Chapter 42 #2
There was nothing soft or gentle about this kiss, though.
There was instant hunger and fire between us.
Dion kissed me with all his unmasked dominance, pouring all his predatory force into the action, and I could only submit to him.
It didn’t take long before his tongue demanded entry into my mouth, and I gladly obliged.
Hot lust exploded in my core, and a needy whimper escaped me between kisses.
I felt Dion’s chest and lips vibrate as he growled in return.
His shadowy tendrils curved and writhed around us, binding us closer, as if they had a life of their own.
“Mine. Only mine.”
I had no chance to answer this repeated declaration of ownership as his lips immediately descended on mine again.
We kissed as if it were the first and the last time. Our tongues danced and fought, making love and war, and both of us would end up victorious and defeated at the same time. Our lips met each other greedily, forgetting we were in a sacred place—because it didn’t matter at all.
There wasn’t a sliver of distance between us anymore. Dion crushed me against the cool marble wall behind me, and I could feel his length nestling hard against my stomach.
For a second, the memory of another time with another man against me flashed through my mind, but Dion’s scent, his caressing magic, and his whole being pulled me back, keeping me grounded in the here and now.
The past wasn’t significant. Dion wasn’t Jelric, and I was far from unwilling, instead, I was ready to be completely unraveled.
Liquid heat gathered between my legs in a way I’d never experienced before, neither when touching myself nor with any other partner. Dion’s hand found its way into the bodice of my robes, and he caressed every bit of skin he could find, making me shiver.
By lucky coincidence, I freed my right hand and splayed it on his chest. Before I could overthink it, I unfastened two more buttons on his coat, and the pads of my fingers brushed over hard steel wrapped in velvety skin. I’d been right—he was wearing nothing but his own body underneath.
Oh, gods, and what a body that was.
I pressed my legs together, searching for friction, and moaned against his lips and tongue.
My heart was beating so rapidly that I was afraid it’d simply give out very soon—but it wouldn’t matter if I died at this moment.
Never before in my life had I been so aroused, and if I perished then and there, I’d depart with no regrets.
But suddenly—also like on Samhain—Dion broke the kiss that had already turned into so much more. If he hadn’t stopped kissing me, I wouldn’t have quit as well—I’d have allowed him to have me on the altar, to desecrate that sacred place just to teach me a divinity of a whole different kind.
His forehead touched mine gently, and there was a storm in his eyes, his expression as hungry and desperate as my own mirrored it.
We were still tied together by at least a dozen dark tendrils, and they were just as reluctant to end what we’d started as we were.
In the end, his magic withdrew at a more gradual pace, but soon, the darkness disappeared as well.
I was panting as my eyes met his. “What happened to your little Samhain speech, Dion? Do I…do I have to remind you of what you’ve said? And what I’ve promised you in return?” How I found the breath to speak, I couldn’t tell.
“Fuck that,” Dion growled, and the sound surged right into my core, making my knees buckle.
Something had changed for him in the last ten minutes, I felt it deep in my soul.
“Listen, Naya. We’re going to do this. We’ll calm down and do the ceremony as planned.
You’re right, we have to go through with it, potential consequences be damned.
” He took a deep breath as if he was debating with himself what to say next.
“Yes, Dion?”
“Let’s make a deal.”
He was still holding me close, and there was an almost desperate edge to his embrace. I could feel his breath on my face and his heart beating in sync with mine.
“What deal?”
“You and I both promise each other that we’ll have a serious conversation about this thing between us soon after the binding—whatever happens. This kind of bargain worked out well for us before. We should do it again.”
“Without walls, deflection, or running away?”
“Yes.”
“I want to add another rule. You can’t use one-word answers.” But I could.
Dion chuckled and gave me a peck on the nose. “But you know how much I like those.”
“They’re forbidden.”
“Then I guess I have no other choice. We’ll have a serious talk sometime soon after the Rite. With no one-word answers.”
“Deal,” I answered, and I did my best not to let any of the turmoil inside of me reflect in my voice.
But something had to be off if he’d barter for such a deal—I was missing something.
Why was it so important for him to make me promise him a conversation when he had to know that he could always talk to me?
“Deal it is.” Dion grinned and finally released me from the cage that was his body.
My state of mind was fragile, something I was definitely not used to.
That could be the only explanation for what in the names of all the gods had happened.
The Rite of Binding and what it would bring to light had weakened all my mental defenses, and I had to admit I was scared of losing her—not her physical presence, but her positive opinion and affection for me.
I couldn’t stand the thought of going through with the ceremony without one last kiss. Telling her she was mine hadn’t been the plan, and I blamed Carthain for that. He would pay, I swore it on my mother’s grave.
Stopping the downward spiral of my thoughts with impossible effort, I took Nayana’s hand and tugged her with me to the altar. It was time for the inevitable.
Her heart was beating fast, and I wasn’t surprised to find that mine mirrored hers. They were beating as one.
She almost ran into me when I halted us in front of the altar, and she couldn’t suppress a laugh. Her laughter warmed my soul whenever I heard it, but even that couldn’t dispel the anxiety gripping my heart. There was a very good chance Nayana would soon be extremely pissed at me.
The only consolation was that the very ceremony we were about to perform would bind us together in a way that prevented her from running away from me ever again.
Of course, it wasn’t fair to keep crucial information from her when the consequences were as life-altering as they’d be, but I was convinced there was no other way.
And how much significance would one more sin hold compared to all the others that had amassed on the grave of my soul?
“Do you remember the oath?” I asked her, and she nodded, her throat bobbing. It was a miracle both of us hadn’t broken down at the same time. Nayana was strong, I couldn’t deny that, even if she couldn’t see it herself.
“I do. I’ve learned the oath from the moment you gave me the parchment. Do you remember it as well?”
I shot her an ugly look, and she chuckled.
Our eyes never broke contact as I handed her the Dagger of Kalag. The ceremonial silver knife felt much warmer than a normal dagger would have, but that’s the magic of the gods for you.
She took it and sucked in air in a big gulp, steeling herself, while I reached for the Vessel of Immaru. It slightly hummed in my grip.
“Whenever you’re ready, Naya,” I said softly.
Her throat bobbed again, and for a moment, doubt entered her eyes—similar to the one in mine earlier—but it was chased away by an iron determination, and not even a sliver of reluctance remained.
She lifted the Dagger of Kalag and her palm, then her lyrical voice filled the crypt.
“May the Gods be our eternal witnesses that I, Nayana Garnet Ortha, who bears the predisposition of darkness, offer my Potential, my inner flame, and my strength to the male before me until the end of time itself. I accept his protection and willingly place my essence in his hands until divinity and earth and sky will cease to exist and all life with them. This decision is taken of my own volition, and I will seal this vow with my blood.”
Nayana held my gaze as she slid the Dagger of Kalag across her palm, opening a small incision. Holding the Vessel of Immaru toward her with both of my hands, I caught her blood without spilling a single drop.
A gentle breeze ruffled our hair, and this filled me with certainty that although this kind of ceremony hadn’t been performed in well over a hundred winters, it was still possible.
The binding would work—at least for us. Divine magic hung heavy in the air, flowing around us, alerting us to the presence of the gods, and that both humbled and scared me shitless.
Gently, I took the Dagger of Kalag from Naya and softly placed the Vessel of Immaru in her delicate hands. The cut in her palm had already healed, I didn’t need to see it to know that.
I stayed silent for a moment, watching her, memorizing her smile, the trust in her eyes, the softness of the woman who believed I was a better male than I was.
It was time for my oath, even though it would change everything. The Rite of Binding didn’t accept deception, lies, or omissions, and I wished it would, as I etched her expression into my memory for all eternity.
“May the Gods be our eternal witnesses that I, Dionadair Dorchadas Coroin De’An Scriosta, Wielder of darkness, offer my protection and willingly accept to be the defender of this female before me as well as her essence and Potential until the worlds are no more.
In exchange, her strength and inner flame shall be mine and mine alone—until the last star has burned out and every living thing, even the gods themselves, cease to exist. This decision is taken of my own volition, and I will seal this vow with my blood. ”
I finished my oath and nervously glanced at Nayana. She wore an expression of confusion and awe, a strange mixture, and not for the first time since I’d met her, I wished to be able to read her thoughts.
The surrounding wind was picking up, and the Dagger of Kalag sliced effortlessly through the skin of my palm. The cut didn’t even sting, the mystical artifact passed through my flesh without any pain.
Nayana caught my blood, and a dark light glowed, rising from the Vessel of Immaru in thick waves of shadow as our blood mixed.
Wisps of obsidian crept toward her and circled her neck, another part of the smoky fog spiraled up my left wrist. Neither of us shied away from the billowing shadows reaching for us, even as trepidation told me to recoil, to run.
In the end—when the onyx wisps finally reached me—the very condition of the gods’ divine generosity, which I’d dreaded all along, caught up with me, and my Glamour simply dropped.