The Consort

by Paige Patton

  Jabari, high priest and wizard sat on Kourosh right. He was one of the most sought after, black magic wizards who ever lived.

  “What makes, Desiree Chase any different from the others?” Jabari asked.

  What made her different was that she was a goddess with untapped powers that he needed to make his men strong so that could fight to take over your throne. Roman pushed that though to the back of his mind and tried his best to forget about it.

  “From the moment we met I could feel the bonding taking place.”

  Roman wasn’t lying. He did feel something when he first saw Desiree standing there in his office. Whether or not it was bonding, he could not be sure. It could have simply been his cock reacting to her beauty.

  Immediate bonding was not taken lightly in their world. It happened so infrequently that when it did it was looked upon as sacred and was treated as such. Immediate bonding only happened between genuine soul mates. It was said to be a love that transcended time and could never die. Not even through death. It is what every vampire longed to find.

  “Are you aware of the seriousness of this matter? Are you sure the bonding took place immediately?” Jabari asked fascinated over the possibility.

  “I am quite sure. I felt it right away.”

  Jabari raised a brow and gave Roman a look of doubt. “This woman must be remarkable. I look forward to meeting her.”

  Adise stood from her throne and descended to the platform. Still on one knee with his head bowed to her, Roman did not move until she spoke. “Please stand and face me.”

  Roman stood to face the woman who leaned over him centuries ago and placed a tiny drop of her blood onto his tongue changing his life forever. She was just as he had remembered, erotically beautiful with sexuality oozing from every pore. Adise carried five hundred centuries well.

  Kourosh leaned forward in his chair watching his sister. One would have to be blind to miss the look they shared. It was a look of past love and many regrets. He knew all too well the flame that she carried for Roman. That was also on his list of reasons why he detested the man so much.

  She reached up and gently stroked the side of his face. Her touch was gentle and familiar, soothing and warm. It sent an aching throughout his body. The longing in her eyes and pounding of her heart spoke to him in ways he thought he would never feel from her again.

  “I’ve missed you.” She whispered low so that no one else can hear.

  Roman fought hard to control his feelings. They were nothing close to the way he felt for Desiree, but he still felt something for Adise and he knew that Kourosh was watching them. He was like a hawk, watching over everything, never missing a thing. “I have missed you too.” He murmured.

  Adise rose up on her toes to kiss him tenderly on the lips.

  “Adise!” Kourosh roared. “Return to your seat at once or you will be banished from these proceedings.

  Smiling at him, Adise ran her thumb over his lips, and then ran her hand down the length of his chest. She merely wanted to touch him again, to recall a time when they were happy and in love. She vanished and reappeared on her throne.

  Nia, who was equally as beautiful as her older sister Adise was, cut her a look of disgust. She used her power of telepathy to speak to her.

  “You are embarrassing yourself. The man is practically bonded, yet still you lust after him. Have you no shame?”

  Adise did not know the meaning of the word shame when it came to Roman. If she did, it wouldn’t matter. She felt like she was born to love Roman. She went to bed thinking of him and woke up the same way. She would never give him up.

  “Roman will always be mine. No amount of bonding will ever change that.” She spoke back to her sister.

  Kourosh could hear every thought spoken between his sisters especially while they sat this close to him. His sister’s lack of respect to him, the throne, and ceremonial proceedings were a slap in his face. What really got his goat was the lustful display of affection toward a man who she knew was at the top his list of suspect for treachery. To him it was a blatant statement saying; fuck you, dear brother, and all of your feelings.

  Kourosh grunted as he gave her a look. He would definitely visit her room later to teach her a lesson in loyalty.

  Nia was much like Desiree. She would much rather kill a man than to have him take advantage of her in any way. She was a no-nonsense vampire with an ax to grind with anyone who stepped in her way. She would not waste her time to step down from her throne to greet a man she didn’t care for. When she looked at Roman, she saw nothing but a skilled manipulator who was able to seduce women by pretending to care about them when all he really did was fuck them and leave them. She had nothing to say to him, so she stayed put and said nothing at all.

  Out of the three sisters, Alarah was the one who was the most lovable. Just as beautiful as her two sisters, she was sweet and demure, playful, childlike and seemingly happy at all times. But don’t let her playful manner fool you. She could gut you like a fish quicker than you could bat an eye.

  Alarah jumped up out of her seat and approached Roman with a big smile on her face. It was apparent that she was happy to see him.

  “If you so much as touch him I will rip your arm out of the socket and feed it to the alligators!” Adise warned, using her powers of telepathy.

  Alarah ignored her sister’s threats as she reached up and planted a kiss on Roman’s left cheek and then the right. Taking a huge chance, she wrapped her arm around him in a tender embrace and whispered quietly in his ear. “Be careful. Eyes are everywhere.”

  She pulled back to look at him with a smile on her face. “You look well Roman and many congrats on finding your true love. I’m sure she’s beautiful and I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Roman took her hand and kissed it, then bowed his head. “Thank you. She is indeed most beautiful.”

  Alarah caressed the side of his face and kissed him on the lips knowing that it would infuriate her sister, but she did not care. How many times had they both infuriated her, even going out of their way to do so; leaving her behind to deal with Kourosh as they went off on their travels. How many times had they tricked her into doing things that upset Kourosh and left her to take the blame? How many times had she been punished when they were at fault? If kissing Roman upset her older sister, then good. It was called payback and she deserved far worse. Adise and Nia were bitches and she didn’t very much like either one of them.

  Adise appeared at her sister’s side and yanked her away from Roman by the hair.

  “You cunning little twit…”

  “I’m either cunning or a twit, sister; I can’t be both, so choose!”

  “Enough!” Kourosh yelled at them, but Alarah wasn’t finished playing with her sister’s head. She had centuries of built-up anger to lay on her. She knew using Roman would hit her where it hurt the most.

  “Soon your heartthrob will belong to his beautiful consort. He will be out of your reach forever. How does it feel to know that you’ll never have the man that you have pined over for centuries like an idiot?”

  “Enough, Alarah,” Kourosh shouted, but Alarah was on a roll.

  “You’ll soon have the pleasure of watching him fuck his consort. I’m sure it won’t be as pleasurable for you as it will be for her.”

  Roman stood looking at Alarah in a different light. He admired her spunk. From what he remembered of her, she was considered the mutt of the Taghavii clan- Always last and always being picked on. He had to smile as she gave Adise her comeuppances.

  Kourosh could not understand the sick and twisted fascination his sister had when it came to Roman. She was in a permanent state of lust that caused her to act out in ways that were extremely unbecoming for a member of the council. This worried him and often gave cause to consider killing her. He would have done so centuries ago, but Jabari talked him out of it. Now as he looked at the way she was behaving over a man she could never have, he was reconsidering his original thought.

  �
�You keep your lips away from him or I’ll rip them off and shove them up your...”

  “Adise to your room, now!” Kourosh yelled his voice echoed and bounced off the walls, but Adise didn’t move. She just stood there looking up at Roman, the only man she had ever truly loved. The only man she ever wanted. The moment her blood mixed with his he opened his eyes and stared up at her. She knew that he was special. From that moment on, they were inseparable. It started out innocent, but soon turned into something wild, crazed, and destructive. Lust, then jealousy, then rage took over. Adise went wild, out of control over any woman who so much as looked at her man. Kourosh had to put an end to their volatile love affair forbidding them to see each other again.

  “I won’t be as understanding the next time, sister,” Kourosh warned as Adise stared at the man who owned her heart. She wished she could tell him how much she still loved him, but Kourosh blocked her ability to communicate with him.

  Roman could only stare at the woman he once cared for. Though he never really loved her the same way she loved him, he did care for her deeply. He owed her his life and hoped that he would one day have the opportunity to let her know how he felt.

  Adise vanished and appeared in her room crying hysterically as she fell onto her bed. She put new meaning to the phrase, “drama queen” as she sobbed like a child who was denied a piece of candy in a candy store. Nia appeared on the bed next to her.

  “Seriously, Adise?” The man has aged miserably. He is no longer a hottie. You can do much better than, Roman DePaul.”

  Adise stopped crying long enough to look up at her sister as she hissed, showing her fangs. “You take that back right now or I’ll have your tongue removed for spewing such filth!

  “Okay, calm down. He is still hot! I was only trying to ease your suffering. But since you have lost your sense of humor I’ll leave you to carry on alone.”

  Nia started to fade away, but Adise stopped her. “It’s not fair. Roman is mine. I still love him. Whoever this Chase woman is she will never be good enough for him.”

  “How would you know? She may be perfect for him.”

  Adise raked her sister with a cold look. “She is human, you idiot!” She shouted and she disappeared and reappeared across the room pacing the floor. Nia stretched out on a chaise and listened as her sister went on and on about how unfair life was, how she and Roman were made for each other.

  Adise had everything. Stunning good looks a shamelessly fab body, more money than she could ever spend, mansions across the globe, a top-notch education, men chasing her from here to Timbuktu. You name it, she had it, and if she didn’t have it, it was because she didn’t want it. The only thing she truly wanted was Roman DePaul.

  “One of these days our brother is going to push me too far.”

  “Oh, please. Give it up, Adise. You can never beat Kourosh.”

  “One day he will find his match. I only pray that I am around to see it and rub it in his face.”

  “His match,” Nia said laughing aloud. “Truly, sister, there is no match for our brother. Jabari and his demons would have them fried if it were.”

  Adise vanished and reappeared in front of her sister. “Whoever this woman is, I want her head on a platter.”

  “Impossible. Roman will have that pussy guarded 24/7.”

  “Nothing is impossible.”

  “Then what purpose would killing her serve? Any kind of relationship between you and your man is still forbidden. Kourosh will kill you himself if you disobey him with this.”

  Nia was right. Kourosh was at the end of his patience when it came to Adise and Roman. So many times, she had tried to love another man, but it wasn’t right because it wasn’t Roman; seeing him again today opened her heart again to the possibilities of what could be, what should have been had it not been for Kourosh and his damn rules. The only way she could ever have Roman was if her brother was out of her way. Realizing what had to be done, she began pacing the floor again, thinking, plotting and planning her move.

  It was for this very reason Kourosh instructed Jabari to put a curse on all female vampires that would limit their magical abilities. After watching them go after each other over men, clothes, and something as petty as a bottle of nail polish, he didn’t trust their judgment. Their jealousy, mood swings, uncaring nature, and selfish behavior were unpredictable. He thought it best to curve their powers in order to save the world and his sanity. Adise was his biggest problem. When she wanted something, she stopped at nothing to get it. She was quite patient in her endeavor but ruthless in her attack. There were times when he admired that quality in her, but he no longer trusted her. She had turned into a vampire bitch and he was determined to make her change, or end her life.

  Feeling the presence of her brother near, Nia stood abruptly “Good luck sister.” She popped out of the room just as the door burst opened and Kourosh appeared in front of her. Adise rolled her eyes at him, then headed over to her vanity and took a seat.

  “Why install doors if you’re not going to respect their purpose?”

  “You are pathetic. Throwing yourself at a man who threatens to destroy everything we have built.”

  “But I love him, Kourosh.”

  “I am your brother!” He yelled at her. “You should love me more!”

  Adise could see the hurt in his eyes and it saddened her, but Kourosh was a hard person to love every day. “You have no proof that it is him.”

  “Prove to me that it is not!”

  Adise picked up a brush and began brushing her hair that flowed down her back.

  “Everyone is under suspicion until we find the true culprit.” He took a step closer to stand behind her, running his hand through her hair. “Pray that it is not your dear, sweet Roman because if it is,” he said as he fisted a handful of her hair and pulled her head back. “I will hand you his genitals to wear around your neck. Maybe then you will finally be done with him.”

  “He is mine, Kourosh. You have no right to threaten me with his life.”

  “He will never be yours. Once I bind him to his consort, it will be unbreakable. No longer will he be one flesh, but two and what I join together no one can put asunder. That includes you. So, my brotherly advice to you is to give up and move on.”

  If he was trying to hurt her, it worked. He should have just driven a stake through her heart because she felt like she had just died. A human was snatching the only man she had ever loved away from her.

  “But on the bright side, you, dear sister you belong to me. I created you and for that, I will bear the burden.”

  When Kourosh started talking this way, it never ended well for her. But she was never one to beg her brother for anything. She took her punishments with her head held high. Whips, chains. She didn’t care.

  “You need to be taught a lesson.”

  Deep down, Kourosh loved each of his sisters with everything he had. Each one was special in their own unique way. Every punishment he gave felt like a punishment for himself, but they were unavoidable.

  “Get up!” He snarled.

  Adise stood to face her brother. Her heart was aching from the truth that Roman would never love her the way she loved him.

  “You are banned from this castle until further notice.”

  Oh cool, she thought. A nice vacation away from him would benefit her greatly. It would give her some time to think about how she was going to kill him.

  “That’s fine with me. I hate it here anyway.”

  “I’m taking control of your life from this point on.”

  Her eyes went wide with fear. “I am sending you to India.”

  Oh, India wasn’t all that bad she thought. There were plenty of nice places to live and visit there. She always wanted to visit Goa Beach and Kanyakumari, the place where the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal meet up. She heard that it was a place to enjoy moments of solitude while gazing at the darkening horizon.

  “You will stay there until you have learned to control your desire
s and urges for things you cannot have. You will work as a volunteer helping the poor and those who cannot help themselves. I will be relieving you of your power. You will live as a human.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” She shot back at him.

  “I wouldn’t? Just stand there and watch me,” He said cutting her with a look so hard she could feel the deep shit up to her knees. “You should be grateful that you are still breathing. You have Jabari to thank for that. But you won’t be so lucky the next time you show disrespect towards our name and me. Sister or not, I will waste no time killing you along with Jabari.”

  The tone in his voice cut through Adise deeper and sharper than any knife ever could. She stood there with her heart lodged in her throat. She knew that he loved her, but looking at him this way, she was no longer sure.

  “That’s heartless and cruel, even for you, Kourosh.”

  “Thank you.” He beamed with a smile. “I’ll be sending Nia along with you. She will have limited powers. The village where you’ll be staying is not a very safe one. Go and try to be happy there, sister.”

  They shared a look for a moment as they remember the days when they actually were happy; the times when they truly did love each other as innocent children running around playing childish games, the days before they became monsters. Adise vanished.

  ****

  Watching Desiree through the eye of Horus, Delilah moved her hand over the Oracle making sure her daughter was heavily protected. Shielded from Kourosh and Jabari’s powers. If he discovered her real identity, he would have every right to her. There would be nothing that she could do to stop him.

  She watched as the proceedings were about to begin. Spectators filled the room eager to witness and celebrate the bonding of a fellow vampire to his true mate-his one, and only soul mate.

  This was an important event in the world of vampires, but the proof would be in the pudding as they say or better yet, in the actual consummation. If it turned out that Desiree was his true love, his soul mate then it was said that for a split second their bodies literally became one; melted together to show the world that they were indeed made for each other. Kourosh and Jabari had to witness this occurrence in order to deem it authentic.