Authors: Rain Oxford
The doctor helped her drink down the potion and very
soon after, she closed her eyes. The moment she was out, I unlocked the door
and let Zeda in.
“Be quiet; she needs to sleep. She was in a lot of
pain and she is embarrassed to be seen injured.
Zeda nodded, calm now that she was in the room, and
went to her sister. “She was always that way. She acted like being injured or
sick was a sign of weakness.” She leaned down and kissed Thessa’s forehead
gently. “Will she be okay?”
“She will live, but you should be outside with
Kseve.”
She winced. “Your guard might be mad at me for a
while. I kicked him in the knee and shoved Ada at him to get past him.”
“You threw your baby sister at an angry goblin?”
“No… I gently guided her into the protective arms of
my husband’s most trusted friend.”
Nano entered the room. “Uncle, use your magic to
protect Thessa while she heals. I believe she would prefer some privacy for the
next few days. We should leave her at peace for the time being. Maybe we should
postpone the wedding.”
“She would hate that as much as missing it,” Zeda
said. “Thessa hates to be the center of attention.”
* * *
Zeda, Ada, Kseve, and I were in my bedroom. Kseve had
actually boarded up the sliding glass doors that led to the balcony, so we were
relatively safe. Even though it was cold, my guard had refused to let us light
the fireplace.
Ada sat in my reclining chair while Kseve stood guard
by the door. Of course, he was on this side of the door this time. I propped my
pillows against the headboard and leaned against them. “The moment you feel
even a tiny bit uncomfortable, you have to tell me,” I warned Zeda.
She rolled her eyes and snuggled into my arms. I
couldn’t let myself enjoy her heat or how perfectly she felt against me. All my
life, I knew my touch was dangerous, and I could only have a taste of this.
I started reading aloud from a storybook that Ada had
picked out. It was a fairytale of all things. After a few pages, I noticed that
the room was growing warmer. I stopped reading, looked up, and saw that Ada was
asleep. Surprised that she would fall asleep so soon, I started to sit up only
to be overcome by a horrible migraine. I tried to nudge Zeda away, but she was
asleep as well. Lethargy joined the throbbing in my head and I found myself
slumping over my wife at the same time I heard Kseve collapse.
* * *
Ada’s shrill and terrified scream woke me in the
middle of battle. Unfortunately, the battle was taking place in my bedroom.
Kseve, Nano, and Zeb fought against my father and two very powerful demons. I
stood up to put space between Zeda, who was still asleep, and me. Ada was hiding
behind the chair as magic, fire, and weapons flew. I scooped Zeda into my arms
and set her carefully down next to Ada.
There was nothing I could do against demons, since I
couldn’t cancel out their magic. When an explosion came from outside the room,
I realized this was worse than I had thought; demons were flooding my castle.
“Where is Thessa?” Zeda asked, coming awake from the
sound. “If Nano is in here, does that mean Thessa is unprotected?”
When she tried to run to the door, she lost her step
and fell clumsily. I wanted to help her, but I knew touching her was why she
was in this condition in the first place, which had likely been my father’s
plan.
“Please help Thessa!” she yelled at the door.
“Can you get Dylan?” I asked Zeb.
“He’s unconscious right now. I can get Ron and Hail.”
“They’re children!” I argued, but he was already
gone.
A moment later, the boys appeared. Atos vanished
while the two demons escaped out the door. Zeb and the boys went after them.
Nano helped Zeda to her feet while Kseve checked me over for wounds.
“We are going to end this right now,” I said. Nano
and Kseve were both panting harshly, and that was dangerous for goblins.
Ada came out from behind the chair. “How are we going
to end this?”
“Zeda and I are getting married right now.”
“How will that end anything?” Nano asked.
“Atos is trying to kill Zeda so that I will stop
trying to break the curse. He will stop once we are married because Nano is
going to put a life bond over us during the ceremony.”
Nano’s complexion turned a little green. “I can’t do
that!”
“I can,” Ron said as he entered the room.
“What is a life bond?” Zeda asked.
“Our life lines will be bonded so that if you die, so
will I. However, as I am a void, it would not be reciprocated. My life can
extend yours, but if I die, the bond will be severed and you will live. If Atos
is so determined to prevent me from breaking the curse, he absolutely would not
do anything to kill me.”
“That is a huge commitment!” she exclaimed. At that
point, Samhail returned with Thessa in tow. “What if you are wrong?” she asked,
taking Thessa in her arms.
“Me? Wrong? I am the High King.” I wasn’t seriously
that narcissistic, but I needed Zeda to trust me. I probably would never have
bonded my lifeline to anyone, and certainly not when I had known her for such
little time, but I was willing to give up my curse for her.
Whether I was ready or not, I was going to take this
risk for Zeda.
“Will you marry me right now?” I asked.
She stared at me until Thessa pinched her. “Yes, I
will. Right now.”
Thessa went to stand by her younger sister. Hail
created a shield around Ron, Nano, Zeda, and me. Another explosion caused my
castle to trembling. Nano pulled out three silk scarves from his bag. “Okay. We
are going to do the quick, about-to-die a painful death version. Right hand.”
Immediately, I put my right hand out flat and she
placed hers flat against mine. “I bind you with patience…” he very quickly
wrapped the blue scarf around our hands. “Left hand.”
“A story to tell the children,” I said as we joined
our left hands.
“I bind you with trust.” He wrapped a green cloth
around our left hands. “Fingers.” We joined our little fingers together. “I
bind you with love.” He wrapped the white scarf around our fingers. “With these
three, you will find health and happiness in your long lives together and in
eternity beyond. Consent.”
“I do,” I said immediately.
“I do,” Zeda agreed.
“Good. Kiss.”
“Wait, I have to do my bit,” Ron said before I could
kiss Zeda. He pulled a tiny knife out of his pocket.
“Hang on, not blood. The life bond should not require
sharing blood.”
“Of course it requires blood,” Ron said, as if I was
a fool.
“I would lose my powers,” Zeda said.
“Would you rather lose your life?” Ron asked. He
rolled his eyes. “I know more than anyone how important our powers are. I can
try to prevent the void power from entering your system, but you’re looking at
a two-point-five percent change of success, which, technically, is better than
a zero percent chance. However, Nila is right. For some reason, Atos needs him
alive. Right now, he does not need you. Are you willing to die for your powers?
This can only be done during your wedding.”
I wanted to turn Zeda’s face to look at me, but our
hands were still bound. “Zeda, no. We can find another way to defeat Atos.”
She looked at her sisters for a moment and then
turned to me. “Magic is a way of life for our people, but Dios does not have
enough love. Our people love our power more than each other, and that is the
downfall of our population. I chose to marry you of my own will because in just
a few days, you have made me love you enough to want to spend the rest of my
life with you. I cannot do that if I fear touching you.”
Three demons burst in the room, which Hail and Kseve
fought. Nano stepped right out of the energy shield and helped the others fight
the demons. Ron ignored them.
“I would normally use your hands, but as you’re tied
up… and not in the fun way… I can’t see that working. So I am going to cut your
lips and you’re going to feel my energy. Once it starts to feel really hot…
again, not in the fun way… kiss. Got it?”
“Your friends are weird,” Zeda commented before Ron
made a small horizontal cut on her upper lip.
“He is actually my nephew.” Sort of… Ron made a small
cut on my lip as well. It stung, but I have had worse. When he let go, I felt
something similar to adrenaline. I had felt this before only with Dylan’s
energy. However, instead of fading, it grew harsher until it felt like my blood
was burning. Zeda and I moved together to kiss and the heat instantly became
gentle, pleasant warmth.
The oddest sensation came over me of love, affection,
and trust. I was feeling her emotions! I felt her growing love and even
arousal, as well as frustration that she couldn’t touch me. As our kiss deepened,
I felt more of the arousal from her and less frustration. Our hands were free
for some reason, so I pulled her against me and kissed her like I wanted to
since that first, soft kiss.
“Hey, newlyweds, return to the living,” Ron said.
I slowly broke away from Zeda, but she held my hand.
I didn’t realize until that point that the shield around me had collapsed. A
demon advanced on us so fast I could barely shout a warning, but she was
already turning. The black handle of a sword appeared in her hand, but it was
not attached to a metal blade. Instead, what she struck the demon with was a
blade made entirely of fire.
The demon burst into ash and every demon in the room
vanished.
“That was impressive,” Vretial said, appearing beside
me.
“Slightly amusing maybe,” another god said, appearing
next to him.
This god was taller than Vretial with dark brown hair
and silvery copper eyes. By the sneer on his face, I could predict that this
god despised nonsense and humor.
“Oh, Zerden, you are such a snob.”
“I told you never to call me that! I am Zer. I am
here offering a gift,” the god said with exasperation. Obviously, it was not
his idea to be here.
“What my little brat of a brother is saying is that
we are sympathetic to your plight. No two lovers should ever be kept apart for
something as petty as blood, lineage, and power.”
“Have you been reading Earth plays?” Ron asked the
god insolently.
“Yes, I have. It was either that, or count apples…
again.”
“I see. You have completely lost your mind,” the
teenager said. Hail looked like he wanted to smack Ron, but he held himself
together.
“Well, thank you for your concern with my wellbeing.
If you find it, let me know. In the meantime, mortals, enjoy yourselves.” With
that, both gods vanished.
“Weird friends,” Zeda repeated.
Ron and Hail vanished with a bright flash of light,
leaving me alone with Kseve, Nano, Zeda, and her sisters.
“So, this gift…” I said.
Clasping my right hand firmly with her left, she
raised her right hand, in which a sphere of swirling fire formed. “Hold out
your hand,” she said. I held out my free hand and she carefully placed my hand
under hers and then took hers away. Energy surged through me as the fire
floated above my hand.
“I am no longer a void?”
She let go of my hand and the fire instantly died.
Getting the idea, Kseve put his hand on my shoulder. “You are still a void; I
can feel it,” the goblin said. Zeda took my hand and the startled look on Kseve
face was priceless. “Now my power is back.” He let me go.
“So, I am still a void, but when we are touching, it
becomes dormant.” It couldn’t have been any more perfect. “Everyone out of the
room except for my wife,” I demanded. Zeda laughed as everyone else left.
We spent hours that night touching and learning about
each other without talking. Short naps between bouts of consummating our
marriage were the most sleep we got.
* * *
The next morning, hunger forced us to join everyone
in the dining room. My council, who only existed to bother me, wanted to talk
about taxes and transportation laws. I ignored them while Zeda took on her
sophisticated façade in front of our audience. Despite my attempts to tune them
out, I was quickly developing a headache.
Predicting my needs, Kseve gave me a cup of tea. I
reached for the cup, but Zeda took my hand instead. My headache instantly
desisted. She gave me a knowing smile, which distracted me further from the
councilmen who were trying to force a meeting at the breakfast table.
Fortunately, she was keeping her ears open.
One of the men, Odar said something which incited my
wife. Still holding my hand with her left, she raised her right hand and shot a
ball of fire at the man. It passed over his head, missing him by a hair, and
hit the wall behind him. We all knew it was a carefully aimed warning shot.
“You are not sending my sisters away.”
“You…” He shook as he looked doubtfully at our joined
hands.
“Do you agree, Nila?” she asked.
I felt her heated energy pass through our joined
hands and into my free one, which I held out. A small sphere of fire, which was
oddly peaceful, formed and hovered above my hand. Although I couldn’t do magic
myself and I could only sustain energy while touching Zeda, the council didn’t
need to know that.
“Of course I agree with my wife.”
Several of the councilmen looked nauseated, while
others looked proud. I knew there were people on my council and in my kingdom
who thought they could manipulate me because I was a void. I grinned at each of
the councilmen before me and gently squeezed Zeda’s hand as I let the fire die.
When we were supposed to be outside officially
getting married, we hid in a storage room and read while Nano explained that we
were already married. I knew the city wanted to see their king get married and
be a part of the weapon, but Zeda and I would have many years to give the
public our fake smiles… of course, with Zeda beside me, maybe they wouldn’t be
fake.