Beguiled (Book 2 Immortal Essence series) (18 page)

You, dear child, will no longer exist, except what little part of you may reside inside Ramien.

But, why are you telling me this now? I’ve already agreed
to become Ramien’s wife
.
He can control my body whenever he wants.
C
ould
I find a way to make myself no longer exist? Make my soul disappear before Ramien was able to perform the ritual.
I realized
even if I
had died during
Ra
mien’s senseless game, he
still
would
have had access to my soul.

Tortevia interrupted my thoughts.
Y
ou see, a
thousand years ago, Ith and Aetha were brought to Kelari with the sole purpose of freeing the souls Ra
mien held captive. They did
, but they couldn’t destroy Ramien
and the net he’s placed over Kelari
. Only a ferether can destroy a ferether. So they made a pact with Ramien. If he promised not to
murder
the
new
bodies of higher souls, they agreed to let him keep the souls of those
who died
.

When Ith and Aetha created the
bodies of those they saved
, they made it so they could become immortal, hoping
such a drastic step
would keep most of the souls from suffering at Ramien’s hand. It worked. Ramien has a lot fewer souls than he did
before
.

I remembered the Room of Souls deep within Helker, and shuddered.

Ith and Aetha bided their time, knowing someday
they would find a way to
destroy the ferether.
Michael’s conception was the first piece. When they discovered his
mother’s pregnancy, they whisked
Cather
ine
away, and placed her on Earth.
She wasn’t
kelvieri, though the immortal’s gift changed her hair color and eyes. Everything immortal went into her child. That meant she would continue to age
as a normal human.
They knew Ramien couldn’t
leave
without fr
eeing the
souls he held captive on Kelari.
So Michael remained safe.
Almost a year after Michael was born, you came into the world.
Michael’s match.

If Michael is part
ferether, does he
have a soul?

I think you know the answer to that, but yes.
Michael does have a soul. He’s t
he only ferether ever to possess one.
It’s
because of his mother.
Her kelarian blood allowed the Creator to grant him one.

I thought of Catherine, the
abominable
way she treated her son and had a hard time believing. But
then she must’ve been through a lot.
I couldn’t imagine
the difficulties of living among humans. Pretending to be one, knowing her husband killed aliens for a living.

A pang of sorrow passed
through
my heart for her.

Tortevia went on,
Finally two beings were created, each balancing the other. Good and evil.
God and devil.
Ferether and Eternal
.
Together
,
you can kill Ramien and break the curse
binding
the souls to Kelari.

Holy
cret
.
So
,
Ith and Aetha didn’t conceive
me out of love, but necessity?
It grieved me to think I wasn’t born of love, but as a weapon.
I’m a pawn.
A new wave of
grief
constricted my heart.

We
entered Stiel’s atmosphere and I studied the landscape.
Wispy periwinkle clouds hovered over l
arge m
etal skyscrapers
.
There weren’t any trees, or plants. No land or water.
Only
strange
clouds and metal.
The planet was cold and I shivered.

My head hurt. Tortevia
told me a lot
at once
.
Too bad Michael was killed. I guess they’ll have to wait another thousand ye
ars and hope their next son or
daughter doesn’t fail.
Bitterness
consumed my mind. How many
died because of Ith and Aetha’s scheme. Perhaps if I’d known, I would’ve done things differently.

Oh, child. We’re all part of a plan.

I sniffed.

Do you still have the medallion Michael gave you?

I clutched the warm metal in my hand.
Yes.

Good. Keep it
on at all times.
It’s the key to killing Ramien.
I must take you back. We’ve been gone too long already. Promise me you won’t give up hope.

What aren’t you telling me, Tortevia?

Just promise.

Fine.

18.
Say My Name

I opened my eyes and stared into the fearful reflection of Angela.
She’d dressed me in a steel
gray unisa, and brought me over
to the chair in front of the vanity.

“You’re
back . . .
will look lovely in the dress
.” Angela breathed a sigh of relief.

I searched her face, curious
to know whether
she understood
my mind had been elsewhere
.

She gave a brief nod, putting a finger to her lips.
“The master will be here soon.
I’m
almost finished.”

The
cuts and scratches
on my face and body
were healed
, replaced by smooth creamy skin.
Kohl liner and thickened lashes accentuated my eyes, making them appear large, and luminous
.
A hint of rosy color tinged my cheeks, and garnet lipstick stained m
y lips. Angela
outdid
herself with my hair.
Pulled off my neck and away from my face, dozens of large curls circled my head, like a halo.
Within the cur
ls she
randomly
placed tiny black flower
s and diamonds
.

“Last one,” she said, spinning me around, cl
apping her hands
. “I
love
doing hair.”
Her eyes
shone
with happiness.

I took her hand in mine
, glad
for
her joy
. “I can see why. You’re a great talent, Angela.”

She blushed and curtseyed. “Thank you, Highness.” She opened a black box and pulled out an enormous
crown
.
Made of
thousands
of white diamonds, e
x
cept the
gem
in the center, which
glistened
a deep purple. It was so dark it
appeared
almost black. “A wedding gift from the master.”

A fluttering of nerves enveloped my heart. Stay strong, Venus, I told myself as
I touched
Michael’s
medallion. “That’s . . .
” Disgusting. Gaudy. Flamboyant. Ugly. Many unkind words popped into my head, but I sa
id, “T
oo much. I can’t wear it
.”

Angela’s expression changed to fear. “He insisted. Please, Highness.”

Resignedly, I agreed. “Fine.” I
was
a pawn. What choices were mine?

After
she
secured
it on my head
, I asked, “Now what?”

“The dress, I
think
. Then I’ll help you with your shoes.”

I
cautiously
nodded my consent
, the heaviness of the crown like a noose around my neck. I rose, and grabbed my belt. Tortevia. She sparkled like new.

“I’m wearing the belt,” I added, not unkindly, but sternly.
No negotiations.

“I think
she—
the belt
would look lovely
with the dress
.”
Angela
seemed
to know a lot more than she let on.

“Good,” I said, and she smiled, obviously pleased.

I stepped into the dress, and Angela slid it over my curves,
fastening
it
along the side
.
It
hugged my bod
y perfectly. H
ad I been marrying someone for love, this dress would’ve made me feel like a queen. But I wasn’t and I didn’t. I felt sick.

Hope, child
, Tortevia growled into my mind
as I buckled her in place around my waist
.

Right.

The
boots
shone
the same color as the large gem
on the crown
.
Softer though, like an irrihunter’s fur.

Once An
gela was satisfied, I
pushed myself off the bed
. T
he door opened. Ramien’s eyes raked my body
and rested momentarily on my
buckle.

“The belt is an odd choice.” His
eyes found mine.
Meeting his gaze, I
stood straight and tall
,
refusing to let
him
see
my apprehension.

“Come, Venus. Our
guests are waiting.”
He
held out
a black-jacketed
arm for me to take. I casually
obliged
, ignoring
my
revulsion at his sickening scent.

19.
Sabotage

The already over lavish dining hall had been transformed into a
n ultra
billowy, flowery smorgasbord of . . .
everything.
The heavy drapes and gold walls were gone, replaced by gauzy white curtains, and stark white walls, tattooed with
sophisticated
silver flowers. On one end
,
a
fifty-piece orchestra played softly.
The musicians
were all dressed
in white. Their in
struments were
white. Even th
eir music stands were white. Nex
t to them a stage had been erected. Large, white columns wrapped in flowers adorned each side and held up a canopy of flowers. The floor of the stage appeared to be made of glass. Above, the chandeliers gave off a soft light.

Thousands of guests
, all of them captive souls
in bodies Ramien created
,
sat at hundreds of tables lining
either side of a long walkway.
Each centerpiece on the
table
s was a large glass pedestal vase
filled with a spray of white, silver, and lavender flowers. Beautiful crystal goblets were filled with different colors of sparkling liquid. Food sat on thick ceramic plates.

The overripe scent of flowers permeated the air, noxious as the creature beside me.

W
e walked in
and
a hush filled the hall. Nervous, I licked my lips. “Overcompensating, Ramien?” I asked, trying to sound confident.

“No, dear Venus. This is nothing. If I wanted I could change it all.” As he spoke the room morphed into a dank, black cave filled with thousands o
f smelly creatures. Saliva dribb
l
ed from their rotting mouths. I shuddered. Ramien laughed and changed the room back.

He led me to the edge of the walkway. “Can you do this alone or would you prefer someone
walk you down the aisle
?”

“What? No, I’m f—” I wasn’t able to finish. Zaren was suddenly in front of me, looking so gorgeous tears sprang to my eyes. “Zaren?” I ran and threw myself into his open arms.

“Prin
cess,” he whispered into my neck
.

“
You’re here,” I cried.
The
syrupy odor of death surrounded him.
And I knew the body he wore was created my Ramien.
No more lemons and honey. Sob after sob
ripped through me
. “I’m so sorry, Zaren. So, so sorry.”