Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (27 page)

Vartan held the princess’s hands
within his own and stared into her eyes.

“
May the gods watch over
this marriage and protect it from the shadow of death. May Vartan
and Helenia live and love together, always,” said Andrielle,
gesturing for Leon to speak his part of the ceremony.

Leon stepped forward to speak. “May
the gods guard this marriage and shield it from the shadow of
death. May Vartan and Helenia live and love together always, and in
accordance with the laws of all Marithians.”

Stepping back to his place, Leon
watched as Andrielle drew out another two rings of the purest of
gold in honour of human traditions. She handed them to the bride
and groom.

Vartan slowly slipped on her ring and
spoke first. “I give you a gold ring with my eternal love, and I
marry you as my wife, Princess Helenia.”

With quivering lips, Helenia began to
slip on his ring. “I give you a gold ring with my eternal love, and
I marry you as my husband, Sir Vartan.”

Reaching one last time into the ornate
box, Andrielle drew out the elven prince’s crown. It was similar in
appearance to Helenia’s with slightly darker jewels.

“
Vartan, kneel before me to
be crowned.”

Gasps of anticipation were heard
throughout the crowd.

He removed his wedding crown and
placed it carefully beside him and lowered his head
slightly.

Holding it high above his head, she
spoke as she gently lowered it. “You will no longer be known as Sir
Vartan or by any other name. From this moment forth, you shall be
only known as Prince Vartan, future king of Greenhaven. Rise,
Prince Vartan, and you may kiss the bride.”

Vartan rose slowly and turned to his
wife who could no longer control her emotions and her tears flowed
freely. He leaned in close and as their lips touched, the crowd
erupted in celebration.

“
Let us feast!” yelled
Helenia.

Leaving the lively music and endless
tables of feed behind him, Vartan led his wife to their new home,
shutting the door behind him. Scented candles had been lit all
around the room and a small gift with a message was left behind on
their table

Enjoy the candles… I
brought this wax from the greatest of the love alchemists.
Congratulations… Prince Vartan. You will make the best King that
Marithia will ever know. Your friend, Makya

“
Can you believe it? We are
finally married!” exclaimed Helenia, her infectious smile drawn
wide across her face.

“
I know, I did not realise
that this day would come so soon,” he said, running his bare hands
through her silky hair.

“
Please… make yourself
comfortable and come with me. Our marriage is not yet complete, and
I will not let anything stop us now. I have been waiting for this
day my whole life,” said Helenia, placing her crown on their table
and making her way to their bed.

Vartan began the arduous task of
removing his armour.

Congratulations, and I know
what you’re thinking… I can hardly blame you. If I was in a room
with a woman that beautiful, it would be enough to make me think
the same thing,
said Keturah.

Keturah, I never thought I
would have to ask you this, but can you… sleep or something
similar?
Thought Vartan.

Helenia watched as Vartan took off his
undergarments and stared wide-eyed at him as she exclaimed, “My
word! You have certainly changed since we last met!”

Of course Vartan, this is
not a time for prying eyes. I will quell my powers for a short
time… or maybe I should quell them for longer,
laughed Keturah.

Approaching the bed, he looked over
Helenia’s naked body for the first time and tried his best not to
stare. The view caused an immediate reaction and she chuckled as
she pulled him into the bed and brought him to lie on top of
her.

“
I love you, Helenia. I
always have, and it was you that helped bring me back into
Marithia.”

Helenia smiled as she brought his
mouth to hers and embraced him in a deep sensual kiss before
pausing to whisper in his ear. “My heart beats solely for you. If
you had died, I do not think I could have gone on living. I love
you, my husband.”

She reached down to bring him into
position and pulled him gently into her. He pushed deeper and she
cried out with pain as she held him tightly for a moment and
whispered, “Wait.”

Breathing heavily, she nodded for him
to continue.

With each thrust and increase of
rhythm, their ecstasy increased and Helenia’s cries grew with her
passion. Vartan’s body tightened at the height of his pleasure and
she felt extra warmth inside of her.

He looked deep into her eyes and
kissed her. She ground her hips against him and bit her bottom lip
as she reached her own climax and her entire body shook with
pleasure.

Vartan rolled onto his back and
brought her to lie on top of him, staying as close as their bodies
could become. Placing her head on his chest, he covered them with
their blanket and held her tightly.

The last thing she
whispered before drifting off to sleep was, “
Now
we are married.”

Chapter 22 : Shades of
Shade

“
Are people only defined as
pure of heart or evil?

I believe that a path to righteousness
can be tarnished by a singular act of evil as much as a path to
evil can be altered by a singular act of kindness.

We are complex beings that cannot be
divided and classed so easily.”

(Talonsphere – Weapon of the
ancients)

The roar was almost deafening as the
Zhendurian army readied for their march to Greenhaven. The city was
full of activity and the grinding sounds of weapons sharpening and
armour fastening reverberated off the city’s walls.

Kassina had departed quickly at the
realisation of Greenhaven’s fate and took her elite warriors with
her into the underworld. The portal was shut down and Tusdar
wondered how they would leave Zhendur, hoping it had nothing to do
with falling and bats.

He had been sent to their home to
await Lord Aryun’s call to battle. Tusdar had just thrown down a
cup of steaming blood when he caught sight of Mestal grinning
before her body blurred and she charged at him.

Mestal snarled as she threw him
harshly to the bed and purred with excitement.

“
You have made my family
proud and shown that our bloodline is truly worthy of identifying
the
chosen ones
.
I want you, now!” she moaned, gripping his clothes and tearing them
apart.

“
But… what about
Aryun?”

“
What
about
Aryun? He takes hours to
prepare for battle and we still have plenty of time. And with all
this noise, nobody will hear us.”

She stripped him naked and gripped his
chest with her nails, digging them deep into his skin and
screeching with anticipation.

He felt pain at first, but it was
quickly replaced with pleasure as he grabbed her and threw her to
the bed beside him.

“
Now
this
is more like it! Show me that
you are a man who is worthy of being with me!” she hissed, baring
her fangs.

His own body blurred as he held her
down and tore his way inside her with full force, her dark blood
trickling down his thigh as she screamed out with
pleasure.

“
Yes!!!
” she cried, feeling her soft skin repair itself and wrap
around him. “Now, bite me! I want to feel you inside
me!”

Hesitating for only a moment, he
plunged his fangs into her neck and made love to her with speed
more intense and faster than any human could possibly
provide.

Her moans of ecstasy filled his ears
as he continued and his mouth filled with the fiery and acidic
taste of her blood. She used her arms to push with all of her
strength to launch him against her bedroom wall. Books and trinkets
fell to the ground with the impact as she held him like he was her
prey.

Wrapping one leg around the door frame
and the other around him, she pounded against him with so much
force that his skin began to tear from the friction.

Her screams intensified as she
climaxed and gripped him hard from the inside. Allowing himself to
give in to the sensations, he joined her climax and when he
finished… she gave him a quick kiss before launching off him and
landing on the bed like a cat.

Standing up and laughing
heartily, she slapped him on the chest. “We really
are
meant for each other
Tusdar. Now, quickly… get dressed into my father’s clothes and
armour. He really will be here any minute.”

“
You are dangerous Mestal,
and I like it,” he laughed, dressing himself quickly. “Are you
coming with us?”

“
Of course… I wouldn’t
leave you out there all alone, now would I?”

Aryun banged hard on the door frame
and called out, “It is time!”

Opening the door, both
Tusdar and Mestal were already dressed in their full vampiric
armour, dark and metallic with aggressive lines, it was easy to see
why their appearance alone would intimidate their enemies in
battle. Aryun looked at both of them as if he knew what had
happened, and then shook his head, “Let’s go,
now
.”

Following him swiftly, they were taken
near the training grounds, where the army was assembled and
waiting. It was easy to be in awe of the numbers before them in
long rows. Tusdar turned to Aryun and asked, “How are there so
many?”

Aryun laughed and looked him in the
eye. “You did hear the portal open, didn’t you? Most of our army
was in the underworld, training under Shindar’s guidance. These are
our reinforcements.”

Tusdar pointed to what appeared to be
giant crossbows in the rear of the ranks. “And what are
those?”

“
We built those here under
Kassina’s advisement. She had some problems with battling dragons
and wanted us to be well prepared.”

“
Why isn’t Kassina with us
today?” asked Tusdar.

“
It is not yet time. Enough
questions for today, we have a battle to win and we are all
excited. Most of us have not left Zhendur for many years and you
can ask more along the way if you like. We have a long march ahead
of us.”

Tusdar turned to look at the wall
behind them and his face contorted with confusion. “We are walking
into a wall?”

Mestal approached what appeared to be
nothing more than another great wall of Zhendur and placed her hand
on a small section marked with a tinge of blood. Pushing hard into
the wall, the section sunk in slightly and hummed as it was
activated.

“
Iungo parietis ut parietis
valde procerus obscurum quod permoveo nos illic
,” she yelled.

A large section beside her sunk into
the wall slightly and glowed. A dark voice of the shadows boomed
over the lands.

“
There is a land, a bitter
ground