Page 179 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

SEVENTY-TWO

DIANNA

Reggie met me at my door, my nerves making me feel sick. I took his arm, and we headed downstairs. The castle was quiet, but as we drew near the main floor, the smell of mint and something floral filled my nose. My gasp was audible when I saw how the lower level had been changed. Everything was sparkling clean, and flowers in every shade clung to the walls as if they were growing from the stone. Long vines draped the banisters and doorways, delicate white blossoms scenting the air. A long, plush, cream runner led me to the main foyer, to him.

“He used his powers, didn’t he?” I whispered to Reggie.

Reggie nodded. “He deemed it only appropriate, given the occasion.”

My lips curved in a small smile. I knew it would have taken so much out of him with the still-healing wound on his side and him not sleeping for three days, but this meant so much. I just hoped he wasn’t too tired.

Soft music and warm light flooded through the large double doors. The wooden flooring was gone, replaced with shining stone trimmed with gold lines tracing the walls. I kept my eyes down, letting Reggie lead me to the doors. I heard the music change, somehow becoming more intentional to herald my arrival.

My grip on Reggie’s arm tightened, and I forced myself to look up as he paused at the threshold. My breath caught, unable to process what I was seeing. This wasn’t the room we had passed through earlier. He had completely transformed it. The ceilings rose to dizzying heights, seeming to go on forever. Massive chandeliers hovered above, spilling warm light into the room and overflowing with flowers so beautiful they made me want to weep.

This was similar to something from Samkiel’s old world, containing bits of the beauty I had seen in the blooddreams. These rooms were sacred and meant to celebrate gods and goddesses. This was what he wanted for me? My pulse quickened. Did he truly consider me worthy of all of this?

Reggie continued to guide me forward, and I finally gathered the courage to look toward the front of the room. My breath hitched. There, atop a raised dais, he waited.

Samkiel was breathtaking. Outside of the blooddreams and his council garbs, I had never seen him in a uniform, but he wore one today. The white brocade jacket was obviously custom-made, fitting his large frame perfectly, the gold buttons drawing the eye. His matching white pants fit snugly to his powerful thighs and were tucked into tall boots. A cape draped his left arm, leaving his right free to grab a weapon. The heavy material was embroidered with intricate gold designs and held in place by a thick dark leather strap that crossed his wide chest. It spilled off his powerful shoulders, the hem just sweeping the floor at his feet. Samkiel was royalty, and today, he displayed that fact. He was a king awaiting his intended queen.

My nerves melted away the moment our eyes locked. A smile that made my cheeks hurt spread across my face. He looked at me as if I were the most beautiful thing in the world. I hoped he saw the same adoration in my gaze. I didn’t know how I’d ever looked at or touched another before him.

This was it. He was it. He was my everything.

My heart swelled as we walked toward him, and if Reggie wasn’t holding my arm, I was sure my legs would have given out. The music slowly quieted as I reached the steps. The gold and white stone seemed to glow beneath my feet. We reached the top, and Reggie let go of my arm and stepped back, but I had no idea where he went. All I saw was Samkiel.

Everrine coughed discreetly, and we both jerked and turned toward her. We stood side by side as we had been since our first meeting. I tried and failed to hide the smile that refused to leave my face as Everrine began speaking. She held a bejeweled chalice in one hand. With the other, she drew a rune in the air before us and said something in a language I didn’t know. The rune glowed for a moment before dissipating. She spoke another word and drew a different rune. It flared to life before fading.

Everrine placed the chalice down and held her hands out toward us, nodding. I glanced up at Samkiel and followed his lead as he offered her his hand, palm up. She clasped his first, drawing a blade with her free hand.

The growl that escaped my throat had her taking a step back, her eyes wide. I hadn’t even realized I had moved, but I had stepped in front of Samkiel.

“It’s okay.” Samkiel smiled brightly. “It’s a part of the ritual.”

“You didn’t tell her?” Everrine squeaked. “Oh, praise the old gods.”

Ritual?

“Blood of my blood,” I said, remembering what Reggie had told me in that tunnel.

“Exactly,” he said, pulling me back to his side and nodding toward Everrine. “Continue, please.”

I steadied my nerves. Apparently, I was more on edge than I’d thought.

Everrine kept an eye on me as she stepped back into place and tentatively reached for Samkiel’s hand. I watched as she drew the blade across his palm, silver blood rising to meet the air. The Ig’Morruthen in me thrashed and ripped at me, wanting to burn her to ash for the slight alone. But I swallowed and fisted my hands, forcing myself to remain in place. He was fine. He was not in danger. He was alive. I repeated it like a mantra, even if my body didn’t believe me. I wondered if my anxieties would ever calm when it came to threats to the ones I loved after watching both him and Gabby die. Or was this an overprotective side effect to our marks being gone?

She turned to me, asking for mine next. I held out my hand, palm up. My lip twitched as she dragged the blade across it, and I felt power encircle me like a vise. My eyes lifted, and I caught Samkiel watching me intently. I wondered if it was a struggle for him to see me bleed as well.

Everrine brought our hands together, and I eagerly pressed my palm to his.

“Blood to seal,” Everrine said, picking up a silky length of ribbon the color of sunlight.

“A cloth of Dhihsin to symbolize two souls merging into one,” she said, tying the ribbon around our hands.

“The Dhihsin?” I whispered to Samkiel.

Samkiel smirked and lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Not really, but we had to improvise. Short notice and all.”

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