“Gods, I love you,” he felt like he was going blind and didn’t mind it one bit.
“I love you, too,” Ashlynn replied, raking her nails over his chest then lower. Cian gasped as her hands worked his boxers down over his hips, releasing him. He strained to hold back, to control himself, but Ashlynn, his innocent princess, wrapped her hand around his base of his manhood and lowered herself down in one smooth motion. Just like that, he was lost.
Ashlynn cried out in pleasure as he grabbed her hips, moving them until she set the pace. The explosions inside his body and mind were almost enough to sweep him away, to blank his mind. But this was different, this was Ashlynn, this was love. He arched up, holding her as she rocked wildly, and he took her mouth with his, silencing her cries with a passionate kiss. He felt the score of her nails on his back and it just spurred him on. They moved together like one, fused as two hearts but one soul.
The candle had dwindled down to nothing and doused the room in darkness by the time Cian pulled himself from Ashlynn’s equally sweaty body, collapsing on the bed by her side and gasping for a breath of air. As if he’d been drowning in her the entire time.
Cian reached blindly for her, entwining their fingers together so that there was no divide between when he stopped and she began and, in that moment, he saw a flash of their future together. A life long-lived, with children, and grandchildren to spoil and teach the old ways to. There would be laughter in his home, and food, and music. Together, they’d build a life and a family, and maybe, if things went well tomorrow, they’d build a united clan.
Chapter Eleven
Ashlynn swallowed nervously as Cian and his parents led her into the Cineal’s grand home. It was twice the size of Cian’s, far more modern, and far more intimidating. Gone were any traces of the old ways or the warm touches of their gypsy culture that the Boswells home boasted. Left in its place were cold, stark tones of white and grey. Stone and metal. She gripped Cian’s hand tightly for fear of being left alone but kept her shoulders pulled back. It wouldn’t do to look intimidated.
“Welcome,” a stunning woman who looked like a not-much-older version of Serena greeted them as they stepped into the entryway. Ashlynn’s heart squeezed at the resemblance again. She’d never get to see Gwen at this age, but looking at Vivian Cineal, she could tell her sister would have aged beautifully. What a lucky man Bricagos had been. It was amazing how her sister’s looks had remained strong enough to travel three hundred years down the bloodline. Ashlynn made a note to thank Faith next time they met. Surely it was her magic that made this miracle a reality.
Vivian reached for Ashlynn’s hand and gave a slight bow of her head, surprising Ashlynn. There was obviously nothing of this woman’s manners in Serena. “It’s our pleasure to have you in our home, princess.”
Ashlynn accepted the greeting with grace and a slight nod of her own then remembered that this was a different time. There was no need or place here for such properties. She relaxed her face and flashed a kind smile. “Thank you for having me and agreeing to the ritual on such short notice.”
“Of course,” Vivian replied. “How could we say no to such a request?”
“Ashlynn,” Cian spoke, “May I formally present Vivian, High Priestess of clan Cineal and mother of Serena. And this,” he motioned to the stoic looking grey haired man standing next to Vivian, “is James Cineal, the leader and High Priest of his clan.”
Ashlynn politely tipped her head. “Again, thank you both.”
James waved her off with a deep frown. “Yes, well. Let’s see how well this goes. Serena is inside. We’ve yet to tell her why the elders are gathered downstairs.”
Ashlynn and Cian exchanged a nervous glance as they continued through the house, moving steadily making their way into the earth, far beneath the part of the house that sat in view of the world. They reached the bottom of a long, winding stone staircase and passed through a stone arch carved with intricate symbols that Ashlynn figured must be of Traveler origins. On the other side of the arch a room opened wide, built of ancient stone, illuminated by oil and flame. Down here the old ways thrived.
Standing in a group just inside the door were four people who turned immediately to watch her with eyes that saw too much. Two men and two women, each with an aura so powerful Ashlynn knew these must be the Traveler elders Vivian had spoken about. Ashlynn inclined her head to each in turn, murmuring “Faith” when she bowed to the Seer then followed them as they moved into the room to stand around a large fire pit, built into the center of the room, surrounded by huge chairs carved from what looked like single pieces of wood.
“Wait, what is she doing here?” a shrill and familiar voice demanded from behind the group.
Ashlynn shifted to look past the elders and cringed. Serena. It figured she’d seat herself before the most revered members of her society.
The sound of Serena’s high heels clicking across the stone floor echoed through the room. Her beautiful face, so much like Gwen’s it still hurt, was twisted in fury. “Someone better tell me what Hell is going on. Why is this…woman here?” The term seethed from Serena’s teeth as if it were the nicest thing she could think of to call Ashlynn.
“This woman,” Cian stepped in, “Is your elder. Her blood runs in your veins and you should show her some respect.”
Serena’s eyes widened for a moment then shifted to glance around the room. Ashlynn knew the moment she gleaned some understanding about what was happening. The elders, the gathering down in the sacred space beneath her family’s home. Serena took a step back and crossed her arms before narrowing her gaze at Ashlynn.
“There’s no way in Hell this is happening,” Serena spit out the words as a challenge.
“Serena, you don’t have a choice in the matter,” her father said. “Cian has requested a blood ritual to prove princess Ashlynn’s lineage. We must abide by the law of our people.”
With a brow raised in disbelief, Serena laughed in a mocking tone, “Princess? She’s a Goddamn princess now? Should I bow down in her presence, then? Fall to the floor like some pathetic commoner?”
“Serena!” Vivian snapped and pinched the bridge of her nose, so much like her own mother Ashlynn thought, momentarily distracted. “Perhaps you should wait upstairs if you can’t manage to behave in the manner expected of you.”
“Cian,” Serena spoke softly, wiping the look of indignation from her face for a softer, more vulnerable veneer, “Why are you doing this to me? We’re supposed to unite the clans together.”
Cian leaned closer to Ashlynn, slipping a hand across her lower back to pull her chose. “This never would have worked, Serena. You know it as much as I do. You don’t give a damn about the union. You just want the power.”
“So, you’re using her as a means to stop it?” Serena feigned composure, but Ashlynn could see her control breaking behind those piercing blue eyes.
“No, I’m listening to my heart and choosing Ashlynn,” he replied curtly. “It has nothing to do with you or the marriage. If the blood ritual doesn’t work, then we’ll leave.”
An awkward silence filled the room. Ashlynn felt slightly out of place. Intrusive, almost. She felt bad for taking this away from Serena, for destroying her dream of ruling her people. Something that had been withheld from Ashlynn herself for so long. She could relate. But if what Cian said was true, that Serena only wanted the power, then Ashlynn had to remind herself that she was doing the right thing.
“Let us begin,” Faith’s voice filled the room completely. She held up an odd brass canister with puffs of colored smoke sifting from between tiny holes in the sides and moved toward the stone pit, followed by the three other elders, then Ashlynn with Cian’s family and Serena with hers. Ashlynn and the others watched in silence as the four elders raised their hands into the air and began to chant and hum. The smoke from the metal canister grew thicker, creating a circle around the pit.
“Goddess Crone hear our call,” Faith called out as her eyes went complete
ly dark. “Seeds of life, deeply buried. Lineage of blood, so rightfully carried. Stars above and core below, show us what we seek to know.”
Faith opened the canister and poured the liquid smoke into the pit, causing a raging fire to ignite and cast the room in warm light. The flames danced off of Serena’s face and highlighted her sharp features, somehow revealing the hatred she harbored just below the surface.
“Ashlynn. Serena,” Faith said calmly and reached a hand in either direction, motioning for the them to come close. Ashlynn obeyed immediately, followed a moment later by Serena, whose reluctance was obvious. “Hands, please.”
In unison, Ashlynn and Serena offered their hands, upturned. Faith pulled a small dagger from a hilt at her side.
“The ritual requires a drop of your blood,” the Seer said. “Do you so willingly give it?”
“Yes,” they replied together.
The ancient Seer pricked the tender skin of both their palms, squeezing the redness from the wound and then pressing their hands together. Serena looked at Ashlynn with disgust and clenched her hand a little too tightly, looking for a reaction from Ashlynn who kept her gaze constant and simply arched a brow in response. Serena held back a snarl, barely.
Faith grabbed their joint wrists and held it over the pit where the fire had died down to a reasonable height near their feet. Ashlynn watched as their blood dripped from their hands and fell into the flames with a sizzle.
“If the fire turns red, the ritual is complete, and Ashlynn’s lineage will be revealed,” one of the older men said to the room. “If it remains as it is, then their blood is not of the same source.”
Silence filled the room as everyone waited with bated breaths. All except Serena who locked eyes with Ashlynn again and kept their hands gripped tightly, refusing to let go. As the seconds ticked by and the fire remained unchanged, Serena’s face twisted into a triumphant and evil grin.
“Looks like you lose, Princ –“
Before she could finish, the fire raged high, forcing them to spring apart and fall back. Deep red flames, the color of freshly spilled blood touched the stone ceiling and twirled around in a circle before diving back down into the pit like a fluid snake. Ashlynn glanced over her shoulder to Cian and exchanged a giddy smile before turning to Serena.
“I’ll accept your apology any time,” Ashlynn said, pulling herself up to her full height. Magnanimously, she held out a hand to help Serena from the floor.
Serena recoiled from her hand, pulling her lips back to snarl like a wild beast. She climbed to her feet, never taking her gaze off Ashlynn, never for a moment acknowledging anyone else in the room but her rival. Serena’s chest rose and fell faster and faster, and her eyes darkened, shifted, then filled with blackness. Before Ashlynn realized what was happening, Serena threw her hands above her head and, with a barely human cry of rage, launched twin balls of flaming red magic tinged with pulsing black veins straight at Ashlynn’s head.
Time slowed for a moment, long enough for Ashlynn to call on her own magick, long enough for it to crackle over her skin, copper and green welling up from deep within her. Then time sped up as Serena’s magic slammed into her chest with a force unlike anything she’d ever felt before, throwing her across the floor, which tore at the fabric of her dress, ripping sections away to reveal bloodied patches of skin.
“No!” Serena screamed, crouching low as she moved steadily toward the stairs, holding everyone at bay with two fistfuls of magic. “I refuse to give my crown to her! It belongs to me! Cian belongs to me!”
“Serena,” Cian spoke softly, moving between Ashlynn and his crazed ex-fiancé with his hands held out in surrender, though Ashlynn could feel the earth magick swelling within him, being drawn up through the ground beneath them into his veins. Still disoriented, she wondered that Serena didn’t feel his magick. She was in awe of him, so calm and loving, putting himself between the evil twat and her. “Just calm down. No one needs to get hurt,” Cian glanced back at her for a moment, taking his eyes off Serena for a second too long.
Serena’s body shifted, pulling up tall as she watched her man look to another. Ashlynn saw it in her eyes, the breaking of her mind, and followed her wide-eyed gaze to where it was fixed.
On Cian’s unprotected back.
Serena threw out her hands in front of her, shooting her magick at Ashlynn’s love. Without a single thought, Ashlynn moved, summoning her magick as if it were life or death. And it was. She called forth the spirit of the Mother, of the magicks being held and used in the room around her. She pulled everything she’d ever held before and then more, as she threw herself forward, knowing she’d never block Cian from the blow in time.
With a scream that ripped from her very soul, Ashlynn threw her magick at Serena’s, sending golden green orbs crashing into balls of fiery hatred and, for a split second they seemed evenly matched as Ashlynn held her stance. But, then an explosion burst from the point of impact, sending Serena into the air until her back slammed against the stone wall. She crumbled to the floor, unconscious and unable to hurt anyone else. Ashlynn staggered, drained of everything but her basic life force, and would have fallen except for Cian, who caught her before she hit the floor.
“Are you alright?” he gasped, searching her body for injuries.
Ashlynn managed a faint smile but even that made her nauseated. “Serena was going to kill you.”
Cian kissed Ashlynn’s mouth with a feverish desperation. “Gods, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered, clinging to his chest as he lifted her and turned to face the room of utterly shocked elders and leaders. She lifted her weary eyes to show respect.
Faith stepped forward. “Princess Ashlynn, your blood has spoken. You are of the Cineal line. A stronger, purer blood does not exist. Should you choose to accept them as your own, you have our blessing to stand for the Cineal daughter,” she spared a glance for the fallen Serena, “and unite the clans through the prearranged marriage to Cian of clan Boswells.”
“I accept,” Ashlynn said on a sigh, then looked up at Cian for confirmation. He nodded with a smile and pressed a kiss to her temple. “But,” she continued, taking deep breaths to stay conscious, “I’m not sure we’re ready for marriage quite yet. I want to adjust to this world. To your way of life and the people in it. I do not wish to lead blindly, as I’m sure your people will not want to follow in the same manner.”
Cian’s father stepped forward. “While we respect that, Ashlynn,” he stole a glance at Serena, still unconscious on the floor where her mother tended to her. “The full power of the two clans will not be bestowed on you until you two are wed and go through the ceremony. I’m afraid that you’ll be vulnerable until then. Serena’s going to wake up at some point and she’s going to want vengeance. We can detain her for what she attempted here today, but we can’t keep her forever. And once she’s free…” He shook his head and huffed a deep breath.
Ashlynn felt Cian’s arms stiffen around her and his fear for her sent a spark of spirit magick shooting through her body. She shimmied in his grip until he let her down, whispering if she was alright to stand. On her two feet before the strongest members of the Traveler people, she embraced something she couldn’t quite define. Something had come alive in her with the threat of danger, to herself and the man she loved. Something more powerful than anything she’d ever felt before. Determination? Love? She wasn’t sure, but Ashlynn did know one thing; if Serena thought she’d ever back down from a fight, she was dead wrong.
“Let her try,” Ashlynn told the room, pulling her shoulders back to stand like the Queen she’d be one day soon. “I’ll be waiting.”
The End
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