Wild Darkness bbm-4

by Lauren Dane

“A binding, like what Lark and Simon have?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Faine nodded, reaching out to take Helena’s hand. “There’s no reason for me to pretend she’s not it for me. This binding is a ceremony older than recorded history. My brother is in Lycia right now, putting all the arrangements in place.”

  “It’ll just be a short thing this time. We’ll go, do the binding and have a small family party and come right back. Things are too uncertain here for us to be gone any longer. But we’d like you to be there. Simon and Lark will be as well.”

  “Of course we’ll be there. Normally, I’d frown and say it hasn’t been long enough. But you’re not one to make rash decisions. This man has been at your side for months in some rather difficult situations. And he’s proven he can be counted on. It’s something a mother worries over. I knew your father was the one the third day after I met him.”

  Helena settled in and ate, listening to her mother tell the story of their courtship. Her father leaned toward his wife, a grin on his face. Faine laughed here and there, nodded, and the sounds of it, the sheer, wonderful normalcy of it, healed her far better than a hospital could have.

  Chapter 22

  FAINE kissed her awake. “Hello there.”

  “Not that I am complaining about the kisses, but it’s really early.” She turned to look at the clock. “Like two in the morning early.”

  “Card just called. They’re ready for us.”

  “Like binding ceremony ready?”

  He nodded. “Are you ready?”

  Yes, she realized, she totally was. She tangled her fingers with his. “I am. Let’s call everyone. I take it you’ll have to be with my parents to get us all through at once, right?”

  “Card volunteered to do it. He’s going to be with his wife, who is Fae, and her ability to travel between the Veils is pretty awesome.”

  “Let me call them to let them know what to expect.” She did, and once her father knew she was calling for something good instead of another assault of some kind, he perked up and said they’d be waiting for Faine’s brother when they arrived.

  She went into the closet and stood. “Oh my goddess. I have no dress. I don’t know what to wear.”

  He brought her a garment bag. “I saw this and I thought you might like it.”

  “You bought me a wedding dress?” She laughed. “Really?” He did have great taste so it wasn’t like she was worried. “You’re incredibly sweet, you know that?”

  “Yes. Well. I want you to be happy. I know this is all very rush rush and not probably what you dreamed of as a girl.”

  She took the bag but before she unzipped it, she looked up into that gorgeous face of his. “I dreamed of weapons when I was a girl. I never dreamed of a big wedding. And I have my dream man right here.”

  He smiled and kissed her quickly. “Good. Then you should know your roundhouse kick needs some work. I’ll help you with it later today.”

  She laughed, unzipping the bag. “Okay then.”

  Inside the bag . . . wow. A pale blue dress. Vintage styled. Chantilly lace, low in the back, draped at the front with a formfitting bodice. It was classic and simple and very elegant. And chosen by a man who clearly understood her better than she could ever deserve.

  “This is . . . I honestly couldn’t have picked a more beautiful dress on my own.” It was perfect. “You know me well.”

  “I hope to love you as well as I know you.” He then drew out a ring box and got to one knee.

  “I’m going to cry.”

  “You’re supposed to. Will you marry me, Helena?” He opened the box and inside was a single ring made of three interwoven bands studded with diamonds. “A band for you, a band for me and one that symbolizes us.”

  Crying, she took it out and he slid it on. It was perfect. Like he was perfect. “Where did you come from and whatever did I do to merit such a blessing?”

  “Good answer.” He stood. “Wait to get dressed until we get to Lycia. I’ve already called Simon and he and Lark will be there waiting. I figure you’d want to have your mom and sister help you get ready.”

  He drove them to the spot he said they’d use to go to Lycia. “The Fae can travel a lot easier. They sort of fold space and move through it. Like in Harry Potter. But we use thin spots. One is just here. We can hold a corridor open and go through that way.”

  “Can anyone do it? Is it magick? Is it guarded on the other side? What if humans came through with an army?”

  He kissed the top of her head and led her to the clearing. They were about forty-five minutes east of the house.

  “I’ve been to this park before. There are ley lines here.”

  “Maybe that’s why we can cross in this spot. It is magick in its own way, yes. Yes, it’s guarded on the other side. Though there are many spots here on this side of the Veil, they all open to the same place in Lycia. And no, humans can’t cross it. Only those carrying Lycian blood can do it.”

  “Oh. Well that’s good. Safer.”

  He saw her disappointment and grinned. “You’ll be able to do it once we’re bound. Lycia will recognize you as her own.”

  She perked up. “Cool!”

  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but he drew a hand through the air in front of them and they kept walking, and then they were standing in a field with a whole different sky.

  The magick at her feet surged to greet her, rushing through her veins. “Holy cow. That’s good.”

  He turned. “What?”

  “The magick here. It just filled me up. The earth recognized me immediately.”

  He smiled. “Really? I like that.”

  Someone hailed them and he waved, speaking another language briefly.

  “My brothers are here. Come on then. Welcome to Lycia.”

  She wished so much that they could stay for longer than just a few hours. It was beautiful there. The stars burned bright overhead as they headed toward a grouping of buildings ahead.

  “This is Leviathan ground. All the eye can see belongs to us. The biggest building over there is a meeting hall. We’ll have the binding there. That’s my parents’ home just ahead.”

  He was unbearably pleased with how much joy she wore on her features. He’d seen her in a pretty wide array of situations and moods, but this Helena was so full of wonder and happiness that he found himself unable to stop smiling. He held her close, an arm around her shoulders, and she slid hers around his waist as she peppered him with questions.

  Up ahead, his parents came out of the house and waved, both wearing smiles. Lark and Simon, along with Helena’s parents, approached from the gate as well. This was a good thing.

  And with so many bad things occurring with alarming regularity, good things were to be treasured.

  His mother approached and simply pulled Helena into a hug. “Welcome to you, daughter.”

  “Mamieri, this is Helena. My Ne’est. Helena, this is my mother, Tila, and my father, Cross.”

  And then his woman got to one knee and touched her forehead. “It is my honor to become a member of your Pack and to be the key to your son. I will guard your lands with my body and your honor with my heart and fists.”

  He was the one honored. He had no idea she knew to do that. But it was exactly the right thing and he could see the approval rolling from his father and the rest of his family gathered there.

  Cross stood forward and touched Helena’s forehead. “It is Leviathan’s honor to add you to the rolls. Stand and take your place, daughter.”

  Faine helped her stand.

  “Come on then.” Tila clapped. “Helena, Lark and Rain, follow me. We’ve got some rooms prepared for Helena so that she can prepare for the binding.”

  Helena turned to Faine and he hugged her. “You do me such an honor tonight. I love you.”

  “I love you too. I’ll see you in a bit. Don’t go sniffing around any other ladies here or I’ll be forced to maim you.”

  He laughed and hugged her again. “All right, I promis
e.”

  She was quickly swallowed up by females and swept off toward the meeting house.

  His father slapped him on the back. “It’s too bad there are only two of these sisters. You and Seymeon have clearly met your match. You will make fine babies to fill my home with laughter. Your mother and I are pleased with your choice.”

  They headed to the main house where drinks were poured and the stories began as his brother Pere performed the ritual cleanse and blessing for the binding rites.

  He loved Helena Jaansen with all his being. She was his key. The one person in all the worlds who he would love forever. Vexing. Beautiful. Intelligent. Canny. Powerful. She was so much more than what she appeared at first glance. She was a worthy partner in life and they would have such a future.

  This was good. And right.

  “I felt the exact same when I did this with Lark.” Simon stepped back after he’d finished the warrior braids at each of Faine’s temples. In Lycian culture, it was the males who tended to the dressing of a warrior’s hair for any important ceremony. In fact, Pere had gone to Helena just a few minutes before, to tend to her hair.

  “Am I so obvious then?”

  Their father raised his glass in Faine’s direction. “If you are not, it’s not meant to be. Doubts have no place in such a ceremony. We may take a few centuries to do it, or we may never make such a choice. But a binding is only for the certain. The magick you and Helena will create as a unit will make you both stronger and wiser. It will make Leviathan stronger and wiser. Sisters binding with brothers has its own sort of energy. It’s rare and these two sisters are exceptional. Strong and gifted.” He turned to David. “Your daughters are welcome here, as are you and Rain. We honor those who raise such powerful beings.”

  “It’s all Rain. Except for the weapons work.” He grinned. “That’s me. And they’re both pretty good at it if I do say so myself.”

  He had no doubts as they left the main house. A line of lit torches led the way to the meeting house. Ceremonial herbs burned in the large, open space and flowers and tributes began to fill the room.

  And there she was. At the head of the room with Pere on one side and her sister on the other. Warrior braids at each temple. And yet, she still looked delicate and beautiful in the dress he’d chosen for her. She’d understood that it was more than just a gift he’d given her. The dress, the ring, the house here and the one in the enclave that he’d furnish to her liking, these things were his way of fulfilling his pledge to her.

  He approached her and went to his knees. He spoke to her in their ancient tongue, pledging his fidelity, his loyalty and his honor to their union. But she had no need for an interpreter.

  Getting to her knees, she handed him a bundle of flowers woven together with herbs and tied with ribbons the color of their Pack.

  She spoke back in the same language. Accepting his pledge and giving one of her own. Tila and Rain came forward then and bound their hands together at the wrist. Wreaths were placed on each one of their heads and ceremonial smoke was blown over them as the oldest of them, his great, great uncle, came forward.

  As the elder, he was the repository of their history. Of the Pack’s magick and lore. He performed all important rites and ceremonies. One hand on each of their heads, he began to speak low, his beast very close to the skin.

  Faine felt his own stir in response and scented Helena’s magick as it rose and filled the air.

  Pere hit the earth beneath them hard with his staff and the rush of Helena’s magick filled him to bursting. His skin was tight and super-heated. She gazed at him, calm as beast rushed through him and into her. Then her head fell back as she said oh softly.

  Her magick was cool and confident as it took up space in his gut. Where his beast usually curled up.

  The elder sliced each of their hands with a ceremonial blade and their blood mixed and dripped over the cords binding their wrists and then the earth at their knees.

  Her magick burst from him then, mingling with his beast as it rushed back into his belly and filled him once more. But it was changed. He was changed. Her magick was part of him now and he realized his beast was part of her in much the same way.

  She was satisfied. Full of joy and certainty.

  “It is done.” The elder spoke and removed his hands before he cut the cords at their wrists and stepped back. “You are bound.”

  And he was. And it was the best thing he’d ever felt.

  “Now, we have but a short time before Faine and Helena have to leave, so let us celebrate this new binding!” Cross cracked open a bottle.

  Faine helped her stand and pulled her close. “Hello.”

  “Hi there. Wow, your beast is amazing. No wonder you carry yourself like such a badass. I would too if that much power lived in my belly all the time.”

  He kissed her and held her for long moments. “You learned the words of the binding for me.”

  “Even better. Rain found a spell, sort of a universal translation spell.”

  “Amazing. And your magick lives in me as well. I rather like it. My beast is curled up with it as if it’s his.”

  She laughed. “Like a chew toy? I like that.”

  “Me too. Now, let’s drink and have food. In a few hours we have to leave here and face the day back home.”

  “Oh that.” She winked and squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring for you. But can I tell you how much I really love those braids you’re rocking? I’m going to need to learn how to do them.”

  “I’d like that. I was thinking that we could get rings designed once this mess was taken care of. And I’ll need to come back here to receive the binding marks.”

  “Oh like the ones Seymeon has over his heart?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would they do it for me too?”

  “It’s old-school ink, Helena. Sharpened bone tapped into the flesh. It takes multiple hours over a few days.”

  “I understand.”

  “I don’t know how you always manage to say the right things. But I thank you for it.”

  “That’s why I’m your key, right?”

  “Right.”

  They turned to their loved ones, still holding hands, and received all their love and well wishes.

  * * *

  TOSHIO had overheard something he was sure he shouldn’t have. He hurried down the hall, heading to Delilah’s office, which was closer than his own.

  “Toshio!” The hail at his back sounded an awful lot like Carlo Powers. The way the man had just been saying what he had and also referred to Tosh by his first name instead of Senator Sato rubbed Tosh the wrong way.

  He was a veteran. A JAG. An elected official and most definitely not a coward. He would not run from this garbage.

  He slowed and turned, not bothering with a smile.

  “I didn’t realize you meant me at first.”

  “I called your name.” Powers’ smile was smarmy and patronizing.

  “No, you called Toshio instead of Senator Sato, so I was sure you didn’t mean me.”

  “Ah, I thought we were past such formality.”

  “Why would you think that? What is it you want, Mr. Powers? I’m a busy man.”

  “There’s no need for hostility. I saw you in the hall outside Marlon’s office and we hadn’t yet spoken about the troubling issue of the Others.”

  “Like your despicable call for the death or incarceration of a significant minority of our citizenry? I should think such a conversation wouldn’t be necessary. I find you and your ideas repugnant. That you have a senator in your back pocket makes it more so. My opinions regarding the civil and human rights status of Others are well documented. I’ll pray for you, Mr. Powers, but there’s no use in discussing your ideas because they’re disgusting and un-American.”

  The smarm fell right off Powers’ features then and the mean settled into his eyes. Tosh had seen that brand of meanness, usually before someone used a racial epithet on him.

  “I’m
sorry to hear it. I’d hoped you’d choose America over your Other-loving ways. But I guess once you get one into bed you lose your mind.”

  “I’m not surprised your mind is in the gutter right along with your soul.”

  “Save it, Toshio. You’re nothing and neither is that werewolf whore.”

  Delilah materialized at his side as if he’d dreamed her up. And thank goodness she was there to grab his fist before it slammed into Carlo Powers’ face.

  “Careful there, Carlo. Your pornographic imaginings might get you into trouble. Run along and go find your white sheet.” Delilah actually inserted herself between them, giving Powers her back in what was a supreme wolf insult.

  “I was just on my way to your office.” He dismissed Powers before he lost his shit and beat the crap out of him like he preferred to. “Oh, and Mr. Powers? That’s still Senator Sato to you.”

  They continued to Delilah’s office and he shut the door, leaning against it and scrubbing a hand across his face. “I apologize you had to hear such filth. I wanted to punch him. I should have punched him.”

  She waved it away and took his hands, bending to kiss each fist. “I appreciate the chivalry. But I can assure you, Toshio Sato, that once you do get into my bed, you won’t be the same.”

  Her grin eased his spine a little. “Listen, I have to make a call right now. Can you be sure we’re not overheard?”

  “Only if you tell me what the heck is going on.”

  He did and her eyes got wide. “Be right back. I’ll send my staff out to get me something to eat and have Allen watch the door.”

  He got his phone out and dialed Molly.

  “Tosh, how are you?” He smiled at the sound of her voice.

  “I’ve been better. Nearly punched Carlo Powers in the face for calling Delilah a whore five minutes ago.”

  “What? There’s something very wrong with him. Why is he always lurking around the senate offices anyway?”

  “I need to talk to you about that. You might want to have Meriel in on this too.”

  “That doesn’t bode well. I’m not at the office right now. I’m on my way to a COO meeting.”

  “Okay then, you can tell them all when you get there. I overheard something today. Something I shouldn’t have. Marlon and Carlo were in Hayes’s outer office. They have some sort of book. Someone gave them a book and Powers says it has a spell that will open the way to bring the Magister back. One of the turned witches told him they could kidnap Rebecca Gennessee and she could perform the spell. They have her address and handed it over to the turned witches.”