Her Betrothal

by Alice Wilde

  “No!” I scream just as my hold on him releases. For a split second, I’m sure my life has come to an end. Time seems to slow as I focus on the ground far below, filled with guards rushing toward us as well as those running for the castle gates. I see Damien pushing his way out of the castle as wedding guests flood out to watch. Then, a large hand tightens around my wrist and I swing hard into the wall. The wind is knocked out of me, but I’m no longer falling. I look up into Li’s worried face. Long strands of black hair have freed themselves from his bun, framing his face in a way that somehow makes him even more attractive. He pulls me up with an effortlessness that should frighten me.

  “You’re a never-ending source of worry for me, you know?” Li says, but I can tell he’s talking more to himself than to me.

  “Sorry,” I say.

  “Sorry?” Li questions and then shakes his head. “Oh, you weren’t supposed to hear that last comment. Damien’s coming. We have to hurry. No time to talk.”

  Grabbing my hand, Li pulls me to across the wall to the other side and we look down, my stomach flipping over once again. I’m definitely not one for heights.

  “We’re going to have to jump,” says Li.

  “I can’t.”

  “Of course you can’t, but you’re going to have to trust me. Wait.”

  Li lets go of my hand and grabs at my skirts.

  “What are you doing?” I ask as I jump away from him.

  “Trust me, okay? Don’t move. Once Damien’s through that crowd, he’ll be able to scale the wall just as easily as we can…”

  “Okay.”

  Li takes my skirts in his hands once again and rips them apart with ease, creating two long slits in the dress that reach up nearly to my groin.

  “You’re going to have to hold onto me with all your strength. Wrap your legs around my waist and don’t let go, no matter what.”

  Before I can respond, I’m once again swung up and onto Li’s back, but this time I lock myself in place with both my arms and my legs.

  “Good.”

  Li takes several steps back and then bolts for the edge of the wall, leaping over the battlements. I glance over my shoulder to see Damien casting people aside as though he were parting an ocean, but then all I see is sky and the tops of the castle as Li and I fall.

  I want to close my eyes, but I can’t. My stomach clenches, but then I feel something strange that draws my attention. The body that I’ve been holding onto so desperately is shifting beneath me. Li’s golden skin is now covered with soft fur and his neck has grown much thicker, almost too thick to maintain my hold on him.

  The dirt rises to meet us and I finally manage to close my eyes, but I never feel the landing. Opening my eyes, I see the grass flying beneath us as Li races toward the forest where Ero and Roan are waiting. I raise myself slightly to look around, but quickly flatten myself against Li’s back once again as a thin branch whips across my face. We’re in the forest. The tightness in my stomach gives way to relief as the castle grows further and further away. The speed with which we’re moving is outstanding, far faster than a frightened horse.

  It takes me a moment to realize we’ve come to a standstill beside my clearing in the forest. I slide down from Li’s back as he shifts back into human form. He’s naked, but I only manage to catch a glimpse of his bare chest. He turns away before my eyes can slip any lower, but now, I’m staring wide-eyed at his backside. It takes all my effort to pull my eyes away from him, but I do after a loud clearing of Li’s throat startles me. I can feel my face burning red. His body is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, the muscles thick and well-defined but at the same time lean and lithe. He’s exactly what you’d imagine the body of a large cat to look like in human form. I want to look again, to keep staring as I drink in his image. This all feels more like a dream than real life.

  “Annalise,” Li says, “would you please come here?”

  “I…uh…you’re naked.”

  “I know. Would you mind giving me part of your dress to cover up? I wouldn’t ask, but I have nothing else at the moment.”

  “What happened to the fur you were wearing?”

  “Clothing doesn’t shift with us. Every time we shift, we lose anything we’re wearing, except for this ridiculous collar.”

  “Oh gods, I forgot! Did I hurt you before…I mean, while I was holding onto you?”

  “Nothing more than was necessary. Now, would you please let me cover up? You can gawk all you want afterward.”

  The blood rushes to my face once again as I realize I’d been contentedly staring at his tight rend once again.

  “Of course!” I say as I rush over to him, keeping my eyes lowered to the ground as best I can.

  I am suddenly aware of Roan and Ero making strange sounds behind me, as though they were laughing. At least, as close to laughing as a large cat can.

  I turn my head away to give Li privacy as he tears away the bottom section of my skirt and wraps the cloth around his waist. I instantly feel lighter, the weighted pieces of my dress now gone, but a part of me feels an awkward disappointment as I realize that this means Li’s new outfit has little chance of malfunctioning.

  Gods, I think to myself, how can I suddenly be so cringeworthy? I try hard to think of something to say and finally find one.

  “Why have we stopped?” I ask.

  “Up until this point, this is as far as we’ve ever managed to stray from Damien, or nearly as far. Perhaps you remember the other day by the stream.”

  “How could I forget?” I say as I am overwhelmed by the awareness of how often I’ve been blissfully naked in front of them. “But you never watched.”

  “What?”

  “Oh,” I say, blushing. “I mean, you never watched me while I was less than clothed.”

  “No.”

  “Why?” I’m not sure why I ask or why I feel hurt by his frankness, but something in me wishes he had watched.

  “It didn’t feel right,” Li says, “to watch you while you didn’t know we were more than just animals.” Li’s eyes shift from me to the two leopards who are pacing behind me. “We need to make some decisions.”

  “What kind of decisions?” I ask.

  “Where you’re going to go.”

  “Where I’m going to go? Don’t you mean us?”

  “I’m afraid not,” says Li. “With these collars around our necks, we can’t go much further before Damien’s power over us will either stop us or kill us.”

  “But I can’t go alone! I have no one, nowhere to go! This is as far as I’ve ever ventured from the castle!”

  I want to burst into tears. I’ve only just met Li, but I don’t want to be separated from him or Roan or Ero.

  “Why are Ero and Roan still leopards? Those are their names, right?” I ask changing the subject as I try to buy more time to plan.

  “I honestly don’t know, but yes, those are their names.”

  I’m not sure what to say next. The moon is rising and I turn toward the clearing, abruptly feeling drawn to lie among the wildflowers and cry. Yes, I want to escape Damien, but I hadn’t thought I’d have to do it alone.

  “Wait, Annalise!”

  Li grabs at me, but I step into the clearing and he doesn’t follow.

  The blue flowers turn silver in the moonlight and appear to twinkle as I walk through them. Fireflies spin through the air like little stars and the smell of sweet grass fills my nose. I don’t want to experience this alone. I won’t be separated from my leopards. I rush back to the edge of the clearing and grab Li’s wrist, trying to drag him into the clearing with me, but he resists.

  “Come on,” I say, grunting as I pull against his unmoving body.

  “I can’t. We can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?” I ask, glancing over at Roan and Ero.

  “The other day,” Li begins, twisting his arm out from my grasp, “when you entered the clearing. Ero tried to follow but was burned. There’s a magic about this place…
a lightness…and I think it will quite literally try to burn the black magic out of us.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “Not if it kills us in the process.”

  “Your collar, why don’t you take it off?”

  Li laughs, shaking his head. “You don’t think we’ve tried? If anyone except Damien tries to remove it, the wretched thing will start to tighten and won’t stop until we leave it alone. The same happens if we try to run too far.”

  I frown, finally understanding why they have to let me continue on my own. There’s no escape for them, and all their efforts will be in vain if I don’t get away. Either way, they’ll be punished without mercy.

  “I can’t go on without you,” I mutter. “Perhaps the magic here won’t kill you. Will you try?”

  I step backward into the clearing, looking hopefully at Li and the two leopards.

  Li shakes his head, “No, it’s too dangerous. If the magic kills me, there’d be no possibility of protecting you in future.”

  I want to protest, but a thundering crash startles me as one of the leopards leaps through the clearing’s tree-lined barrier.

  I rush to him, but a black smoke, not unlike the darkness that had only recently been lifted from my own mind, is rising from his body, filling the clearing with the stench of sulfur.

  “No,” I cry as I fall to my knees beside the body. A body. As the thick smoke clears, I’m left staring at a beautiful, silvery-haired man. Ero. My mind flashes back to my childhood and that fateful day in the clearing. Blood is trickling from beneath his leather collar and I reach out a shaking hand toward him. I half expect the skin to be cold to the touch, but it’s silky and warm.

  “Of course,” I mutter to myself. “He wouldn’t be cold yet, even if he’s dead.”

  I try to turn him over, but he’s far too heavy. I look over at Li and Roan who are both watching from the edge of the clearing.

  “Is he dead?” Li asks.

  “I…I think he might be,” I say quietly.

  Roan lets out a deep, moaning roar and I feel the earth start to quake beneath me as though a stampede of horses were heading our way.

  “Roan. Quiet. You’ll alert everyone to our presence.”

  Roan whimpers but quiets himself and the ground slowly stops trembling.

  I turn back to Ero and brush the hair from his face. His eyes are closed but he remains unmoving.

  “I’m sorry,” I say as tears roll down my cheeks. “I didn’t mean for you to die.”

  My fingers slowly trace his jaw and then glide down his neck, stopping at the collar.

  “At least in death, you should be free.”

  I unclasp the material and wait, but nothing happens. I let it fall to the ground. Deep red marks encircle the entirety of Ero’s neck. I lean down and kiss his cheek before sitting back on my heels. The moonlight caresses every line of his back, the muscles strong and powerful like waves on the ocean. His butt…gods. Wait, no, that’s exactly it, Ero and Li are built like gods. Perfect in every way. I sigh as run my fingers lightly across his skin, I flatten my hand against the curve of his lower back.

  “Thank you for everything.”

  I want to keep staring at Ero. Even in death he’s glorious. It takes all my will not to smack grab his butt. I shift uncomfortably at the thought, and not for the impropriety of it.

  Roan is still whimpering behind me, and I stand to face him, but as I look into Li’s face, his expression compels me to turn around.

  There, lying among silver petals is a grinning, fully naked Ero.

  “I was hoping you’d give me a little more than a peck on the cheek, girl,” he says, laughing.

  “You brute!” I yell, crossing my arms and stomping my foot, only to realize this makes me look like I’m having a tantrum.

  Ero reaches up and pulls me down on top of him. “Finally.”

  I want to hit him, but I’m far too relieved that he’s still alive to care that his behavior is completely inappropriate…and far too comfortable in his arms.

  The putrescent smell of sulfur fills my nostrils once again, and I turn my head to see Roan lying naked propped up on his elbow beside us. His upper leg crossed over to cover his modesty. Modesty, as if any of them were actually modest.

  “Hello, lass,” Roan says, giving me a wink.

  A girlish shiver runs down my spine. I look toward Li, who hasn’t moved. “Will you join us?”

  Li hesitates, but then steps into the clearing as well. The black fumes that swirl up around him are so thick he disappears entirely, looking more like a giant demon than anything else. Ero holds me tight. As the darkness lifts, Li is left crouching on the ground, breathing hard.

  “I…I don’t know how this is possible,” he gasps. “We should all be dead.”

  “We should have been dead a long time ago,” Ero says.

  Roan lets out a yelp and I glance over to see that he’s tried to remove his collar, but it’s gone tight and is digging painfully into his skin.

  “Let me go,” I command Ero, even though I don’t really want him to stop holding me. He complies immediately and I get up and move to Roan. “Here, let me try.”

  Roan drops his hands and braces himself as I touch the clasps of his collar. Once again, nothing happens. I quickly release the binding and the strap falls to the ground.

  “Magic fingers?” Roan quips as he tries to pull me into his statuesque arms.

  “Wait, I need to help Li,” I say. Roan gives a mock pout but lets me go. I step over to Li and get on my knees. “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  I reach up and release the binding around his neck. It falls to the ground and I suddenly find myself swimming in Li’s large, violet eyes as they look deep into mine. He pulls me close and kisses me, hard.

  I let the feeling wash over me like a welcome summer rain, but just as quickly as the moment started, it ends. Li pulls away, and I am made aware of the complaints rising from Ero and Roan.

  “Thor’s hammer, Li!” Ero growls. “You could have had the decency of asking permission first.”

  “I know,” Li replies, leaving me in a state of shock on the ground as he straightens himself into a standing position. “It won’t happen again.”

  I secretly hope he’s lying.

  “Pretty sure Ero meant you should have asked his permission,” Roan says with a laugh.

  “Annalise,” Li says, “would you mind terribly parting with a bit more of your dress?”

  I can’t say anything yet, but I nod.

  Li lifts me to my feet and then carefully tears two long strips of cloth from my dress, tossing them to Roan and Ero.

  “Cover up.”

  Roan sighs but ties the material around his waist.

  “I’m quite comfortable just the way I am, thank you very much,” says Ero.

  “Now,” growls Li.

  I shake myself from my shock, but both are fully covered before I turn to look.

  “So, what now?” Ero asks.

  “Looks like we’re going to be accompanying Annalise.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Li. Where are we going to go? It won’t be long before they find us here.”

  “I know, I need to think. I hadn’t expected things to go this far.”

  The three strikingly beautiful men are sitting in a circle now, and all I can do is stare. I’m sure this all has to be part of a dream. Just a few hours ago, I was trapped in my own body, preparing to marry a beast of a man. Now, here I am in a clearing with my leopards, or what were once my leopards. I can’t stop myself from inspecting them, and it’s only now that I notice the marks on their bodies. The same as the one on my neck.

  Li’s mark is on his shoulder, Ero’s on his forearm, and Roan’s on his upper back.

  “What are the marks for?”

  Li turns to look at me. “They’re Damien’s claim of ownership.”

  “Yes, but is there any other reason for them?”

  “I think,” Li says
, “I could be wrong, but I believe that as long as Damien is alive, these marks will allow him access to us in some way.”

  “How?”

  “You saw how he used the collars against us, right?” Ero says. “And how we can speak to you through your mind?”

  “Yes,” I say, though I’m only just now realizing that it wasn’t me going crazy and they had been talking to me.

  “Well, it’s like that. The mark connects us through a kind of blood magic. Very ancient, dark magic.”

  “Wait. Does that mean Damien still has a connection to us? Even now? Is this why you were able to shift into leopards?” I ask, my heart starting to pound in my chest.

  “Patience, Annalise. We’ll do our best to answer your questions, but we don’t know the full extent of the powers yet. Blood magic is only unbound by death…and I doubt any distance, with or without the collars, will keep Damien from hunting us down.”

  “And no, we were shifters before the curse. That’s what drew Damien to us,” Ero says. “At least, part of what drew him to us.”

  “Lass, as long as you’re alive, Damien won’t stop looking for you.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because,” Li says in a low voice, “he believes you’re the key to unleashing Lethe. A death magic that was forgotten long ago.”

  “What? How?”

  Li clears his throat uncomfortably.

  “Another type of blood magic, lass,” Roan chimes in.

  I stare at them confused. “You’ve lost me.”

  “You’re a virgin,” Ero says bluntly. “And now, unfortunately, you’re married to the demon. So, if he ever catches you and beds you, a blood bond will be formed. If you’re the one spoken about in the myths, the blood bond will be the key to unleashing Lethe.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” I say, the words coming out in a snort, but their faces are stony and an uncomfortable chill runs through my skin. “Okay, so, take my virginity.”