A trickle of guilt ran through me as I thought of Erik. What would she think of me if she knew about my feelings for a vampire?
I glanced over at Paige and she gave me a small wave. “Are you alright?” she mouthed and I nodded, unable to conjure any more words.
The doors sounded again and I glanced back to find the red curtain fluttering in a breeze
“Ladies and Gentleman!” Clarice called. “The Belvedere brothers have arrived.”
The sound of music filled the air and my heart stuttered as everyone in the room rose from their seats.
Miles appeared first, striding along the aisle with his chest puffed out. He wore a dark green suit with a white flower pinned to his breast pocket. He looked radiant…almost happy. But as he walked, his eyes found someone in the crowd and I spotted Warren gazing back at him with a painful intensity. Miles schooled his expression, turning away from him as he reached the end of the aisle. He threw me a wink before floating past me and moving to Paige’s side. She drew in a breath then smiled shyly at him. “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey, are you ready, beautiful?”
She nodded and I wondered what the last few days had held for her since the ceremony. If Miles was treating her okay...
The curtain parted again and my heart tumbled as Erik stepped through it in his ebony suit, looking more fit for a funeral than a wedding. He strode up the aisle as purposefully as if he were going into battle and was down it before anyone could take a photo of him.
He reached my side and I heard Callie suck in a breath.
His presence sent an electric current coursing through my veins. He clasped his hands behind his back as he stood to my left and I was glad I was between him and Callie, feeling like she might sense what we were to each other if she looked too closely.
Erik leant toward me, his breath skating over my ear as he spoke directly to me. “You were right before, I am an asshole when I’m upset.”
I nodded, my mouth growing dry from his proximity.
“What I should have said is that you look radiant. Fucking bewitching. It’s how I’ve felt every time I’ve called you passable and all the times in between. But you don’t need this dress to steal my heart, Rebel. You stole it with mascara running down your face wearing nothing but tacky underwear.”
My heart clenched like he had it in his fist. I turned to him with a light growing in my soul that brightened up all the dark spaces inside me. His expression didn’t hint at any of the sweet things he’d just whispered to me, but his eyes glowed with them.
He took my hand, pressing a small piece of paper into it before leaning away. I turned it over, glimpsing the words on it before anyone could notice.
When I say run, you run.
I stared at Montana as she stood beside Erik Belvedere and something set the hairs rising along the back of my neck. She didn’t recoil from him. There was no hint of fear or concern in her posture as he leant close to her. It was almost as if she didn’t mind him being near to her at all. In fact I could almost have believed she wanted him to be.
My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what was going on. Something had changed in her since I’d last seen her and it had nothing to do with the extravagant clothes and makeup. Instead of the terrified girl I’d expected to find desperately in need of rescuing, I was looking at someone stronger and who almost seemed like she was in control of her own fate. But if that was the case then how the hell could it have led her here?
My heightened hearing picked up the sound of the final Belvedere brother approaching and I turned away from my sister, forgetting about that particular mystery as my groom drew closer.
Fabian had chosen to wear a charcoal grey suit and it brought out the darkness in his colouring. His eyes widened as he looked at me and he held my gaze as he approached, sparing no attention for anyone else in the colossal room. I glared at him, thinking of all the different ways I’d like to kill him and hoping he could tell.
“Callie,” he breathed as he reached me. “Words cannot adequately describe how you look; you take my breath away.” He took my hand, raising it towards his mouth but I snatched it back before he could touch his lips to my skin.
“That’s not exactly a compliment seeing as you don’t need to breathe,” I replied, not bothering to lower my tone.
Miles let out a surprised laugh and Montana turned to look at me with wide eyes. Erik glanced my way too, a smile tugging at his lips as if we had shared a joke.
“What are you looking at, murderer?” I asked icily and the smile fell from his face. Montana reached out and placed a hand on his arm as if she was reassuring him and my scowl deepened. What the hell was going on?
Fabian leant close so that he could whisper in my ear. “I’m going to have a lot of fun with that smart mouth later.”
“In your dreams bloodsucker,” I hissed in response.
“And what filthy dreams they are.” He slid his hand across the small of my back and I tried to jerk away from him but my body didn’t do what I’d told it to.
A heavy pressure began to build around me and I felt like I was being buffeted by a strong wind but my hair didn’t so much as flicker in response to it. I was trapped in a storm that no one could feel but me and Idun’s laughter resounded through my skull.
As quickly as I’d felt her touch, it faded away again. I blinked up at Fabian, feeling totally disoriented and trying to remember what he’d just said to me.
My lips parted in confusion as I leant towards him instead of away. My side pressed up against him and I could feel the firm pressure of his muscles beneath his suit. I looked up at him and found his mouth inches from mine as his gaze heated.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bald, male vampire stepping onto a podium and his voice echoed out around the huge cathedral as he began announcing the union which was about to take place.
My mind thrummed like a bird trapped in a cage as I fought to regain control of my body. The wedding was already beginning and instead of finding a way to escape the clutches of this monster, I was gazing up at him like some love-sick puppy.
Fabian frowned at me slightly as if he’d noticed the difference too and didn’t know what to make of it. Surely he knew that I wouldn’t just change my mind about this? But then why would he care? They were forcing me into this either way and if I was suddenly appearing willing it didn’t alter anything.
But I wasn’t willing. I was desperate to escape. My hand ached to hold Fury in my grasp and it definitely shouldn’t have been reaching out to touch this monster’s chest.
Internally I was screaming, desperate to be set free but my fingertips were clasping his lapel and my mouth was curving in what I absolutely refused to accept was a smile.
The priest gestured for Miles and Paige to approach him first and adrenaline poured through my veins. I glanced at Erik, wondering when exactly he was going to initiate his plan. Before or after we were married?
“We gather today to wed the Belvedere brothers to their beautiful brides,” the priest announced. “They all enter into their partnerships joyfully and with the knowledge that love is both our destined path and life's most treasured gift.”
Erik didn’t look at me, seeming totally transfixed by the priest, but I sensed a tension in his posture.
Before or after, Erik?! Maybe a heads up would have been nice!
I could hardly listen to the words Miles and Paige were speaking, prompted by the priest. My heartbeat reverberated in my ears. I stole a glance over my shoulder, wondering if anyone was going to rise to stop this. But everyone looked content, gazing back at me with light in their eyes. I spotted Frank in the front aisle, his face seeming entirely different somehow. Alluring, captivating-
Holy shit.
It hit me hard that Clarice had sired him. Made him one of them. And he was actually smiling as if didn’t bother him at all. He raised a hand as he caught my eye and I shook my head, turning away as shock sped through me.
I foc
used on the priest again as he addressed Miles and a moment later Miles answered, “I do.”
“Paige do you take this man as your chosen husband?” the priest asked. “To treasure and adore for all of time? To bear the fruit of his loins and join him in his eternal form?”
Paige hesitated a moment, taking a breath. “I do.”
Clarice moved forward, holding out her hand to them and they each took a ring from her palm. The priest spoke as Clarice encouraged them to place the rings on one another. I turned to Erik and he finally looked down at me with a terse smile. I knew what it meant. We were next.
Clarice placed a silver crown on Paige’s head and applause broke out. She and Miles stepped away from the alter, hand in hand. They returned to our side and I didn’t have a moment to check on her before Erik guided me toward the priest.
Oh hell, this is actually happening.
The priest smiled at us but I couldn’t find it in me to smile back. I felt Callie’s eyes on me and wanted to turn and tell her I was okay. That we were going to get out of here. We might just have to do it married…
“Erik Belvedere, turn toward your beloved,” the priest instructed, directing me to do the same.
I gazed at Erik with trepidation in my heart, but as his eyes met mine, my doubts trickled away and all I could see was him.
“Erik do you take this woman as your chosen wife?” the priest asked. “To admire and protect for all of time?”
My lips pursed at his words, but Erik gave me one of his usual smirks. “I do.”
My heart tripled its pace. There was no going back. We were really doing this.
The priest turned to me. “Montana do you take this man as your chosen husband? To treasure and adore for all of time? To bear the fruit of his loins and join him in his eternal form?”
My lips parted, but no words came out. Erik gave me a concerned frown and my heart free fell in my chest. It struck me in a strange moment of clarity that I truly wanted him to belong to me. Not under these circumstances. But I knew it in my heart. Even if it went against everything I believed in. I had to bow to this feeling which possessed me. Had to go against who I thought I was and give in to this new girl and her wild desires.
“I do,” I breathed and a fire lit in Erik’s eyes.
Clarice moved forward, offering us two silver rings. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she gazed at her brother.
Nightmare burned with expectant energy. Twins of sun and moon will rise. Rise, Moon Child.
I could barely process its words. Was I walking the path of the prophecy right now? Was doing this somehow a part of it?
I took courage in the possibility. If this was my fate, I’d dive into it with both feet. I’d do whatever I could to break the curse.
We each took a ring and Erik lifted my hand as the priest spoke. “May you adore each other for all of time. May love flow between you as powerfully as the waters of Hvergelmir, with all the strength of Thor's Hammer and burn as brightly as the fires of Muspelheim. May the joy of your endless youth and the wisdom of a thousand ages bless your hearts until the final battle of Ragnarok is upon you.”
Erik slid the ring onto my finger and held out his hand for me to the do the same. As I pushed it on, something burned within my left palm. Erik frowned, turning his right hand over and eyeing it.
Power surged into me, dripping through my body and claiming my heart. My knees grew weak. A presence seemed to move closer to us, but its aura was light and beautiful unlike Andvari’s. I knew it was a god. It had to be.
I turned over my hand as the heat grew in my skin, seeming to live in my veins. As I watched, a silver X emerged across my palm, shimmering with light.
“By the gods…” Clarice gasped, grabbing her brother’s wrist. “It’s the rune of partnership.”
“The what?” I asked, dragging my eyes away from the mark and finding Erik with the exact same X on his right palm.
My heart tugged and I had the urge to be closer to Erik, like a burning need inside me I could never sate. He nudged Clarice aside, grabbing my arm and yanking me into a world-altering kiss.
“Er- you may kiss the bride!” the priest announced a beat too late.
The mark on my palm came alive with power, sending fireworks skittering through my entire body. I felt bound to Erik in a way I could never have imagined. My heart was his. My soul. We were like one being in two bodies.
My senses felt so heightened, like his touch was a thousand times more compelling than it had been just moments ago.
“Fuck,” Erik breathed against my lips, pulling away from me with a confused expression.
Clarice moved toward me with a silver crown in her hand encrusted with diamonds. She placed it on my head and the weight of it took my by surprise.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Count and Countess of the New Empire,” the priest called and applause rang in my ears.
My feet seemed rooted to the spot, my body weak from what had just happened.
Erik took my hand and as the marks on our palms met, a volcanic eruption took place inside my chest. I sucked in a breath, pulling my hand free and clutching it to my stomach.
We took our places beside Fabian and Callie and my sister’s eyes drilled into mine with a question burning in them. “What have you done?!”
I gazed down at the X on my palm, feeling like I’d just taken much more than a wedding vow. That the words we’d spoken had somehow held a power in them which had truly linked us for all eternity. And no matter what happened today, I could never part from Erik. I could never be away from my husband.
My sister had just married a monster and my heart slammed against my ribs as I realised I was next. How could this have happened to her? How could it be happening to me? I’d come so far to save her from this fate and yet I found myself joining her in it instead.
I fought against the hold Idun had on me, crying and raging in silence, trapped within my own skin.
Fabian drew me closer to the priest and I followed him willingly. Inside I was anything but willing but no one could see it, only I could hear my screams of protest. He turned me towards him, his hands gripping my hips as he stared down at me intently. His gaze was filled with a deep longing and a part of me which wasn’t really me at all ached to fulfil his desire.
My hands slid down his chest, resting just above his belt and a teasing smile found my lips.
I wanted to scream, cry and beg for my freedom but if Idun could hear my thoughts she wasn’t interested in them. How could she be doing this to me? I thought she wanted us to destroy these creatures. What could she possibly gain from this? Her amusement rattled through me again and I was filled with the knowledge that this wasn’t about me. It was about Magnar.
As my mind fell on the warrior who had saved me in so many ways, my panic increased tenfold. What if I couldn’t stop this from happening? The priest was already talking about love and commitment and my feet hadn’t moved an inch. I should have been running as far from this place as I could get but I was rooted to the spot.
What would Magnar think if I married one of his greatest enemies? How could I betray him like that? Would he ever forgive me?
As I battled my will against Idun’s a tear slipped from my eye and tracked down my cheek.
My fingers started trembling and Fabian frowned at me as he noticed it. He raised a hand and brushed the tear from my face.
I wanted to jerk away from his touch. I didn’t want his hands on my skin but I still couldn’t move and my heart was filling with a deep dread.
His palm stayed on my cheek, cupping my chin as his thumb brushed over my bottom lip. It didn’t feel comforting, it felt possessive, like he was laying claim to my emotions and I couldn’t even utter a word against it.
“Fabian, do you take this woman as your chosen wife?” the priest asked. “To admire and protect for all of time?”
“I do,” Fabian replied loudly, his voice sending fear deep into my soul as he peered into my eyes. P
anic rose in me like a tide as the priest turned his attention on me. I knew what I’d be forced to say when he asked and I couldn’t bear it.
“And Callie, do you take this man as your-”
A heavy bang rang out as the door to the cathedral flew open and every eye in the room swivelled towards it.
My chest swelled with hope as I turned too, expecting to see Magnar charging down the aisle with Tempest and Venom raised to destroy this monster who was going to chain me into wedlock.
A strong wind blew along the aisle, tugging at my hair but there was no one there to save me.
A tinkling laugh rang out and my eyes swivelled to find Valentina sitting in the front row with a hand pressed to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, I lost control what with all the excitement! It must have seemed like someone was coming to ruin the ceremony!” The wind swirled around the room before catching the door and slamming it shut again. The rest of the congregation began laughing too and my hatred for her flared as they mocked me.
My heart plummeted as Fabian chuckled, taking my chin between his fingers and pulling me around to look up at him. “No chance of that,” he murmured. “There’s no way I’d let you go so easily.”
My pulse pounded in my ears as the priest cleared his throat and started again.
“Callie, do you take this man as your chosen husband? To treasure and adore for all of time? To bear the fruit of his loins and join him in his eternal form?” he asked.
I looked up at Fabian and my arms slid around his neck. My lips parted to speak the words but I threw every ounce of my will against them as I fought off Idun’s control. I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t. I’d rather die. I’d throw myself from the closest bridge or plunge a knife into my own heart before I’d bind myself to this monster-
“I do.” My voice wasn’t my own but it didn’t matter, it had spilled from my mouth, sealing my fate.
Clarice stepped forward, presenting two silver rings. Fabian slid one onto my finger and it felt like a chain around my neck. I wouldn’t be bound to him, I couldn’t be! But I was already pushing a ring onto his finger and he was smirking at me like he owned me.
Age of Vampires- The Complete Series Page 74
