The Vampire's Love (Otherworld Series #3)

12.Blood Ritual

I was wearing a red sparkly gown and waiting at an alter of some type. There was a small table beside me.

A huge red book was above it and a chalice stood tall beside the book. Chalices reminded me of the night I was painfully separated from Pius. 

I remembered how he held my hand and how we danced during the feast. I remembered his lips on my body before I got dressed. How loving he was...how gentle. Then the bad images come up.

Our separation. Pius bleeding from his head. Pius sprawled on the ground. Those men taking me away from him. The smell of burning wood everywhere.

I never asked. I never thought about them.

Those men who had destroyed my life nearly a year ago. Those men who were to blame for the destruction of our home, who were to blame for the loss of Pius' memory.Who were they? What did they want?

I never asked. 

It's about time I started.

The doors at the far end of the town hall opened.

People came inside in crowds and took their seats in the pews. This place was like a court. I was the judge. I could condemn them to death. But I would never. 

The male vampire, whose ritual it was came into the hall after everyone was seated. Cheers were heard from the males around.

He was wearing a black tuxedo with a red tie. His face was gaunt and his green eyes had dark shadows. He really needed to feed but he had passed the test. He had fasted and proved his love for his new bride.

He came and knelt before me. I had put on my regal face. This face demanded power. It demanded attention and I always wore it when I faced a common crowd. My warm face would be up and about when these people showed me that I could trust them or by chance if I liked anyone.

"Rise." I said.

He rose and looked at me in the eyes.

Nobody looked at me in the eyes. This one did. He had daring. He was not afraid of the Valor family. He was brave. I liked him instantly. 

Because a Kingdom is not built on fear and the people shouldn't be cowards. I was not standing before a coward.

I looked down at him, tilting my head lower and smiling warmly at him.

"Brave young man. You seek to introduce your bride to our society?" I asked him the traditional question.
"I do." He said, his eyes never straying from my own.

"You seek to show her the wonders of our race?" I asked again.

"I do."

"She seeks a new family?" I asked.

"She does." He says.

"She will be loyal to our race and our king? "

"She will."

"She will be the carrier of your seed?" I ask.

"She will." He says, smiling.

"She will love you, be loyal to you and serve your needs?" I ask. Almost done.

"She will."

"You will love her, be loyal to her and serve her needs?"

"I will."

"What is the name of your bride?" I ask and the chalice is presented to me.

"Faith is the name of my bride." He says proudly smiling.

"Faith be presented." And the doors of the hall open once again.

Faith walks through the doors and a cheer goes up from the females.

Faith is a short brunette. She is wearing a traditional plain white strapless dress and has flowers braided into her hair. She walks in barefoot with tears streaming down her face as she has apparently heard how her male has answered the traditional questions.

I instantly like her.

She comes and stands beside her male. Still facing me. His hand slips into hers and tears start building in my eyes looking at them.

I wish I had the happiness of this day too. I wish Pius would hold my hand and say the traditional vows for me too...

I straighten and close my eyes for a second. This is their day. I can't ruin it with my problems.

I smile at Faith. She looks a bit scared now.

"Faith, you seek to be introduced to the vampire society?" I ask her all the same questions I asked her groom.

She answers all with a shaky voice and a watery smile. Her groom is beaming in pride. I almost thought at one point that he would start hitting his chest like a gorilla.

After the traditional questions were over, I was given a knife with rubies encrusted on it. The chalice was in one hand and the knife in the other.

I stepped down from the dias and approached the couple all vampires in the pews knelt down.

"May the groom put out his right hand." And he did.

"May the bride put out her left hand." And she did too.

Their hands were side by side. I had to slit both their wrists together and their blood was supposed to fall into the chalice.

I held the chalice below their wrists and the knife above their wrist. In one clean swipe, a perfectly angled cut was made on their hands.

The bride winced and watched as hers and her groom's blood felt into the chalice.

The groom then took the chalice from my hand and they both held the chalice together.

I put my right hand above the chalice and slit my own wrist.

My blood mixed with theirs.

"My blood." I said.

"Your blood." They said together.

"My blood." The groom said.

"Your blood." The bride and I said together.

"My blood." The bride said.

"Your blood." The groom and I said together. 

"Our blood." The three of us said together.

The big red book appeared before me. Held by the hands of the helpers.

The chalice was returned to me. The knife taken away. A page opened with the blood ritual vows and the name of the bride and groom below it.

The helper beside me, wrote my name below theirs with a caligraphy pen.

Then I held the chalice above the book. And carefully slipped a drop of the mixed blood below all the names.

A cheer and applause went up when the drop fell in the right place.

Extreme good luck. That was what it meant.

The chalice and the book were taken away. The couple now married by Vampire Standards.

They looked lovingly at each other and I smiled longingly.

"Get a room." I said loudly and the men hooted in laughter. They came ahead to pick up the male. The women coming to pick up the female.

Now they would take the newly wedded couple to their home and strip them off their clothes and lock them in a room together to enjoy themselves.

I clapped my hands looking at the startled face of the bride. It must be so new for her. I was happy for them.

She turned to look at me as she was carried away.

She smiled and waved. I waved back and winked at her. Her smile widened as the door closed behind them.

Leaving me alone...