19. KAINE
Evening came all too soon.
The private temple, tucked away upon the sands of Seaspun Bay wrought a sadness in Kaine’s chest. It was not long ago that he himself was at a temple in Wrenntia, wanting to seal the soulmate bond he shared with Sophie. While this evening’s ceremony wasn’t one that melded the mana and life of two fated beings, it was a civil ceremony honoured in the eyes of Faery law. It would be upheld as such.
The one thing that the marriage would not overrule was the law of the Fates. The knowledge of that alone kept Kaine calm. He didn’t feel cornered. His mind was clear, and his thoughts remained calculated. He would just have to get through the next hour.
The walls of Salsus Sanctum, Seaspun Bay’s ceremonial temple was covered in crystal salts. The domed room Kaine found himself kneeling in smelled of the sea. The chilling evening wind blew in casually, whisking grains of salt and sand across the floor.
He’d been kneeling here for a good quarter of an hour. A priestess, dressed in a sheer sea-foam green chiton stood to his right, holding a candle, waiting for his bride to arrive.
Bride.
The word did not seem right. It repulsed him even. Because she wasn’t Sophie. It was meant to be Sophie.
Lord Zavis hadn’t detailed which daughter he’d chosen to marry Kaine. Nor did Kaine ask or care. He needed to get this over and done with so he could get back to Queen Calliea and work to gain Terr’s favour. The end was so close, he could taste it on the tips of his teeth.
On a thrust of wind, the door behind Kaine burst open. In strode Lord Zavis, donning green scaled armour, a thick golden cloak draped across his shoulders. In his hand was his infamous golden trident – one that had struck down many foes. It echoed against the floor like a steady clock. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Behind Lord Zavis followed one of his daughters wrapped in a beautiful white gown. Seashells clasped onto her dress’ trail, and an opaque veil obscured her hair and face.
They did not utter a word as they walked down the aisle. As they neared the end, Lord Zavis gracefully took his daughter’s hand, kissed it and helped her kneel down in front of Kaine. The sea lord turned and took a place behind his daughter. To watch and to witness.
Kaine observed as the female in front of him fiddled with her gloves in nervousness. Her iridescent skin bobbed as she swallowed. With shaking hands, she pulled her veil from her face, revealing a slender face of sea-green eyes, cradled by light blue hair.
It was Errida. Lord Zavis’s second eldest daughter.
Kaine didn’t know how to feel. This should be Sophie, Kaine thought.
Tears began to well in Errida’s eyes and to Kaine’s surprise, it was joy and happiness that was written all over her face.
The priestess took her place in front of Kaine and Errida. She placed the candle she’d been holding onto the floor between the couple. The flames danced happily between the two, casting shadows across Errida’s face.
“Tonight, under the eyes of the gods and the stars of Faery, we unite Kaine of Aaryn”—the priestess took Kaine’s hand, extended it in front of him, palm up—“and Errida of Triton”—she then took Errida’s hand, placing it on top of Kaine’s, her palm touching his—“in love and light.” The flame of the candle was close enough to warm the back of his hand.
Errida’s skin felt smooth, dense, thicker than any land-Fae. As their palms touched, her skin shimmered with unearthly iridescence the way fish changed colours with each movement. Kaine watched her sea-green, hopeful eyes and he couldn’t help but feel a sadness in his heart. What a waste of a perfectly beautiful female.
The priestess shifted in her chiton, lifting her delicate hand to her neck to unfasten her silver prayer beads. Everyone watched in silent reverence. She wrapped the beads around Kaine and Errida’s upheld hands. “Kaine of Aaryn, do you swear to love and protect Errida of Triton so long as she lives?”
“By the gods, I do,” Kaine said softly. His words echoed through the cold room. He didn’t mean them though. There was only one person he wanted to utter the words to.
“Errida of Triton, do you swear to love and protect Kaine of Aaryn so long as he lives?”
“By the gods, I do,” Errida’s voice was soft, sweet and subservient.
“Then by the gods and your witnesses here today, you are now one, united under the eyes of the land on which you live. May the gods guide you to the ends of happiness,” the priestess’s voice was chirpy – genuinely happy to unite two people.
Together, Kaine and Errida blew out the candle, its smoke rising and encasing their hands. They were married now. By Faery law. Kaine leaned in over the billowing candle smoke. Errida met him halfway. With their hands still joined by the prayer beads, they kissed.
“I know that this isn’t a conventional way for a husband and wife to meet but I’m willing to make it work . . .” Errida trailed off.
They sat side by side on the shores of Seaspun Bay. The sand beneath Kaine had found its way into creases of this body he never knew sand could even get to. He watched the waves of the shore lapping up and pulling away. The Faery moon rippled against the surface of the sea. His mind could not quiet. When he wasn’t calculating what moves to do next, he wondered how Sophie fared in the Godlands. How brainwashed she must be. How he needed to get to her and save her. Then he remembered how Camrine had fucked his soulmate. It sickened him to the core, and it made him angry. The destructive thoughts continued to spiral the moment he kissed Errida. It all felt so wrong.
“You’re a man of little words, I see . . .” Errida said softly.
Errida hadn’t stopped talking since they were left alone as newlyweds. She was almost as tall as Kaine, with curves any sane male would die for, but Kaine didn’t care.
“What could I possibly say in this instance? Your father forced me into this marriage. A marriage that I do not want but can understand is necessary. I’m surprised you haven’t run away in terror,” Kaine scoffed, gripping the sand beneath him in frustration.
“I’ve seen you before, Kaine. Traipsing around Faery with your Elite. Brooding. Handsome. Dangerous.” Errida trailed a finger up and down his arm. Kaine moved away from the touch. “The moment I saw you years ago in the markets of Terrin, I knew we were destined to cross paths.”
“By the Fates?”
“Precisely,” Errida said into Kaine’s ear as she moved closer to him.
Her voice sent a chill down his spine.
Kaine turned away, “I’m already spoken for.” But it seemed his body didn’t quite know that.
“My father told me as much. Sophie, was it?”
And there it was. The explosive anger that Kaine grappled with all day had suddenly spilled over the precipice. He didn’t want to. He didn’t mean to, but he did it anyway. With blinding Fae speed Kaine turned to Errida and death gripped her throat. He inched closer and closer to her face, breathing in her sea and sunshine scent. If he squeezed just a bit tighter, her life and light would cease to exist. He had the power to do it and his fingers were itching for blood.
Her eyes widened ever so slightly.
“I’ll say this once. Leave her name out of your mouth,” Kaine gritted, baring his teeth.
Errida, to her credit, did not struggle against his grip. Instead, she leaned back on her hands, pulling his weight with hers. She parted her lips sensually, staring straight into his eyes. His soul. The sight of her, full breasted and submitting, unravelled something in Kaine.
He loosened his grip.
Errida wrapped a hand around his wrist, keeping it firm against her neck. “Let me prove that I’m worthy of you.”
Errida, with her light blue hair and sea-green eyes pushed Kaine back onto his haunches. She pulled his grip from her neck and trailed his palm to her chest, her heart beating thunderously under his touch. She slowly moved his hand over her breast and Kaine couldn’t help it, he felt his cock pulse in reaction.
“What did she look like . . .” Errida’s voice was thick with seduction. She pulled his hand away, placing it upon his thigh.
As if hypnotised, Kaine answered, “Her hair was purple, like starlight . . . her eyes were purple to match. Her face was sweet, a nose tipped to perfection and cheeks that filled with laughter . . .”
“You loved her?” Errida moved to place his other hand on his other thigh. Slowly, she pulled down her dress so that her breasts were exposed. Her skin shimmered in the moonlight.
“I love her still.”
She moved to unbutton his pants, freeing him. Gods, he hadn’t felt the touch of a female in so long. Since Sophie left, he hadn’t been the same.
“Did she have any tattoos or markings?” Errida asked quietly. She moved to cup him with her bare hand.
Kaine grunted at the feeling, watching her has she seduced him with grace and confidence. “She had . . . tattoos along her left arm,” Kaine managed to breathe as she tightened her grip around his shaft.
Fuck. Kaine stilled. He was too weak.
A shimmering layer of mana appeared over Errida’s skin. And before he knew it, Errida’s hair had turned purple with streaks of silver and grey. Her skin turned tan and markings formed up and along her left arm.
She was a shapeshifter.
Shit.
She looked up at him from where she was on all fours. Eyes of purple watching him. Without a word, she licked the tip of his cock.
The feeling was electric.
Irresistible.
“Please,” Kaine begged.
For it was Sophie in front of him now.
It was Sophie who took his entire shaft into her mouth underneath the Faery moonlight.
And it was Sophie now, who worked him until he ran dry.