Pirhum bowed. “Forgive us. Had we been informed that there was a second Blade, we would never have questioned your actions.”
Ninsunu followed a moment later with her own deep bow and muttered an apology.
“Hah, by that you mean, had I been a mere Shadow, I’d even now be put to death for treason. I still would have done everything exactly the same.”
Pirhum nodded and then turned to glare at Nakurtum. “If no one is against it, I’ll have the city guard take Nakurtum into custody and once the king returns, I will inform him of what exactly has gone on and will suggest Lady Kullaa be elevated to her mother’s seat in the council. If you are in agreement?” he asked Kuwari.
“I am.”
“Good, now that we have that business out of the way,” Pirhum grinned, his wrinkles becoming even more pronounced, “There’s something else that needs to be mentioned. I might be old, but my eyesight and mind aren’t so faded that I don’t recognize a young strutting male when I see one. Should I organize a festival in honor of a newly mated couple?”
“I suppose that would be expected.” Kuwari grinned. “Though curious minds should rest assured that Enkara and I waited until after the fertility drug ran its course. Now, if you are satisfied with our answers. I would like something to eat and a change of clothing.” Kuwari placed an arm around Enkara’s shoulders and guided her out of the Great Hall. His Shadow guard fell in around them.
***
Enkara had been nervous when King Ditanu and his co-rulers returned. If she’d just thought to tell the councilors that she was Kuwari’s Blade, she never would have needed to abduct the prince in the first place. As a Blade, she outranked the council when it came to the safety of the kingdom or the royal line. But she’d been hiding her true nature for so long, it hadn’t occurred to her to speak the truth until driven to it by the insufferable councilors.
In the end, she had nothing to worry about. King Ditanu had seen fragments of what would occur in a vision, but he’d been up at the top of a temple, moments away from Ishtar and Tammuz's arrival and hadn’t had time to warn anyone.
Still, when he’d returned home later that day, he hugged his son and took Enkara in a strong embrace and welcomed her formally into his family. Burrukan clapped her on the shoulder and then took her aside while Kuwari was speaking with his father.
“It’s about damn time you two sealed your bond. If you didn’t do the deed soon, I was going to steal a bit of that fertility drug and dose you both myself. Then maybe you’d get over each other and could focus on your training.”
Enkara laughed along with her mentor a little sheepishly since her gift told her his utterance was only half in jest. Next Queen Iltani took her into a fierce embrace, smiling and welcoming her into the family. “Although, you’ve always been part of this family from the moment Kuwari first touched your mind.”
A warmth Enkara never remembered feeling bloomed in her chest. Belonging.
Even the standoffish Regent Ahassunu hugged her, seeming relieved that Kuwari was now safe from farther attempts by ambitious mothers seeking to align their house with the royal family through any means necessary.
Of course, she knew the relaxed, peaceful moment would only last until word spread about her being a second Blade and newly mated to Crown Prince Kuwari. Then would begin the flurry of activity and well-wishing that went along with such things. She just hoped things calmed down in a few days and routine would return.
She could be happy with a few dull days free of gods, magic, oaths and political intrigue.
Chapter 37
The days leading up to their first formal Blooding Ceremony sped by in a blur of training and activity. The news that Enkara was, in fact, his Blade soon leaked to the public. As promised, King Ditanu kept both Kuwari and Enkara under close guard, fearing to give their enemies targets until Enkara had full command of her power.
Kuwari was beginning to think he’d have preferred enemy assassins. With their freedom curtailed, for the time being, there was little official work for either he or Enkara to oversee. At first, he’d been delighted, thinking it would give them a great deal of personal time together.
And they did spend most every moment with each other. Unfortunately, Burrukan, Iltani, and Ahassunu were also present. When Burrukan and Iltani weren’t attempting to pound them into the next life with all their training sessions, Ahassunu was drilling Enkara about statecraft.
Kuwari’s one glimmer of hope lay in the formal Blooding Ceremony, where Ishtar would at last endow Enkara with, if not her full gifts, then at least enough that his parents would allow them their freedom again.
Anything to get him away from Burrukan for a time. He didn’t know how Enkara had survived four years of his mentorship. Most nights Kuwari was too tired to seduce his lovely new mate. Luckily, she was half human, and her eagerness matched his own, and it was often she who pulled him down into bed for a session of love play before they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.
But at last the day of the Blooding Ceremony arrived, and Kuwari and Enkara found themselves on Uruk. This wasn’t a secret ceremony. The entire court was in attendance to give their blessings and well wishes.
Kuwari really could have done without the nobles. But they were better than sword fights with Burrukan, so he graciously accepted their blessings.
The ceremony began in late afternoon, high up in the temple. The sun angled in through the wide arched windows to strike large polished mirrors situated to carry the light deeper into the temple. His great aunt was overseeing everything, priests, and priestesses efficiently carrying out her orders in preparation for the ritual.
The first order of business for the afternoon was a sacred cleansing overseen by acolytes and novices. Side by side, he and Enkara walked into the bathing chamber. Great archways opened out onto the wide blue sky, allowing a playful breeze to whip in. Today the briny scent of the ocean was strong, and he could hear the calls of seabirds nesting along the cliffs and shore.
Beside him, Enkara drew in a deep breath. Even without the soul link they shared, he would have sensed her nervousness. “There’s nothing to fear. We’ve done this same exact thing before. It’s hardly new.”
“Last time Ishtar appeared.”
Kuwari shrugged. “That’s nothing unheard of. She’s appeared in many Blooding Ceremonies throughout history.”
The approaching priests and priestesses interrupted their conversation, and Enkara didn’t answer right away.
Enkara ignored the priestess who was undressing her and looked straight ahead, but her thoughts reached out to him. “It’s not Ishtar’s appearance that I fear.”
“Ereshkigal wouldn’t be so bold as to appear during such a public ceremony,” he replied along their secret link.
“I know. It’s just that disaster has dogged me most of my life. It makes seeing things in a positive light more difficult.”
“If it gives you comfort, I see glimpses of darkness ahead but also a bright future. With you at my side, we will navigate those dangerous waters and come out on the other side with our love stronger than ever before.”
When a priest cleared his throat, Kuwari’s thoughts focused back on the ceremony, where it should have been all along, he chided himself. He knew what they were waiting for. He put a bit of space between them and shifted to gryphon form.
The priest approached and bowed once more but didn’t waste time selecting the first of several feathers that would later be woven into part of his Blade’s ceremonial garb. Getting plucked was never something he’d considered fun, but at the same time, it pleased him to surrender several of his feathers for his mate.
It harkened back to a gryphon’s nesting instinct, where a male would help build a nest and insulate it with his feathers. Yet the ritual spoke to his human side as well. There was something deeply intimate about the thought of her wearing something that had come from him. The next time she wore the ceremonial garb with his feathers sewn onto them would be
during the Sacred Marriage.
The priests were particular, carefully selecting an even number of feathers from each wing before moving on to the thick ruff at his neck. They paused after pulling each feather, giving him time to alert them when he felt he’d surrendered enough for his Blade.
“If you keep letting them pluck you, you’re never going to be able to get into the air and fly with me. I must confess, I like flying.” At Enkara’s words, a vision flared across his mind, one that depicted aerial courtship.
He twisted and snapped his beak at the priests to tell them he’d given enough feathers. Enkara’s delighted laugh echoed across the sacred pool.
In total, the priests selected four of his long primaries, six of the secondary flight feathers and twelve shorter feathers from his neck ruff. The priests bowed and backed away with their prize.
Kuwari gave himself a shake and then groomed his ruffled feathers back in place. When they were smooth, he shifted back to his human form.
He glanced at Enkara, where she stood waiting for him, a smile on her lips. Soon the priests and priestesses were ushering them into the large pool. He and Enkara walked side by side through the pool as prayers and chanting filled the chamber’s high ceiling.
When they reached the other side, more priests and priestesses were waiting with scented oils and towels. Kuwari and Enkara allowed themselves to be buffed and primped and anointed with oils.
While Kuwari stood still and allowed them to tie on his ornate loincloth, he snuck glances at Enkara.
She held her arms out from her sides and allowed her attendants to fasten a golden chain around her waist, its many translucent veils fluttered in the breeze like streamers of light. She was the image of strength and power and feminine beauty. He allowed himself to drink in her exquisiteness.
Next, an ancient priestess wrapped a matching length of fabric around Enkara’s breasts, hiding them from his view.
“You’re pouting, my prince.”
“No more than any male would seeing such beauty covered up.”
Once he and Enkara were clothed, they were led out under one of the archways and up to the flat section at the top of the temple. Torches and cauldrons of burning oil offered light and heat as the sun began to sink into the ocean.
As his eyesight adjusted, he spotted his father and Iltani standing to the right of High Priestess Kammani. They waited in the center of the space where a fire burned in a depression carved from the stone of the roof. Sitting next to the fire, a long bench-like altar occupied a good two body-lengths of space. As he approached it, he felt its power beating against his skin.
Here, kings, queens, princes, and princesses had shed blood to anoint each of Ishtar’s Blades.
As he neared the high priestess, the lesser priests and priestesses joined their voice in a chant, calling down a blessing on a prince of the royal blood and his new Blade.
Enkara reached the narrow altar and calmly straddled it, but he could see the tension in her muscles. While he’d been studying his beloved, Priestess Kammani approached and handed him an ancient blade. Its bone hilt was smooth from hundreds of years of handling, and its blade was made of hammered copper.
The blade had its own magic, but that wasn’t what drew his attention or made the fine dusting of hair on his arms stand to attention. No, there was another power, another presence on the roof with them. A banked, heated magic swirled through the air.
Ishtar was already here on the roof. Waiting. The most impatient of goddesses was here waiting. Enkara must have sensed her as well because her already tensed shoulders squared more.
Great Nammu of the primeval waters, mother of heaven and earth, please let everything go well here tonight.
When he realized he’d stood rooted in place longer than was seemly, he started forward. Only halting when he was at Enkara’s shoulder. Drawing in a deep, calming breath, he straddled the altar. Enkara reached behind her and freed the knot of fabric at the back of her neck, pulling the material away to expose the entire length of Ishtar’s mark.
Drawing the blade down and across his right pectoral, he inhaled at the sharp pain. The coppery scent of blood coiled in his nose, stirring instincts and memories of their earlier blooding ceremony. Steeling himself, he drew the blade across the flesh of the opposite pectoral.
While the pain was swift and sharp, he was already focused on what was to come.
He shifted closer until his body was pressed against hers, then reaching around her waist, he dragged her back until the length of her spine was sealed to his chest. The warmth of his blood began to flow, trickling down his chest and dripping onto her spine. In its wake, he felt where her birthmark began to flare with magic, triggered by the presence of his blood.
Bracing one arm on the bench, he tightened the other around her waist, forcing her forward to better allow his blood to pool against her spine.
Goddess. It was glorious feeling his essence flow into her, strengthening her.
If he looked now, he knew he’d see the tattoo pulsing with power, echoing the beat of their hearts.
In turn, her power reached back into him and stamped her essence onto his soul. The mental link they shared flared with new power, growing stronger. Ishtar’s greatest gift was an unseen one, but powerful all the same.
“Our hearts and souls have always been mated,” he whispered into her mind. “Our love will endure no matter what comes.”
“Always.” Enkara tilted her head back towards him, but then the power rising within them both crested and suddenly that fierce magic was radiating off him. It was potent, breathtaking and a surprised grunt escaped him as he looked up to see clearly the powerful being now standing beside him.
Vast wings framed a naked and voluptuous feminine body. Her glorious power flowed from her in waves, caressing his skin and stirring him in ways that had him pressing closer to Enkara.
None of it was truly a surprise, though. He’d expected Ishtar to come and claim them from the moment he’d felt her presence on the temple roof.
Though she was here with them and he could see the flames from the cauldrons through her shimmering form, he wasn’t sure if anyone else could see her—not even his father or Iltani.
Then Ishtar dragged her hand slowly down his back, taking her time. Once she was satisfied that she had his full attention, she turned to Enkara and reached out with a heated caress that made his Blade jump.
With that touch, the goddess loosed a wild current of power into them both, claiming and blessing them as hers. It lasted only mere moments, but it felt like years, a glorious warmth surrounding and cocooning them both. His body shaking under the strain of a goddess’ touch, he pressed his face into the curve of Enkara’s neck. She, in turn, gripped his arms with bruising force. He wanted it to be over and yet he didn’t, liking the way it fired his blood, making him feel alive and invincible.
Slowly the power and seductive warmth receded, and Kuwari’s mind began to work again.
With a final caress and a sultry laugh, Ishtar withdrew her hands. “No wonder my sister is so eager to get her hands on you both. You,” she stroked Enkara’s bare shoulder, “would make her a lovely vessel to inhabit. And you,” she caressed him from knee to hip, “would make her a virile husband.”
Ereshkigal already had a husband. Was she planning to start a harem?
“Not a harem, my young prince. While Ereshkigal wants you as her husband, it’s more than that. She wants you because you are her husband and she will use Enkara’s body to have you.”
“What?” But her words just reinforced his visions and what the eagle-headed Anunnaki had said.
“This situation came about because I made a mistake.” The goddess looked chagrined. “It certainly wasn’t my first and it won’t be my last. But it is one of the ones that has come back to haunt me.”
Kuwari remained silent. Not because he was speechless, but because one did not interrupt a goddess.
“Long after Tammuz traded himself to fr
ee me from my sister’s domain, I still sought a way to strike back at Ereshkigal for the pain she caused us. Coming together once a year for the Spring Rites wasn’t enough to satisfy me, so I hunted for ways to strike back at my sister, to make her feel the same pain I did, to force her to release Tammuz.” The goddess turned fully to them, but her gaze was focused upon the stars, lost in thought or memory. “One day, long ago, I sent a Lamassu to her husband, saying I wanted to mend my relationship with my sister, but that I could not step into her domain to tell her myself any more than she could venture into the living world.”
He feared he knew where this was going. His earlier benediction to Nammu echoed in his mind. It might take the primordial mother to solve this mess.
“When Nergal came to my palace, I slew him, but instead of letting him return to the underworld, I locked his soul into an endless cycle of rebirths. Each time his host body died, he would be reborn into a new body instead of returning to the Underworld and his beloved.”
Ishtar sighed, surprising him. It somehow made her more personable.
“I thought this would make her surrender my Tammuz to me if I held her own husband hostage. But Ereshkigal’s distrust of me ran even deeper than I realized. She did not trust me to uphold the bargain. Instead, she sent her Anunnaki to begin the hunt for Nergal, thinking they’d be able to find his host body and drag the soul back to the underworld.”
Ishtar turned her gaze from the stars to look again upon Kuwari and Enkara. “They were swift to learn that as soon as they dragged her husband back to the underworld, he’d vanish a moment later, reborn into a new body. Each time they’d have to start the hunt again. But I learned to hide him well so that even the Anunnaki couldn’t find him without searching for years and years.”
Enkara shifted in his arms and he sensed she wanted to speak but held back. Likely wise since the goddess wasn’t yet done her tale.
Blade's Honor (Ishtar's Legacy Book 2) Page 24