Bound by Curses and Vows – By Samantha Shaye #6
When he stepped foot into the armory, Suhana stayed in the doorway.
He explained every object in the room and when he turned, he caught tears streaming down her face.
He immediately crossed the room to where she stood and placed his hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.
“If you want me to stop, I understand,” he assured her.
Suhana shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. He closed his eyes, taking in the feel of her body against his. Decimus took a deep breath, unsure whether to wrap his arms around her or leave it be, but when she kissed his cheek, all sense left him, and he lost himself in her embrace.
“I cannot believe you kept all this,” she whispered against his chest.
“By the gods, I have missed you balam .”
Decimus wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. “Did you just …”
“Call you my husband? Yes.” Suhana pulled away, leaving only a minuscule space between them, and wiped her eyes.
“Look at this,” she gestured with her hands.
“It’s a room straight out of our palace.
My favorite room from the palace. How could I ever forget the first time Tvastar handed me my sword, and you demanded a twin to it?
” Her lips turned up into a smile. “It has been far too long, Decimus. I’m so sorry I didn’t remember you. ”
Tears swam in his eyes as he gathered her into his arms again. “It doesn’t matter, as long as I have you now.”
Suhana’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the armory.
Rapid memories of her and Decimus flashed through her mind.
First was the day they’d met. He’d been sent to her palace to forge an alliance between Augustus and her father.
Little did she know the alliance would be finalized with marriage.
The memory of their wedding night and his chivalry warmed Suhana to the core.
The next memory was the first time they’d made love.
It’d been sweet, sensual, slow. Heat crept up her neck and flushed her cheeks and ears. She hoped Decimus didn’t notice.
The next memories were intimate moments together, followed by a war fought side by side.
Tears filled her eyes as she watched her father collapse in a pool of blood at her feet, several arrows lodged in his back.
She remembered that though they were vampires, and little could kill her bloodline, cursed weapons coated with human blood could be fatal.
The next memory was the last she had of her life as Draupati: Decimus—no, Caelus—drinking her blood and killing her mercilessly with a cursed ax.
She knew it was Caelus because no matter how much he tried to look like her husband, he couldn’t mask his natural scent.
Unable to bear the pain of it all, she closed the distance between herself and Decimus and wrapped her arms around him.
It had been far too long that they’d been apart. No more.
She would march herself to Lustitia and demand her husband’s life returned to her. He would no longer live as a Silhouette.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait?” Balthazar’s face lit up with excitement.
Suhana shook her head. “The longer we wait, the longer she has something to hold over him. I am the proof she needs. Only I have what it takes to defeat Caelus once and for all. Let her judge as she will.”
She turned to Decimus and kissed his cheek. “You did love to dress me in my warrior’s gear. Will you help me for old time’s sake?”
Decimus paced as they waited for Lustitia to come to the gates of her temple. He always knew the goddess to be punctual, so what was taking so long? Patience was not one of his virtues.
“Breathe.” Suhana’s voice was steady and stern. “You know she despises having to overturn a judgment and admit she was wrong.”
Decimus fixed his beautiful turquoise eyes on her. “I hope you are right, amica mea”
He watched as his beloved blushed, and he brushed his thumb against her cheek. He desperately needed Lustitia to grant him his freedom. Gods, where is ? —
The doors to her temple flew open with a gust of wind as she emerged in a long, gold gown. Her milk-white eyes bore into Decimus’s soul.
“This had better be good for you to demand to be seen.” Lustitia’s voice was laced with contempt.
“I demand you release my husband, Lustitia!” Suhana came between him and the goddess. “He is not guilty of the crime you hold him accountable for.”
Lustitia took a step toward her, and Decimus clutched his sword tight. He certainly was not afraid to use it.
“Draupati,” Lustitia sneered. “My, my, my, it has been ages . I was hoping you’d never regain your memory.” She sighed deeply. “I hope you have proof that he is innocent, or there is nothing I can do.”
Suhana turned back toward Decimus, and he caught a glimpse of uncertainty in her eyes, but with one nod, that uncertainty turned into determination.
His wife took a step toward the goddess. “I can show you, if you will let me.”
“Well, get on with it, then. If you’re going to prove me wrong—which no one ever does—it might as well include theatrics.”
Decimus rolled his eyes. At least he didn’t have to fight her.
He watched as Suhana placed her hands on the goddess’s forehead to transfer her memories.
To relive that memory in full, piece by piece, bit by bit, must not have been easy for Suhana.
And yet, she stood still, body rigid, head held high.
This was the Draupati he remembered, and this was the woman he wanted to learn all over again.
When Suhana pulled away, Lustitia clutched her chest and took a step back.
It took her several moments to regain her breath and speak.
“Decimus Vanholsen, I grant you your freedom. However, we will need you at the trial of Caelus Vanholsen to deliver your wife the justice she so deserves. Do you accept these terms?”
Decimus nodded and took Suhana’s hand. They both kneeled before the goddess. “I accept, your grace.”
The goddess inclined her head to them both and smiled. “If there is any way I can be of help to you both for the pain you have endured by your gods, please inform me.”
Both nodded, but neither spoke for several moments. Then Suhana freed her hand from his and whispered something to the goddess of justice. After, Suhana assured him he’d find out the details when the time came, but for now, she wanted to go home and live the rest of her life with him.
“But first,” she stated as they teleported home. “I need to feed.”
Decimus had thought he would never hear those words again. He laid his neck bare as she sunk her fangs into him and drank to her heart’s content.
Suhana took a deep breath as she finished feeding from her husband for the second time that day.
If her own husband’s blood wasn’t satisfying her, she wondered if anything would.
Currently, they sat in the temple of Dhanvantari as the god of healing looked her over.
Decimus swore that his blood should have been enough to satiate Suhana.
It took Dhanvantari several minutes before he looked directly at her, and not just her limbs, with a smirk and raised eyebrows.
“You are going to be a mother.”
Suhana tried to contain her excitement. When Suhana had believed she was merely human, the doctors had told her she couldn’t have children.
She now knew that was due to the way she had died at Caelus’s hand.
She’d taken the opportunity to ask Lustitia if she could fix that.
Clearly, the goddess was able to do anything.
“Wait. What?” Decimus turned to her with love, hope, and admiration on his face. “But I thought with the way Caelus …”
“Lustitia followed through with her promise to help us.” Suhana smiled and wrapped her arms around her husband, not wanting to ever let him go.