Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (33 page)

Bastian checked his watch, “One hour and
forty-five minutes, brother. The queen sent word that she will be
up in fifteen.”

Great, that just started a whole new round of
nerves. Thankful that Ashby had finally secured my bow tie, I sat
down on the high back chair in the corner of the room. The queen
ministered all
Joinings
for the
Krieger
. This was the
law. She had to approve all the
Joinings
and it was her
policy to be the one to complete the bonding.

Charity and I would exchange vows, light an
eternal candle, that would be displayed in the
Krieger
estate until one of us passed, and the most important and final act
of the
Joining
– the blood bond. The queen would cut each of
our wrists, allowing our blood to mix in a sacred goblet. She will
then add two drops of her own blood into the mix, as a sign of her
blessing. We both drink from the goblet and then we are considered
as one for the rest of our existence.

I had written my vows and studied them over
and over, until I was blue in the face. The last thing I wanted to
do was to forget the words I was required to say. In fact, this
part of the ceremony scared me more than any other part of the
Joining
.

A light feminine knock sounded on the door.
The queen had finally made her way to our room. Ashby opened the
door and we all sank to one knee, fist over heart and head bowed,
until she spoke.

“As you were
Krieger
,” her voice was
very high and sounded like a wind chime.

Queen Elizabeth had been no older than
thirty-five when she was turned, almost twelve hundred years ago.
She was very petite; probably five foot four and less than a
hundred pounds. She had stark white hair that fell down below her
knees. Her eyes were as pale a blue as I have ever seen. Tonight
she wore a blood red cloak that was adorned with gold
embellishments.

She walked toward me with a gracefulness only
meant for a queen. She handed me a small box containing the
ceremonial ring I was to give Charity. “Thank you, your
highness.”

“Oh Dragus,” she sighed. “I am so happy for
you. Your bride is a beautiful and lucky young woman.”

“So you met her?” I asked.

“I just came from her room,” she smiled. “Go
ahead and look at the ring I brought for her.”

The rings were a gift from the queen. She had
each one specifically cast for the
Joining
. I opened the box
and found the largest ruby I had ever seen. It had to have been
five carats. The stone itself was semi oval and the ring was made
of pure gold.

Vampires don’t use diamonds for their rings.
Rubies were more personal, due to the bond by blood; the ring color
signifies that bond. Humans would never understand the bonding of
our kind. Once the bond is sealed, so to speak, there was no
looking back.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you, my lady.” I bowed
again as a sign of respect.

The queen was escorted out by her personal
Krieger
. We all breathed a sigh of relief once she left the
room. The queen was highly respected and we all got nervous when
she was around. Formal behavior around her was expected at all
times. Although I had known her for a very long time, she still
scared the hell out of me.

I tried once again to check on Charity and
once again, I got another shoe to the back of the head, “Ow!”

“I told you, she was fine,” Bastian
laughed.

“I know, I can’t help it,” I grumped. I slid
down in the chair and closed my eyes. I needed to cool my nerves.
“Call down and get me a goblet of Merlot.”

“Do you think that is a good idea?” Ashby
questioned.

“I need to calm my nerves,” I paused. “We
didn’t feed this morning, because of her stupid rule of not seeing
me the day of the wedding. Bagged blood just agitates me now.”

“Okay,” he laughed. Ashby grabbed the house
phone a called down to the kitchen. Within a few minutes I was
holding a half full goblet of wine. Damn Ashby for telling them not
to give me a full one.

The next hour passed by very slowly, most
likely because I watched the clock tick by each minute. It was time
to take our spots downstairs. The queen was already in place. I
stood in front of her. Ashby, my best man was on my right; Bastian,
Powle, Rowland and Palo beside him. Across from them was, Lydia,
Lady Michelle, Lady Elise, Mistress Kai and Meadow.

The main living room had been transformed
into the wedding of fairy tales. Huge bouquets of white and red
flowers cascaded from the ceiling. Every chair had been decorated
with its own arrangement and matching satin bows hung from the
backs. The whole mansion smells of roses. I smiled.

The music roared through the house and my
ears started ringing. It took all of my will power to keep from
fainting. The only thing that kept me afloat was the release of
pressure on my chest. Charity was near. The guests stood and it was
then she came into view.

She wore a simple white silk gown that flowed
effortlessly down her beautiful body. Small white pearls made up
thin straps over her shoulders. The material swooped down showing
off the swell of her breasts. She held a bouquet of flowers that
matched those decorating the house. Her breath taking smile lit up
the room like a summer’s day so long forgotten. Her beautiful
blonde hair was tied up, only allowing a few curling tendrils to
frame around her face. Charity’s eyes were wet with tears as she
marched slowly down the aisle on the arm of our good friend Adam.
He nodded once as a sign of respect.

After what seemed like an eternity, they
stopped next to me and we turned to face the queen.

“Who gives away this woman today for the
Joining
?” she asked.

“I, Adam Castillo, have been chosen by the
bride to give her hand to the warrior Dragus.” Adam leaned over and
placed a soft kiss on her cheek and then took his seat in the front
row. Charity and I turned toward the queen.

“Master Dragus and Lady Charity please hold
out your right hands,” she announced. We both held out our hands as
requested. The queen removed a red sash from her cloak pocket and
wrapped our hands together before she continued.

“We have come together in support for the
Joining
of two bonded mates. The
Joining
is a
ceremony to link two hearts as one. These two before you have
pledged their lives to one another and have asked me to bless their
union. I, Queen Elizabeth, approve your
Joining
and bless
each one of you with my blood.” The queen then reached for a dagger
that lay beside her on a table. She held our joined hands up and
placed the dagger between our wrists. With one quick jerk of the
blade, she sliced our skin simultaneously. Very quickly she reached
for the goblet and held it under the stream of blood flowing from
our veins. Once the wounds healed she dropped our hands and with
the dagger, so broke the skin on the end of her finger. It was then
that she squeezed two drops of her own blood into the mix.

The queen handed the goblet to Charity, “It
is custom for the female to always take the first drink.” Charity
raised the goblet to her lips and drank half of the blood.

“Out of respect for the female, the male is
to take what remains.” She handed me the goblet. I emptied the cup
and returned it to the queen. After she turned around, she released
the sash holding us together.

We walked forward to a podium that had been
installed earlier in the week. Its gas flame would burn day and
night, until one of us passed away. The queen lit a single white
candle and turned toward us, “The eternal flame signifies the
combination of these two as one. Love lasts for eternity in our
world and this flame will burn until one of them ceases to exist.”
Together, we held the candle over the podium and watched as the gas
caught and a small flame blazed to life.

“Now, the exchanging of vows and the securing
of the rings,” she smiled at us both. The queen turned to my
beautiful bride and nodded.

Charity drew in a shaky breath and spoke her
vows, “My warrior Dragus. Today I surrender my heart and body to
you. I promise to respect you, grow with you, and love you for
eternity. Place me like a seal over your heart and know that I will
forever be yours. On this day, I give myself to you in the presence
of our Queen.” Charity placed a golden band with three rubies on my
left hand.

The queen turned and nodded for me to speak
my vows, “My beloved Charity. Today I pledge myself to you. I
promise to honor you, protect you, and love you until this world
removes me from its existence. I promise to walk with you,
hand-in-hand through our journey together. On this day, I give
myself to you in the presence of our Queen.” It was then that I
placed the ring on her left hand where it would remain forever.

Queen Elizabeth turned us to face the crowd
and spoke the words I have waited over six hundred years to hear,
“I give you Master Dragus and the Lady of the
Krieger
,
Charity.”

The crowd stood up and cheered. I then cupped
my bride’s face with my hands and place a delicate kiss on her
beautiful lips. “I love you,
mi amado
.
Mi amor, mi
vida
”

“You better,” she laughed.

“I just got started loving you, my lady.” I
wrapped my arms around her waist and refused to let her go. Nothing
could take her away from me now. Finally, my dreams had come
true.

Chapter 15

Charity

The reception flowed out into the backyard of
the estate. A white tent was set up with tables and a temporary
wooden dance floor in the center. Champagne was served after the
best man, Ashby, made a toast to the bride and groom. Dragus and I
had finished our customary first dance when Adam interrupted, “May
I have your permission to dance with the Lady.” He smirked at
Dragus.

“Only one dance,” he laughed. “I don’t want
to start talk.” Dragus handed me off to my dual natured friend. He
looked mighty handsome in his tux. I’ve gotten really close to him
the past few months. He reminds me of my brother Luke.

“Thank you for giving me away.” Adam placed a
hand lightly on my waist and with the other he took my hand. He
danced cautiously while Dragus watched from the edge of the
tent.

“He’s very protective,” Adam announced.

“As are you,” I snapped.

“I can’t help it. I owe you. Plus, that guy
at the hospital kept his eyes on your body way to long for my
liking.” Adam had become more of a big brother than a friend since
his being cured of the Lycanthrope poison. During the times I
worked at the hospital with him and Kai, Adam watched over me like
an overzealous body guard. Of course, the fact that Brilliam
shadowed my every move made me feel like a caged animal
sometimes.

Don’t get me started on the nights I worked
at the club I owned. Dragus and I had fought tooth and nail over my
job. He wanted me to turn the club over to Lydia. He felt I had no
business in that environment being a Lady of the
Krieger
.
Well, I won that argument. So I thought. Basically, I have two
warriors and Adam with me at all times. Unlike the other First
Ladies who usually had one bodyguard.

Dragus was now at ease to go into work
without constant worry on my part. I wasn’t fooled. He checked on
me through our bond a hundred times a day.

“You didn’t tell Dragus about that did you,”
I gasped.

“No,” he laughed. “I took care of him
myself.”

“Oh great,” I sighed. I don’t want to even
imagine what Adam had done to the poor guy at the hospital. I
thought back trying to remember if there had been any dead bodies
found over the past few days and I came up with nothing.

The song ended and I heard the sound of
someone taping a metal object against a glass. I looked up and
found Dragus standing by the main table.

“May I have your attention please,” he
cleared his throat. Once the crowd settled, he continued. “First of
all, I thank you all for coming. Second of all, I have an
announcement. It’s not very often someone is asked to join the
Krieger
. As you all know,
Krieger
are only made from
humans, using
Krieger
blood. I have requested an exception
from the queen to give honorary
Krieger
status to Adam
Castillo and the queen has approved that request.”

I looked at Adam and his eyes were just about
popping out of his head. I gave him a push up to the table where
Dragus and Queen Elizabeth were waiting for him. Dragus held a
badge and a custom
Krieger
shirt, embroidered with his name
across the chest.

“Do you, Adam Castillo, accept the membership
into the
Krieger
of Port Royal?” Queen Elizabeth stepped
forward to face him.

“Yes, my queen,” he bowed fist over heart. It
was then she placed her hand over the right side of his neck. Adam
stiffened and hissed as if he was in pain. I gasped when she pulled
her hand away. She had branded him with the mark of the
Krieger
, a black dragon on the side of his neck.

The other
Krieger
congratulated and
welcomed Adam openly. He was so elated to finally find his place in
this world. Dragus had told me last week that he was going to ask
the queen for her permission to induct him into the
Krieger
and I was happy she approved.

The party continued well into the night. I
think I had danced with everyone and my feet were killing me.
Dragus and I took the dance floor one last time before we left for
our honeymoon in Hawaii. Thankfully Dragus had taken care of all
the arrangements. We would be using a chartered plane that kept our
bodies from being roasted at thirty thousand feet. When we opened
our eyes tomorrow, we’d be in paradise.