Chapter 38 Blood and Thorns
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Blood and Thorns
MERA
I raise my hands, bringing life to the black flame torches lining the path leading up to the throne.
The curves and sharp edges of the towering altar on the platform are made of dark stone, and vines and crimson roses are wrapped elegantly around the entire thing.
Gods, it’s like I’m living in a gothic fairytale.
It is breathtakingly beautiful. My black dress flares out gracefully behind me, the velvety materiel caressing my skin as I lift the sides to keep it from dragging on the ground.
Red waves bounce and sway as I push my shoulders back, smiling out at the shadows and darkness of the realm I now belong to.
This past week was a beautiful disaster.
Those are the only words that seem fitting for what I’ve been through.
It was a disaster because I hurt Kairos, and had to stand by and watch as he fell apart, because what else could I do?
I can’t fix it or heal him. Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him.
I miss Olivia and Hekate, too, but the heart-wrenching pain of looking into Kairos’ eyes and being able to feel and sense how deep his agony cut him, that memory haunts me.
I keep reminding myself that whatever hurt he might feel is only temporary.
Kairos’ happiness, his fated mate, she exists somewhere out there. He will find her.
But then comes the beauty of it all. A week ago, I fell in love all over again with my fated mate, and after a century apart we finally get to make it official.
It’s the day of our claiming ceremony. I finally have everything I’ve always hoped for.
Nyx is out of our lives and we feel peace at last after too long being suffocated by her darkness.
We can breathe again. Gods, freedom feels so damn good.
Ere says Hekate took Nyx to the Earth Realm and is trying to save her.
I hope she does. I hope there’s a soul left within her worth saving.
My friend deserves to have her happy ending.
The Underworld today doesn’t feel dim or dreary at all.
Hundreds of flames flicker across the realm, pushing the shadows away a little more than usual as a sweet woman from the Dark Legion plays a melody on the violin, her silky ebony wings peeking out over her slender shoulders.
I smile as she meets my gaze, nodding toward the path between the torches, the path I’m choosing to follow toward my destiny. The one leading to him.
I take one more look around the realm, gasping in awe, because not only is the black, scorched earth covered and gleaming with crimson roses and thorns, but the rocky mountains from the bottom to the highest peaks are blanketed in them, too.
He did all of this for me. I tilt my head back and gaze up at the newly created starlight twinkling brightly above us, smiling up at fate as it smiles back down at me.
Tears fill my eyes as memories of romantic midnight dates, heartfelt confessions, unbroken promises and making love beneath the light of the moon and the stars flash within my mind, my eyes snapping to Ere, because he’s pushing those thoughts in to remind me how special our love is.
To remind me how much he loves me. We’ve waited for this day far too long.
All of this beauty is nothing compared to the sight of him smiling down at me. His black suit blends into the shadows, while his glowing red eyes, curved horns, and leathery wings create stunning shadows of their own. He is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.
Gods, you are stunning.
Heat rises to my cheeks at his words within my mind. I clasp my hands together in front of me and lock eyes with him.
I was just thinking the same of you. You are devastatingly beautiful, and I am so, so lucky.
The whispered words I send back quiver with emotion, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Come, my queen.
His dark, soothing voice sends a shiver of anticipation down my spine.
I glance at my bare feet and then at the roses and thorns I have to make my way across to get to him.
It’ll be worth it to finally be able to call him mine after a century of my soul being lost without him.
The thick, jagged thorns that will tear through my skin, and the blood that will drain to seal our eternal bond is worth any amount of pain.
I take my first step toward him. The prick of thorns burying themselves in my skin leaves me frozen and hissing in pain.
I knew it would hurt, but damn, it’s much worse than I imagined it would be.
A part of me is dying to use my magic to heal the wounds and shield my skin from any more damage, but I know it’s forbidden.
If I want him, then I must prove to the gods and to him that I will endure through anything.
The next step hurts even more, the thorns digging into old wounds and ripping open new ones, the searing pain endless and unforgiving.
Warmth drips from my feet and stains the ground with my crimson sacrifice, but through the pain, I persist. I endure.
I keep my eyes focused only on him. His smile grows as I step closer and closer, fists clenched at my sides, blood pooling as it drips from me, smiling as I imagine his shadows wrapped around me and offering sweet numbness.
It hurts, but I am deserving of him, and this is how I prove it.
Making my way up the steps to the throne, my feet slip and leave bloody imprints on the stone, but my heart melts as the look in Ere’s eyes changes to one full of pride, and the scars left on my skin will be worth it.
He extends his hand to help steady me, and I grip it tight as I ascend the last two steps and join him on the platform.
His glowing eyes wrap me in warmth and numbness, the stinging pain from my fresh wounds fading to just a dull ache.
He takes my hands, eyes on mine as he kisses the top of one and then the other, bowing his head low. “My queen,” he says, his horns rising back up and towering over me.
“My king,” I whisper with a small smile, bowing low in return.
The energy radiating from both of us is full of more happiness and hope than I’ve ever felt or known could exist. This is our moment and we deserve this. He deserves this.
Releasing one of my hands, he faces the crowd full of the dead he chose to keep safe from the pit, so I do the same.
Even the demons are here, though hiding and peering out from behind boulders and pillars across the realm and from within caves on the sides of the mountains.
Ere offered them the choice of either death by his shadows or peace, and they chose to submit to him, so they live for now. I’d prefer them all to be dead
Ere closes his eyes. “We offer our blood and our unwavering loyalty to each other and to this realm. Old gods awaken and hear us. Accept our offering and bind us as one.”
My eyes widen, arms stiffening at my sides as the blood covering the thorns and roses scattered below us is absorbed into the cracked earth, vanishing before my eyes.
The flames from the torches encircling the altar and surrounding the platform shine brighter, the black flames flickering out and then igniting in bright blue and purple flames.
Shocked faces in the crowd are no longer enshrouded by darkness and shadows.
My divine light flashes to life around the entire realm.
Glancing over at my dark king, I can’t help but smile. “What exactly does this mean?”
Dipping his head low, his hot breath tickles my ear as he whispers, “it means you belong to this realm. You belong to me. The gods have accepted our bond.” He presses his lips to my cheek, lingering against my skin for a moment.
I press my forehead against his, getting lost within the red swirls of his hypnotizing eyes. “I have always belonged to you. I always will.”
His eyes dance with excitement as he pulls away. “There is one more thing we must do to make it official.” The mischievous smile that brightens his face makes my heart lurch, but I’m not afraid.
I’m ready to be his. The worst of it is over. The wounds on my feet no longer hurt at all. Magic healed them the moment the gods accepted our bond.
“Anything for you. Whatever it takes.” I smile, stepping forward with him as he wraps his hand around mine and leads me to the darkest corner of the platform.
He lets my hand fall as we step up to a table draped with a velvet burgundy cloth with two golden cups and two rings in the center.
These aren’t the rings I remember from before.
Ours were made of pure gold and they were wrapped in beautiful red roses.
These rings look like they’ve been carved from black obsidian, and vines and thorns coil around their curves.
“The rings are different. What happened to the old ones? These are beautiful, but those rings were so special to both of us.”
He stares into the cups in front of us, only briefly meeting my eyes.
“Those rings hold memories of our past, my love, a past that has been corrupted by Nyx’s darkness.
I prefer to not have reminders of that day.
Losing you. Losing everything I had ever wanted.
I would rather we put it all in the past and focus only on the future.
On only the good from this day forward.”
I nod in agreement. I’d rather we never have to think of Nyx or talk about her ever again, but even so, those golden rings meant a lot to us.
A part of my heart aches at the thought of never seeing them on our fingers.
But these ones, now that the stars have aligned and the gods have accepted our eternal bond, they will mean much more.
“This is how we become one and how we show our realm and every other that you belong to me,” he places his hands on the chalices in front of us, his crimson eyes glowing brighter.
“And that you belong to me, as well,” I tell him with a smile.