Crises aside, the camp once again fell into a normal routine. Everything that had happened over the past few months began to slowly fade with time. With Gerik gone and Onyx refusing to leave her tent, it was easy to bury the turmoil I’d gone through.
Living arrangements were settled peacefully with only mild grumbling, mainly between Pitti and Pesha. Becki and Jaelle began planning a formal ceremony to celebrate her marriage to Hockey. And I settled comfortably into my relationship with Xan.
I delighted in the newness of having someone to share everything with, in a way that surpassed the boundaries of family and friendship. In a lot of ways I was experiencing so many things for the very first time. I had never realized just how many restraints the bond with Gerik had actually put on my life.
Things I had never taken any interest in before had suddenly emerged and I felt myself changing, wanting to become a part of everything and hating how much I had missed out on. Boys and parties, shopping and dances, bonding over ridiculous girly things, all missed. And for what?
Because nature had strapped me with a magical chastity belt that had left me unable to move forward until I met my other half. No matter that my other half had been living out his life just as any normal male would; he hadn’t been repressed in any way. Or purposely conditioned to be a most dutiful and loyal mate. And why would he? He was all-powerful and deserving and I'd been made just for him.
I was more than ready to catch up.
Xan viewed my innocence as a sort of blessing, some kind of redemption he wasn’t deserving of. I’d often find him staring at me as if he couldn’t believe I was real. What I never told him is that at night, after we’ve made love and he’s fallen asleep, I do the very same thing.
Magic, for some people, is a state of mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When I went to Jaelle’s tent to dress for Becki and Hockey’s ceremony, I was delighted to find the dark blue dress, that only days earlier had long sleeves and a high neck and been several sizes too large, now fit me like a glove.
Short, fluttering, off the shoulder sleeves had replaced the long ones and where the high stiff neck had been there was now a low scooped neckline with Jaelle’s signature floral embroidery on the bodice. The waist pulled in tightly and then flared out beautifully, stopping a few inches above my knee. It wasn’t anything you would have been able to find in a modern store. It had been custom-made to fit every single one of my curves and looked like a piece of art. I felt like a goddess inside of it.
After much fussing, Jaelle finally decided to wrap my hair in an elaborate twist, pinning it together at the base of my neck. She finished off the look with several strategically-placed buttercups that grew near the creek. Then I was shooed away so Becki’s bridal transformation could begin.
I found Stevo, instead of Xan, waiting by my trailer.
“Where is Xan?” I asked, confused.
“He said he’ll meet you there,” he said, holding out his arm for me.
The clan had gone all out for the wedding. Elaborate beadwork decorated almost everyone’s home and colorful strips of cloth had been tied to the branches of the trees in camp. The fires blazed high with rainbow colored flames, Maisera’s handiwork, as she made her rounds sprinkling crumpled herbs on each of them.
The excitement was palpable. The happiness the clan had expressed the night Hockey had kidnapped Becki was nothing compared to the genuine joy that shone on their faces tonight. Tonight the Baró himself would bless their union before nature.
Stevo led me to where Jericho was waiting to preside over the ceremony. Depositing me to the right of the Baró, Stevo took his place next to Hockey on Jericho’s left. The rest of clan waited around the bonfire.
When the violins began to play, Becki emerged from the living lot on Stefan’s arm. Her dress was as simple as mine, a deep pink that hit just below her knees and had been cut specially with extra room for her growing mid section. A handmade wreath of flowers sat atop her braided hair and in her hands she held a beautiful collection of wildflowers. Becki was truly a bride tonight.
Their vows were a quick, shortened version of a catholic wedding ceremony mixed with the Romani beliefs. Hockey pulled a heavily bejeweled ring out of his pocket, a gold band inlaid with rubies, and placed it on Becki’s finger.
Their kiss was probably the most improper wedding kiss I’d ever seen. It was decadent and sensual. It was wonderful.
Wasn’t everyone supposed to cheer at the end of a wedding? Clap? Something? Instead the camp had grown quiet and everyone had turned expectantly to me. Jericho, smiling down at me, surprised me by reaching out and grasping my hands. “Trinity Shannon Petros…” His deep voice boomed. “Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself in marriage?"
Oh gods. An apple had nothing on how bright frickin’ red I turned.
Becki and Hockey, hand in hand, wearing matching wicked grins, moved out of the way as Xan took their place in front of me. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with black cargo pants. His hair hung down, falling freely over his shoulders. His hands weren't caked in mud. Even his boots looked clean.
Jericho placed my shaking hands in his. He held on tight. A good thing too, I was ready to run. “Trinity?” Jericho repeated.
“No,” I said through clenched teeth. Xan deliberately cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, Trinity, I didn’t hear you. Could you speak up, please?” For an old man Jericho had excellent hearing. I shot him a dirty look which he returned with an innocent expression.
Refusing to look at the tricky jerk that had already tied me to a bed and was now publically humiliating me, I mumbled, “Yes.”
“Will you honor Xan Daniel Delaneu as your husband for the rest of your life?”
The rest of my life? Oh gods.
“Yes,” I whispered, staring at my feet, feeling faint.
"Will you accept his children lovingly and bring them up according to Roma law and lead them down the path nature chooses for them?"
Children! My eyes widened. I think they may have even fallen out of my head. I no longer felt faint, I felt downright horrified. Licking my lips, which had suddenly become uncommonly dry, I drew in a shaky breath. Xan squeezed my hand. I took a peek at him and wished I hadn’t. He was grinning.
Dirty bastard.
“Yes,” I choked out. Barely.
Done with me, Jericho turned to Xan. “Xan?” he asked.
The dirty bastard stepped forward to grasp my face in his hands. “I, Xan Daniel Delaneu, take you, Trinity Shannon Petros, to be my lawful wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad. Especially the bad, Trin. I promise to be true during sickness and in health. And I swear to you, fată, that I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” He leaned forward and caught my bottom lip with his teeth. “And then some, Trin,” he whispered.
Oh damn. Was I actually going to cry? Yep… Yep I was.
Xan slid a thin silver band on my ring finger; on it was a small black stone with flecks of white. A sense of serenity enveloped me like a soothing balm. All the anxiety and doubts I'd had about marriage and the anger I felt about being tricked again instantly fled, leaving behind only my true feelings for Xan.
“I choose you, Trinity, above all others, to be my wife. I offer this ring as a token of our love, and as a sign of my fidelity. With this ring and nature’s blessing, I willingly join my life to yours.”
I stared at the beautiful ring. The white specks seemed to move around, blending together and then separating, like a lava lamp. A trick of the firelight, I mused.
“It’s a snowflake obsidian and was my grandmother’s,” Xan told me softly. “Luludja Deleanu was a powerful healer, even more powerful than my mamă. I’ve asked her to protect you if there is ever a time I cannot.”
“Kiss her!” Shandor bellowed.
Becki and Hockey had nothing on us. Xan picked me up, tipped me over backwards and crushed his mouth to mine. Every stroke o
f his tongue was a promise, a pledge to never let me go and protect me with every fiber of his being.
Jericho raised his arms in celebration. "What nature has joined, men will never divide!"
The celebration was just as overwhelming as the ceremony. The men and women who had danced for money in the Gaje carnivals donned their colorful costumes just for us. They performed elaborate dances that ranged from mind-bending acrobatics to awe-inspiring fire breathing.
The food was spectacular, the decorations beautiful and the entertainment top notch. As if I expected anything less from a camp full of Gypsies.
When the party began to slow, the dancing began and we passed partners to the cheerful cries of Lajos’s fiddle. I watched Hockey hook elbows with Becki. They were adorable, smiling happily as he thrust her forward, passing her through the line of foot-stomping onlookers. The bodies parted, cheering and clapping as she spun by. Nico waited at the end to grab her.
“Hey!” She shouted, locking elbows with the eldest Ĉonka brother as I was being spun by Pitti.
I grinned at her. “Hi!”
“We’re married!” she mouthed.
Yep. So not used to that.
Hockey was next; he grabbed his little sister as he spun by, lifting her up and twirling her in the air. Simza squealed in delight as she flew, instead of danced, down the line. Passing her off to their father, Hockey paused and looked around. Becki was supposed to have waited for him at the end of the line but she’d disappeared. I disentangled myself from Pitti and stood on my tiptoes to look over the crowd of dancers.
Hockey spotted her before I did. I followed his narrowed gaze across the end lot to the edge of the living lot where Becki was shaking her arm out of Tobar’s grasp. He was gesturing wildly at her and they both looked angry.
I looked back to where I had last seen Hockey. He was standing perfectly still, staring at his bride. The press of dancing bodies soon enclosed around him and he disappeared from my view.
Realizing I, too, had been standing still in the middle of a dance floor, I turned to head out of the melee and came face to face with my husband. Caught off guard, I staggered back. “Sorry,” I breathed.
He grabbed my hand, lifted it high above my head and twirled me out into the crowd. Reeling me back in, he pulled me close and held me. With his chest pressed firmly against my back and his hands wrapped tightly around my middle, we began to move with the music.
I caressed the strong, dark arms gripping my waist and leaned into the lips pressed against my neck. Shivers escaped me as his long hair spilled over my shoulders and tickled the bare skin of my chest and breasts. There was no more twirling for me, no more passing down the line. Something primal was taking us over and the music took a back seat to our movements.
His teeth nipped at my neck and with a soft moan my head lolled back on his shoulder and my eyes closed. I glimpsed visions of starlit dances by fire light, laughter and singing, and nights that would never end. I saw Xan as I woke up next to him every morning, touching him whenever I wanted, making him smile, having his children…and loving him always.
As if he could sense my thoughts he moved faster, attacking with more vigor, sucking on my skin, sending cool shivers down my overheated body. I cried out softly, needing more.
Spinning me around so we faced each other, he crushed me to him and we began to move slower. Cupping my chin, he tilted my face to his and in those dark, wicked eyes of his I found an echo of my thoughts.
“You were wrong,” I whispered against his lips.
“It’s not often that that happens.” He smiled at me and I couldn’t stop myself from pressing a kiss to that devilish smirk.
“What was I wrong about, fată?” he asked, running his hands roughly through my hair, destroying Jaelle’s masterpiece.
“About magic,” I told him.
“Oh I was, was I?”
“You do have it.” I grinned. “Without it, you couldn’t have broken the spell.”
He paused for a second and just stared down at me, his eyes bright with emotion. Then his mouth met mine in a collision of teeth, tongue and hunger.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Hungary, 1074 A.C.E.
Treime was exhausted. It was the second day of wedding festivities and what little sleep she’d gotten Emilian had interrupted with vigorous bouts of lovemaking.
She was eager for life to get back to normal around camp but celebration is important to the Romani, especially after the birth of a child or a new marriage. The continuation of the clan is everything, but she didn’t think her legs could take another day of dancing or lovemaking.
“Treime! Come see! The men have brought the pigs and they are huge!” Little Donka looked so excited about the roasting of pigs that she gave in, hiked up her skirts and followed the girl outside the bridal tent.
Emilian. She smelled him immediately, although the copious amounts of alcohol he’d ingested almost overpowered the beautiful scent she had associated with him her entire life. Large hands encircled her waist and swung her around. “My wife, my beautiful wife!” A group of men playing fiddles paused in their merrymaking to cheer. Donka giggled before running off.
She swatted at her new husband. “Put me down.”
His smile faded. “What’s wrong, micuțo?”
She shook her head. “Nothing really. Just tired.”
His smile returned. “In that case, you’ll be happy. It’s time, Treime.”
She didn’t smile back. She wasn’t looking forward to this part of her wedding at all. She allowed her husband to lead her toward the bonfire where the feasting was in full swing. Her mami and sisters were waiting for her with tears streaming down their faces.
With a tentative glance at the Baró’s wife she felt her stomach sink all the way to her knees. Violca waited for her, stern-faced, holding her brand new diklo, ready to wrap it around her head and hide her hair from the world.
She loved her hair. She took extra good care of her shimmering, waist length, black locks, and didn’t care if it made her vain in the eyes of the lord. She knew it was beautiful and wanted to show it off. Wanted it to be seen and now wanted everyone to know that Emilian’s wife had such a lovely trait.
Her tată kissed her first, on both cheeks and both hands, his face full of fatherly pride. “Ten and eight already daughter? I swear you were born just yesterday.”
Her two sisters hugged her tight and her mami embraced her.
“I’m not leaving you,” she whispered to her weeping mami. “I’ll be right across camp with that…awful woman.”
“No, you’re not leaving,” her mami whispered back. “But you are a woman now and I thank God I have raised such a wonderful child.” Slowly her mami took out her braids, much to Violca’s dismay, and then ran her fingers gently through the loose hair. She had seen the ritual done so many times before and had never fully understood why everyone was so emotional over such a trivial thing.
But now, at her own ceremony, she was crying, refusing to leave the arms of her mami.
Violca pried her away and tied the violet-colored scarf around her head. She knotted it tightly in place and tucked any stray hairs away. It was done. Her diklo symbolized her status as a married woman. Never again would she be allowed to be seen in public without it. Her eyes met Emilian’s. He smiled at her, his pride evident.
Whooping with joy, Emilian leapt in the air. Then he grabbed her, swept her off her feet and before she knew it, they were dancing again.
By the time they reached their tent she could barely walk. Emilian lay her down on their lush bed of furs and kissed her tenderly.
“I hate it,” she pouted as Emilian began untying her diklo.
“Ah, micuțo, you’re even more beautiful now that you are my wife.”
As Emilian began to untie her bodice, Treime shot him a look of annoyance and grunted her displeasure. “Really, Emilian? Again?”
His eyes grayed and heat swept through her.
“Really,
Treime, again and again and again. I shall never tire of you.”
She felt her husband’s magic envelope the small space and her own eyes grayed with lust. Their shared magic crackled at her fingertips. She knocked Emilian on his back with a blast of air.
He laughed heartily. “Couldn’t nature have gifted me a more docile wife? Treime’s magic crackled angrily as her temper flared. Still on his back, he held his arms out to her. “Come here, my love, I wouldn’t change you for the world.”
“You can have your way husband,” she told him, smiling. “Just be sure to get me with child quickly. I have no desire to live with that mamă of yours any longer than we have to."
“Ahh, Treime…” He laughed again, rolling over on top of her. “Have I given you reason to believe that I don’t plan on keeping you heavy with my children for many, many years to come?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Present Day
“Shandor Asenov,” Jericho announced.
Kizzy let out a bloodcurdling scream. “You cannot make them both go!”
Maisera nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Jericho. You’ve already drawn his tată, pick another name.”
Shandor gave his mother a thunderous look. “I’m going with tată. You’ll have Simionce home with you.”
Giving him a nod of respect, Jericho continued pulling out names from a box that would decide who was going on the next raid. So far Gunnar Horváth, Marko Siwak, Punka Moldoveanu, Mihai and Shandor Asenov had been selected. Jericho stuck his hand in the box again. He pulled out the small slip of paper and sighed. Maisera looked over his arm and closed her eyes.
“Stefan Sava Jr.,” he announced. “I’m sorry, Becki.”
Becki didn’t scream or cry out in protest. With Hockey’s hand clasped inside her own, she remained quiet.
“Last one,” Jericho murmured. “Xan Deleanu.”
Xan’s arm shot out to hold me back but I shook him off, jumping up from my comfortable position on his thigh. “No!” I yelled. “He goes all the time! Even when he doesn’t have to!”
The Holy Trinity Trilogy Page 15