She bit her lip and sniffled a few times as the priest made the sign of the cross to bless their union. With one more prayer, he declared them man and wife.
Jareth gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply, uncaring for the shocked gasps of his few guests. She returned his kiss with a fervor of her own, making him wish they could skip the feast and celebration all together.
“I’ll be sleeping in your chambers from now on,” she whispered to him once he released her mouth. His arms were still wrapped around her.
“That you will,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I love you,” she said, giving him a hug.
“I…I—” Jareth tried to answer, but the priest interrupted him.
“I now present to you the Duke and Duchess of Crichton!”
Offering her his arm again, he smiled and said, “Come, my sweet wife. Let us meet our public.”
The small number of guests—mostly neighbors and relatives—applauded them as they walked together toward the manor. Jareth was determined to keep his new wife by his side for the rest of the evening, propriety be damned.
Nothing could keep her from him.
Chapter Eighteen
Jessica blushed as she sat on Jareth’s lap at the head of the banquet table. It was already well past midnight and the wedding feast should be winding down, but from where she sat, it appeared as if there was no end in sight.
She was supposed to be sitting in the chair next to Jareth in a dignified manor, eating her soup delicately, smiling at guests who nodded at her with appreciation. Instead, Jareth chose to make a scene, feeding her from his very own plate, as if making it a point to one and all that this was his wife, this was the woman he loved.
Jessica knew that was preposterous. He didn’t love her. All the times she admitted it to him, he’d never once returned her words, never once even hinted that he cared for her beyond a desire for her body.
And that was due to the shelmir bond.
Jareth seemed most pleased that she loved him, however, and Jessica would try and make the most of it. She had accomplished her dream of years past; she married him. She was indeed his wife, the duchess of Crichton. Jessica couldn’t quite get used to the guests calling her “Your Grace” along with her husband.
“You seem tense, my sweet,” Jareth whispered in her ear, raising goose bumps on her arms.
“I should not be on your lap, Jareth,” she hissed back, trying hard to avoid eye contact with anyone else sitting at the table.
“You are my wife.” He hugged her tight. “And right now, I want you with me. On my lap.”
“In front of everyone?”
“I cannot think of a better way to tell one and all of my feelings for you.”
Jessica gazed at him for one silent moment. “And what might those feelings be?” she asked.
Jareth stared at her before he answered. “That you are my shelmir and that you are now mine until the day we die.”
Breaking his eye contact, Jessica had to bite her lip to keep the tears at bay. Her heart had leapt into her throat at his mention of his feelings, but she should have known better than to hope for him to confess his undying love.
At that moment, the room began to spin. Jessica laid her head on Jareth’s shoulder and groaned.
“Is something the matter?”
“I do not know,” She closed her eyes. “I cannot get the room to stop spinning.”
“Perhaps the excitement of the day is getting to you.” He touched her cheek.
“Perhaps.” The air in the banquet hall seemed to press in on her. Jessica was hot, and she desperately wanted a breath of fresh air. “Jareth, I’m going to step out onto the terrace for a few moments if you do not mind.”
“Want me to come with you?” he asked, still concerned.
Jessica shook her head. “No. You stay here and entertain our guests. I will only be a moment.”
Jareth smiled and allowed her to stand. “Only a moment,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Any longer than that and I’m coming to retrieve you.”
Jessica blushed, but nodded with a shy smile. She did indeed need to clear her head, not only of the oppressive air in the banquet hall, but of her own thoughts as well. She should not dwell on such things as Jareth’s love and devotion. She knew good and well that he’d loved Cassandra for many hundreds of years. And that wasn’t something he could merely toss aside so easily.
Having Jessica in his life no doubt soothed his aching heart. And perhaps he was infatuated with her—with the strong bond they shared. However it was possible that after the luster wore off, Jareth wouldn’t think twice about her any longer. And perhaps—just perhaps—he would begin pining away for her sister once more.
Large glass doors opened onto a stone terrace with a few benches scattered throughout the garden. A full moon lit the grounds with an eerie glow, bathing every bush and tree with a silver luminescence.
“Jessica!” A soft voice drifted to her on the breeze, coming from one of the bushes a short distance from the manor.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“It is I, my sweet.”
A figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing Jareth. She couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of him. Wasn’t he just in the banquet hall a moment ago? How had he hidden behind that bush so quickly?
“Jareth? What are you doing out here?”
“Does a husband need a reason to have a secret rendezvous with his wife?”
She smiled and blushed, walking toward his outstretched hand. “You have a penchant for throwing caution to the wind, do you not, Your Grace?”
He arched a brow and smiled at her. “Indeed.”
Once she reached him, his warm fingers closed over hers and he kissed her hand. Something was wrong.
“Why do I not feel a tingling in my skin?” she asked. “Every time I’m near you, I feel a tingling sensation, but now I feel nothing. Is that not odd to you?”
“Very odd, my sweet.” He pulled her closer. That’s when she noticed he wasn’t wearing his fine embroidered shirt or breeches from the wedding ceremony earlier that day. When did he have time to change since she’d been out here?
Jareth’s own laughter emanated from the doorway, drifting to her from the banquet hall. He was still inside the manor! Then who—
Jessica gasped as she stared into the man’s eyes, so like Jareth’s. Every hair on her body stood on end and tears filled her eyes of her own accord.
“Let me go.” She tried to pull her hand from his grasp.
“I don’t think so,” the man said with a grin. “There is a certain witch who is most eager to see you. I cannot disappoint her.”
“Please, you cannot do this. Please do not do this!”
“My brother killed me and the woman we both loved. I deserve this little revenge, don’t you think? He has taken my shelmir, it is only fair that I should take his.”
“Have mercy, Laith!” Jessica sobbed. “Please do not kill me!”
“I have no intention of killing you, my lady,” Laith Moreland said as he gazed back at Crichton Manor. “I merely wish to smoke my brother out. We have a score to settle, he and I, and you are going to help us settle it.”
With that, clamped his hand over Jessica’s mouth, stifling her screams.
* * *
Jareth glanced at the doorway that led out on the terrace many times before deciding to fetch his shelmir. What was taking her so long? Perhaps she truly wasn’t feeling well. Concern made him stand from the table, giving his guests a tentative smile.
“If you will excuse me, I must find my wife.”
A few guests chuckled as they ate, and Jareth didn’t waste any time before striding to the open doors.
The gardens were vacant, and Jareth found his heart in his throat. Where did she go?
“Jessie?” he called out, his gaze searching the shadows. Slowing his steps, he concentrated on her. Just as before, he could feel the familiar tingling i
n his skin, but she wasn’t in the gardens. She wasn’t in the manor, either. Jessica was fleeing, perhaps on foot, through the woods.
Shock and anger coursed through him, damning the woman for running again. She’d promised she would never leave him! As he raced to the stables, a thought hit him and his blood ran cold.
Jessica would never have fled as she once had a few days before. Not after all they’d shared since then. She’d confessed to loving him many times. There was no way the woman could bring herself to leave him again. Of that, he had no doubt.
That only left one possibility. Morana.
Jareth didn’t wait for the stable boy to ready his horse; he merely fastened the bridle himself before jumping onto the animal’s back, charging out of the stables. He could care less about the guests he left behind; he had to find his shelmir!
Her very life depended on him.
Chapter Nineteen
Jessica twisted in Laith’s grasp, but nothing could free her hand from his as he led her through the trees. He no longer covered her mouth, probably due to the fact that they were far enough away from Crichton Manor. No one would hear her scream.
“Please, Laith, do not do this. You are a good man. I know you. You loved my sister!”
“I was a good man,” Laith corrected, his face a stony mask. “I am dead now, my lady, nothing more than a ghost. I am only mortal due to my curse. On the night of the full moon, I can become flesh and blood, to find my shelmir. She is dead as well. I must wait for her to be reborn before we can be together. My brother saw to that.” Laith spat the word as if it left a foul taste in his mouth.
“Jareth has changed, Laith!” Jessica pleaded with him. “He is no longer overcome with hatred. I believe Morana filled his heart with jealousy.”
Laith rounded on her, his eyes flashing. “Do you think that matters? Does it change the fact that I am dead? That Cassandra is dead?”
Jessica shook her head. “No.”
“Then I will have my revenge, dear lady, mark my words.”
“He…he will find me through our bond. You will not succeed in hiding me for long.”
“I am counting on that, Your Grace,” he mocked. “Jareth will come to find you. And when he does, I’ll be waiting.”
Jessica’s mind tried to conjure her magic, but she gasped when she encountered a block in her head.
“Do not think for a moment that I will let you overcome me with your parlor tricks. You may be the sister of my beloved, but I will not allow you to cast your spells on me.”
“But…but…what of the witch? She wishes to break my bond to Jareth in order to have him for herself. She will not sit idly by and allow you to kill him in front of her.”
“At the moment, Lady Crichton, you need only worry about yourself. Morana has bid me to retrieve you, and that I have done. My feud with Jareth is my own.”
Jessica shivered at the malice in his eyes as he continued to pull her on. Her beautiful wedding gown snagged on a few branches here and there, tearing the fine fabric. Looking behind her, she concentrated on Jareth and could feel him out there somewhere in the darkness, getting closer.
An overpowering dread settled into her heart. Did she finally win Jareth only to lose him? Would Laith succeed in killing him? Would Morana succeed in killing her?
Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she stumbled and fell. Laith grunted, trying to pull her to her feet. Jessica screamed for all she was worth.
“JARETH!”
* * *
Reining his horse to a stop, Jareth closed his eyes and once again concentrated. He could feel her, to his left. Jessica was close; he could almost smell the scent of lilacs in the air.
Her voice suddenly split the silence as she screamed his name. Every inch of his skin prickled with fear. If Morana hurt her in any way, the witch would pay. Dearly. He didn’t waste any time; he kicked his horse into a gallop, seething that Morana dared to take his shelmir, his wife, directly from their wedding feast.
His vision turned red with rage. Blood would spill this night. He would not rest until it stained the hard ground.
* * *
It didn’t take long before Laith led Jessica into a small clearing. What looked like a large mound of sticks, twigs and underbrush stood in the middle of the clearing as Morana herself stepped from behind it.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” she croaked, her glazed eyes freezing Jessica to the bone. “It would seem as if I finally have Jareth’s shelmir in my grasp.”
Morana closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye, before Jessica had even seen her move. Her ice-cold hand clutched onto her face, turning her head this way and that, as if to look into her soul. The witch smiled, revealing long fangs, and her putrid breath filled her nostrils.
“Cold, my dear?” she asked when Jessica shivered. “Do not fear. We shall remedy that.” With a grand sweep of her arm, Morana indicated the woodpile behind her. “I have found the one thing that will break the shelmir bond.”
When she didn’t continue, tears of panic fell from Jessica’s eyes. “Wh—what?” she croaked.
“Fire.”
Glancing at the woodpile once again, Jessica crumpled to the ground as realization hit her. Morana meant to kill her tonight—by burning her at the stake.
“Oh my God.” Jessica turned and retched on the ground.
A hideous cackle filled the air and Jessica found it hard to draw breath.
“Tie her to the pole!” Morana yelled. Two pairs of hands lifted her off the ground, dragging her to the pile. Jessica looked into the faces of Laith and…Charles.
“Charles!” she exclaimed. “Help me, please!”
He merely gave her a half-grin, revealing to her his own set of long, sharp teeth.
“Oh no. Oh God! What have you done to him?” Jessica spat at Morana, feeling a burst of courage as she tried to twist free.
“I found him in the woods. I couldn’t let him go to waste. He’s such a handsome man, is he not? However, not quite as handsome as my Jareth.”
“My Jareth,” Jessica corrected. “He is my shelmir. He belongs to me.”
Morana moved her hand through the air and slapped her hard. Jessica’s cheek burst into flame while stars danced before her eyes.
“Not for long,” Morana growled, watching with her glazed eyes as the two men bound her hands and feet to the pole in the middle of the gathered wood.
“Laith, please, don’t kill me. Think of my sister! What would she say if she knew you were a part of this?”
He grabbed her neck and held on tight, almost ceasing her breath.
“Don’t speak to me!” he yelled just before he leaned in close to her, whispering in her ear. “Do not worry yourself, my lady,” he said. “I am not under Morana’s spell; I have a plan. You will not die this night.”
With wide eyes, she merely stared at him as he winked, amazed at how much he resembled the man she loved. A stab of fear pierced her heart as she thought of Jareth succumbing to Morana’s vile clutches.
“Don’t let her hurt Jareth!” she pleaded. Laith secured her wrists behind her and gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.
“She is ready,” Charles called out after tying her feet. Try as she might to break free, the bonds holding her were too strong. She screamed in futility.
Morana gave her a wicked smile and snapped her fingers. Instantly, a flame danced on her fingertips. The witch bent over and lit the dry underbrush.
“Farewell, Your Grace,” she said with a deep bow, her cackles echoing off the surrounding trees.
Chapter Twenty
Jareth crashed through the trees, taking in the scene all at once. Jessica was tied to a wooden stake amidst a pile of smoldering wood while Morana cackled loudly. Lord Charles stood off to one side, grinning at the flames, his long fangs shining in the pale light. And there, standing right behind Charles was…his brother! Jareth didn’t stop to contemplate what his twin was doing with Morana in the middle of the forest.
<
br /> “Jessica!” he yelled as he jumped from the horse, fully intent on saving her from the flames. However a fog clouded his mind and he stumbled, falling to the ground.
“Welcome, Jareth.” Morana turned her milky eyes on him. “I thought you’d never come.”
“Let…her…go,” he panted, trying desperately to clear his mind. Had Morana cast a spell on him? He stood, only to stumble once more, unable to regain his bearings.
“I think not,” the witch said with a smirk. “You see, death by fire is the only way to purge the shelmir bond. And she will die, Jareth, mark my words. When she is finally gone, I will enchant you myself—mine for all eternity!”
On his hands and knees, Jareth tried to crawl to the growing flames, but failed once Morana stepped in front of him.
“You cannot save her.” She reached down with her claw-like fingers to grab the scruff of his neck. “You will think no more of Jessica Belstowe.”
“She…is…Jessica Moreland now.” Blinking his eyes, the world swam before him. Morana’s nails pierced his skin.
The witch lowered her face and took a deep breath of the skin of his neck. “You have joined with her!” She seethed with rage, shaking him with her ungodly strength.
“Many times!” he spat, unable to avoid the blow he knew would come. Morana struck him and he went flying through the air, only to land on his back with the wind knocked out of him. As quick as lightning, Morana straddled him, baring her teeth.
“This ends here and now!” she screamed, turning his head to expose his neck. “You are MINE!”
Jareth cried out with pain as her teeth sank into his flesh, writhing with the knowledge that he was doomed to become a vampire once again, without Jessica by his side. Try as he might, he could not dislodge Morana, nor could he ignore her groans of pleasure as she drank from him.
“NO!” he exclaimed as hot tears coursed down his cheeks.
* * *
Grabbing one of the sticks from the woodpile, Laith knew he had to do something. He wasn’t about to watch as his brother was turned into a vampire while the woman Jareth loved died before his very eyes. Revenge against his brother wasn’t on his mind. It was revenge on the witch that Laith wanted; the witch who had cursed them all.
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