Bride of the Dark Lord

#4 The Wraiths

We rode for what felt like hours on end. But, as the sun started to set, the Prince announced, "let's rest here".

A good place to spend the night, if you asked me. I could hear the sound of a flowing river and coupled with that, grasses filled this woods - enough for our horses to feed on, to regain their strength for the ride tomorrow.

More so, I honestly didn't even know the North was this far from the Capital. After Randall stamped the King's seal on the Dark Lord and I's marriage certificate, I thought it would take me a day's journey to arrive at my new home.

The Prince assisted me in coming down from his horse. My body rubbed against his, and I felt my nipples react. Our eyes lingered. And he let go of my hands.

The Dark Lord looked around. As if to make sure no assassin or predator was hiding somewhere in the many trees around us.

"Do you also feel it?" the Dark Lord's friend, the lean green-eyed one asked.

The Dark Lord nodded as he looked at his gloved hands. And then, at his friend again, the green-eyed one who asked the question.

"Can you Turn now?" the Dark Lord asked.

Oh. This friend of his, was a Gifted shifter too. What beast could he Turn into?

His friend shook his head. Confirming that his Gift wasn't active at the moment.

The Dark Lord paused, "listen" he said.

Four pairs of eyes faced Him.

"We are on a magic-deprived land" he said.

Oh no. A magicless land. I looked at the woods, it still ran for miles. It could take hours to leave this vast wood, and our horses needed to rest.

"Just to be cautious. Let's make sure that not even a drop of anyone's blood touches these grounds" the Prince said.

And here I thought, the Dark Lord and his friends would hunt a deer for us to roast and eat tonight.

I hate you magicless land.

What was a magicless land, anyone might ask? It was a piece of land where a blood sacrifice - sorcery - has been performed. And because of the stain / presence of dark magic on that land, light magic (Gifts) won't work.

Gifts are magical blessings from the Mother of Light. You need no blood sacrifice to possess or utilise it. But sorcery? To use it or own it, someone or something usually had to die. It required blood. Most locals called it, dark magic. And because of the evil associated with it, and the hate society had towards this practice, sorcerers were rare. Very rare. Only people as diabolical as Randall, had them as their minions, and I bet this secret of his, wasn't something his entire kingdom knew of.

I looked at the Dark Lord. How vulnerable was he without his lightning Gift at this moment?

He looked unbothered. Unperturbed. As though the disappearance of one of the things that made Him a formidable opponent wasn't missing right now.

My eyes moved down his body. Hah. His tall, powerfully lean muscled body. Such magnificent hardness, only in one man. That was why he wasn't bothered at all. 'Cause besides his Gift, he had a body that proved he has spent several hours on a training field.

"No need to just ogle Him. He's yours now. You are allowed to taste Him" the beautiful man, who introduced himself as Ashton during the journey, said. He winked at me.

And my eyes bulged. As Ashton walked away, smirking.

Who else saw me checking out the Dark Lord?