was as if someone had turned on the sun. She could see everything as if it was clear as a Solite day. She nearly laughed out loud. Shiny fish swam just underneath her. Bright coral dotted the floor. A massive octopus floated not twenty feet from them. She couldn’t quite believe her eyes. This wasn’t glow. She could see clearly.
Ari gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled. Something brushed her foot, and she startled. A giant turtle swam up and looked her right in the eyes. Then he swam away. She couldn’t possibly take it all in.
Later, she and Ari lay on the sand, Zwaantie’s head on Ari’s shoulder, her hand on his stomach. He traced circles on her bare back.
“Do we have to go and deal with people?” Zwaantie asked. “We should stay on this island forever. Just me and you. This is perfect.”
He chuckled. “Naw, we need people. If we don’t have others to get angry with, we’ll eventually get mad at each other.”
Zwaantie snorted. “We’ll get mad anyway.” She snuggled closer to him. “I’m so glad we found each other.”
He kissed her forehead. “Me too. It’s going to be hard for a while, but after that, we’ll be happy.”
“We’ll be happy anyway. We have each other. Nothing can hurt us now.”
In spite of all the awful things that had befallen them lately, she truly believed that she and Ari would be fine as long as they were together.
Chapter 30
The Last Chance
The Voice looked at those forty-nine orbs that should’ve killed the princess by now. They mocked him with their very glows. He was running out of options. Phoenix, was completely unresponsive. Luna was dead because of her own conscience. He should’ve known better than to force her hand. She fought harder than the rest, but he’d still managed to get to her a couple of times. He’d thought she was his best bet. Poor girl thought she meant something to him. Sure, he liked her well enough, but she wasn’t worth his survival.
He was getting desperate.
Zwaantie could hang herself if she ever took the wretched necklace off. She never did though. He wondered when she discovered he could still control her. Zwaantie would never dare set foot back in Sol. If only that were good enough. The wretched Old Mother had made it clear that if she married Leo, his life would end.
He’d tried everything, and nothing was working. It was time for drastic measures. He needed to go to Stella and kill her himself before the wedding.
But how? He had responsibilities here.
Could he entrust the Old Mother with the orbs? She knew how to work them. He could set it up in such a way that wouldn’t involve an actual person, but she seemed the best one in case something went wrong. Zwaantie would be so upset when she found out he’d betrayed her. But then, maybe she’d be dead before the thought even registered. He needed to kill her fast and without fuss. Before she married that prince.
She didn’t have to know her own brother wanted her dead.
Chapter 31
The Surprise
Forty-eight hours later they reluctantly steered the boat back to the shore. Zwaantie regretted having to wear something more than a swimsuit. She would also miss the stars. She supposed if she and Ari lived in the big castle, she’d always have the tower, but it wasn’t quite the same as when they were out in the middle of the ocean. They’d have to take a lot of trips out to the island. Maybe once a month.
“You know, I thought all of Stella had stars. I’m actually really disappointed that we have to go on a boat to see them.”
“There are some places where you can see them. Candace’s kingdom has some outlying areas where there are not as many lights. After the dust settles, we’ll go spend some time there.”
Zwaantie doubted that. Candace would be upset with her for ditching Leo, no matter what Sage said. She’d be grateful little Raaf lived, but that didn’t mean she’d want to talk to Zwaantie.
Sage met them at the docks, wringing her hands.
“Why’d you turn your disc off, Ari?”
“I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“Too much crap is going on for you to do that. I know you wanted a couple of days of peace. But did you forget that Zwaantie is still engaged to Leo? Maybe he’d find it odd Zwaantie was alone on an island overnight with another man who regularly takes advantage of women?”
“You were going to cover for her. Tell Leo she’s in different places when he called. It was two days. How hard was that?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “That would’ve worked if Leo was just calling by disc. But he showed up yesterday, and he’s livid.”
“Wait, Leo’s here?” Zwaantie asked. He’d been very clear that he couldn’t come home for several days.
“Yeah, he managed to get your mother and brother to come a few days early, and he’s moved up the wedding to the day after tomorrow. I didn’t know what the hell to tell him other than that you two had gone off to watch the stars. I told them you were planning on spending a couple of days out on the island. He couldn’t figure out why I didn’t stay with you. I’m afraid I wasn’t very convincing. He nearly got on a boat and came to the island to find you. He doesn’t know about the wedding, but he suspects you are sleeping together.” Sage ran a hand over her face. “And Zwaantie’s mother. She can’t figure out why you’d spend time alone with another man. I tried to explain to her that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Though Leo’s expression may have nixed anything I said.”
Zwaantie looked at Sage. “Father didn’t come?”
“No, thank goodness. We’re keeping a close eye on your brother and mother. Do you think your father would send one of them to kill you?”
“Why didn’t my father come?” This was looking more and more like he was the one responsible.
“Your mother said he was ill.”
Ill. Yeah, right.
“Did you give them necklaces?”
“Yes. I explained it would keep them safe from hidden dangers in Stella. Your mother latched it on without another thought. Raaf was hesitant, but he took it anyway. We’ll keep you well-guarded, in case one of them takes it off.”
“Okay.” Zwaantie let out a deep breath. She wasn’t on shore for more than thirty seconds, and already they had things to deal with. She wondered if she’d ever have peace in her life. She hated making her mother and brother wear necklaces. She couldn’t take any chances though. If Father were still controlling them, they would do things they wouldn’t do otherwise.
“What are we going to do?” she asked Ari, panic starting to set in.
Ari took her hand. “I’ll deal with Leo. You deal with your mother and brother. Try to pretend everything is still as planned. We need to proceed cautiously. As soon as Leo is informed, we’ll make a plan to deal with the public and your family.”
“But why? This gives us a perfect opportunity to get everything out in the open. It will be painful, but we can deal with it.”
“I’d like to try to see if we can have a public wedding as well. That way your family won’t be upset they couldn’t be there for it. Plus, we need to appease the public, and the rest of my family is probably in town by now. If we can keep this quiet for a couple more days, we can probably salvage our reputations and relationships. Leo is the only one who won’t be happy, but I can deal with him. Sage is Candace here?”
“Yeah.”
Ari kissed Zwaantie one more time. “Remember you are in love with Leo. Candace will see through you. Sage, maybe you can head her off.”
Zwaantie let out a breath. This was not how things were supposed to go. She was
married to the man she loved more than life itself, and she was supposed to pretend she was in love with another one. This had disaster written all over it.
Ari started back for the castle.
Sage called after him. “Take a shower first. You stink.”
He made a rude gesture and continued walking. Then she looked at Zwaantie with resignation.
“So do you for that matter. Come on, let’s go to Xandria’s. You can shower and change your clothes.”
Xandria gave Zwaantie a potion for nerves after her shower. Then they snuck back into the castle and went immediately to the king’s quarters where Sage had left Zwaantie’s mother and brother. Zwaantie steeled herself. These two were not going to be easy to deal with, but they’d be better than Leo. Maybe she wouldn't have to talk to Leo at all. Maybe Ari would make everything okay with him. She could hope.
Zwaantie interrupted their lunch. Mother nodded to Zwaantie and then continued her conversation with Ajax. Zwaantie was certain it took a lot of self-control on Mother’s part.
“Ah, the missing princess. Come, eat with us and tell us of your adventures on the ocean and our remote islands,” the king said and winked at Zwaantie, but no one could see. Did he know?
Zwaantie crossed to her mother and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek. “Hello, Mother.”
“Zwaantie, how was your trip?”
“It was very nice. The stars are bright out there. We went swimming in the ocean as well, and the fish are incredible.”
“I’m happy to see you.”
Zwaantie slid into a chair next to Raaf, who barely looked at her. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin had a yellow sheen.
“What happened to you?” Zwaantie asked.
“What are you talking about?” He continued eating without taking his eyes off of his food. She wasn’t sure what was going on. Maybe he was having trouble with the Voice as well. She checked and he had a necklace on. Hopefully he’d feel better after being here for a few days.
Stella and Sol Box Set Page 48