Page 44 of Antiletum
Not piping in to ask for different colors, I allow my trousseau to be planned in hues of midnight and stardust, taking another step into fully embracing my marriage and the hope for freedom within our faction—despite the harrowing voices still trying to echo in my head.
Everything Val has said, the subtle hints hidden in Blair’s talk of symbols, Selise in quiet solidarity during said talk, the apprentice’s salute of agreement—all these people who I have been placed in the orbit of, they strive for freedom foreveryone, it sounds like. The way they speak stands for all citizens ofNoctua. For the nobles who may have some level of wealth and status, but theirdeosgiven magical power is stifled in the bondage of arranged marriages. And for the ones who are poor, starving, or sick just the same.
Myvinculumband catches my attention. Its origins are wholesome, a symbol all their own. One of unshakeable love and devotion.
Something ugly slithers through me. If what Val told me is true, something beautiful and pure has been turned into a machination of control. Binding magic to be used sparingly, and everyone is alerted by the Ellden clocks when someone breaks the rules. Including Parliament. And Parliament sanctions such pairings, solidifying the strongest of powers into the confines of limitations.
I shiver.
“Don’t tell me you’re cold,” Blair practically scolds. “It’s scorching like the deepest layers ofinfernum.” She pinches my side. “Though you are quite scrawny.”
Endearment slinks through me, and I allow myself to bask in it, accepting myself into this makeshift family who is welcoming me with open arms.
11
Has she figured it out yet?
Val
Crickets hum entirely too loud. A disturbing symphony hidden in the trees and grass of the forest for the sole purpose to overstimulate.
Exceptional hearing has its advantages. But just the same, it can be a curse. Everything is soloud.To add to the discomfort, a swarm of mosquitoes clouds my face.
I scowl at the Heartstone, thumping unevenly in its moonlit clearing. My displeasure isn’t directed at the ancient rock, but at every event that caused its initial death. That is keeping it from operating as it should. My glower turns instead to the large Ellden clock at the top edge of the Heartstone, much more to blame for my ire.
The rhythm of the Heartstone is all wrong against the straining of the clock. Not the strong, steady beat that I heard when I last fed the thing. It’s stuttered—fast and tiring. Working entirely too hard. A concerning spread of black has appeared sporadically at the edge like creeping mold. More worrisome than if some of its mended cracks had reappeared.
Knee bent, a hand rests against it, like I’m comforting a wounded animal. “I know,” I say gently. “We need to hold it together. Just a bit longer,” I soothe the pitiful thing.
The Ellden clock gives a loud groan, hands struggling backwards. The Heartstone and Ellden clocks are trying to cancel each other out. What a day it will be when every Ellden clock throughout the world spins until they break, ceasing to exist at all. Unlocking shifter gifts and breaking magical binds. But until we raise the other two…
I may have undersold my understanding on how dire the situation is to Parliament. May have undersold it to myself.
We need to get the Heartstone fed fast, before someone else decides to defy the laws of marriage or expend too deeply and the price becomes truly catastrophic. If the Ellden clocks break before the Heartstones all beat again, magic will cease to exist. Have nothing tethering it to this world.
I won’t breathe easily until the task is accomplished.
When Delaney used her necromancy without me I was able to feed the Heartstone within hours of the transgression. It’s been days since I had to use mine without my wife. The price is showing—far more than I thought it would. It would have been better to give an offering to the damn thing before I met with Parliament, but Alaric and Mallin can only move so quickly. Especially with a gaggle of prisoners in tow.
The clatter of wheels and hoofbeats announcing my friends’ arrival are a welcome noise. Mosquitos and screaming crickets aside, I watch the small cart being pulled down the path by two large horses with relief. The same path I rode down with Delaney after we wed, her sitting in front of me on one of those same horses. My arm wrapped around her waist while Iknewshe was still wet with our cum between her thighs.
Would she have stayed if I had licked her clean when we made it to our bed, rather than fall asleep?
Mallin and Alaric sit atop the cart bench, directing the steeds, thieving away my sensual thoughts.
The Heartstone emits a fiendish groan, the ground around it giving a gentle shiver. It knows its meal is coming. Even the Ellden clock gives off an energy of hungry anticipation. Though the Heartstone and Ellden clocks resist existing simultaneously, they both desire balance.
“About time,” I sigh, walking towards the cart.
Small, pitiful pleas for mercy call from one of the prisoners in the back.
Alaric hops down, blonde hair glowing in the moonlight, scarred face accentuated by shadows. “Not all of us have expedited travel arrangements, my Lord,” he snarks.
Mallin slaps the back of his seat before joining us on the ground. “A little more gratitude would be nice, Val. I rode for a day and night straight away from my wife. After dealing with a mountain of paperwork to have these fuckers moved. Which took nearly as long as the journey.”
I clap a hand on his back. “And it is appreciated, friend. Things haven’t gone quite according to plan.”
The hope was that Delaney and I would raise the other two Heartstones in quick succession while we were believed to be honeymooning at Greystone. But then everything fell apart at the finish line. Rainah died before locatingPanthera. And Delaney spent our honeymoon rejecting me.
