~RUNE
I had been kissed once before.
It had been a cold fleeting thing.
Nothing even worthy of branding as a core memory.
But when Uriel kissed me, I felt it deeper than I should have.
I felt the pure emotions he had for the woman he loved.
And as much as I liked it, I was not the woman he loved.
That was when Father cleared his throat and snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Now that the wedding ceremony is complete, I believe we can now move to signing the alliance documents.”
We had moved from the great hall to the reception hall.
A few nobles were allowed into this ceremony and the hall was quite packed with humans and Orin alike.
Uriel and I were sitting at a table together, along with his Lords and the House Aylin.
My father stood at the head of the table and addressed us.
“You are right, King Theron. We should finalise everything immediately,” Uriel agreed.
I swallowed hard.
Once he signed it, I would lose my family’s protection.
Father nodded at Lucien and he came forward with the papers.
Lord Dain took the documents from him, went through it before nodding at Uriel to go ahead.
Uriel signed and sealed it with his blood.
“Is this enough?”
At that moment, I saw relief wash over my parents and brother.
The deed had been done.
Whatever happened after this was none of their concern.
I was completely on my own now.
“Yes, it is enough, King Uriel,” Father said, unable to contain his excitement.
“We are now family.”
Uriel nodded once with a small smile.
That was when music started to play in the hall.
Uriel suddenly rose from his seat and offered me his hand.
“Will you honor me tonight by giving me this first dance?” He asked ever so softly that it felt illegal to even think of turning him down.
But I swallowed hard because there was a small problem.
I had only ever danced alone, in secret after watching Sayla learn.
If I accepted to dance with Uriel, it would be my first.
What if I made mistakes?
And what if those mistakes ended up exposing me?
All eyes were on us now.
If I made an excuse, it would make him look bad and only make matters worse.
I just needed to survive this dance somehow.
So with a shaky hand, I placed my right hand into his.
He smiled and gently pulled me to my feet.
Then he led me to the center of the hall.
The light in the hall dimmed and a spotlight was placed on us.
I released a shaky breath as I looked around at all the people watching us.
I did a short courtesy and he also bowed to me.
Then Uriel slowly placed his hand on the small of my back and directed my hands to rest on his warm chest.
The music switched to the one for us and our dance began.
But my heart began to race with each step.
I worried about messing up.
That’s when I stepped on his foot.
“Sorry,” I squeaked.
I didn’t even finish when I stepped on him again.
I was disoriented.
I was a mess.
Murmurs began to fill the hall with every more mistake I made.
“I thought Princess Sayla was an excellent dancer?”
“Her performance is so poor. Was it all a front?”
“I’ve seen her dance before. She danced so well then.”
“Watching her dance this poorly now, one would think she was switched…”
My heart skipped as instant panic filled my core.
Had they already figured out my lie?
Suddenly, Uriel pulled me closer to his chest and I gasped as I hit him hard.
“You look nervous.”
I blinked hard.
I couldn’t break free.
So I looked up and I was met with his intensely blazing crimson gaze.
“You only need to focus on me, not them…” He whispered.
“Trust me. Allow me to lead you and I promise I won’t let you fall.”
Goosebumps scattered across my body at his words.
A sudden warmth came alive at the pit of my stomach.
My mind instantly went blank and I surrendered into his arms.
And like a spell had been put on me, my body instantly knew how to follow his movements.
His hands glided over mine as he smoothly twirled me around.
Then he pulled me and my back hit his chest hard.
A gasp escaped my lips.
He held me in place there, slowly trailing his hands down my arms.
His lips found my neck and I shivered when they made contact with my skin.
An involuntary chill ran down my spine.
The fire at my pit grew stronger.
And I slowly felt our audience begin to melt away until it was just Uriel and I in the space.
His hands kept moving over my body, doing things I never thought were possible before now.
He twirled me around again and lifted me in the air next.
I gasped at how easily he did it.
My cheeks began to burn red whether from shock or shyness, I could not tell.
Everything about this supposed mad king was suddenly so gentle.
And I found myself falling— drowning within his dangerous essence.
The music finally slowed, indicating the end of it.
Cheers erupted in the hall and more people spilled to the center.
Everyone began to dance with a partner of their choice.
Uriel leaned down to my left ear.
“Want to get away from here?”
There was a childish excitement in his voice which I could not ignore.
I stared up at him in awe and before I could respond, he took my hand and began to sneak me out of the hall.
“Wh— where are we going?” I asked.
It was not a good idea for me to be alone with him.
The longer I avoided it, the more time I got to stay alive.
“Nowhere intense,” he answered.
We stopped at a balcony which was purely illuminated by a bright crescent moon above us.
I stood still and took in its beauty.
It brought back memories of Sayla.
She used to love watching the moon a lot.
I swallowed hard as the image of her blood soaked body flashed back within my mind.
“Did something happen to you?” Uriel finally asked, breaking the silence.
I threw a short glance at him before looking away.
Was he suspecting me?
“You’ve been acting differently all day,” he continued.
“You have barely spoken to me and you keep avoiding my eyes.”
I froze as panic began to rise up my throat.
That was when he pulled me closer so that I was forced to look into his eyes.
“Above all, there is sadness in your eyes.”
My eyes grew wide at these words.
How did he easily see something my entire family had failed to see all my life?
He brought his hand to my cheek and the warmth spread through my face.
“I know the wedding is overwhelming. I only just met you three months ago when you saved me from the snow and nursed me back to life,” he continued.
“Yet, I proposed marriage and you accepted.”
He gently pushed my hair out of my face.
“I know it must be terrifying to leave the place you’ve always known as home. You must be nervous and frightened to go live amongst the very monsters you have feared all your life…”
I blinked at him, at how genuine he sounded.
This whole time, I thought he had been suspecting me but he had only been worrying for me.
This was the man my sister fell in love with.
He was perfect for her.
“I want you to know that you don’t need to face all of this on your own. I will be with you every step of the way,” he assured me.
“I will take that sadness away from you.”
I felt my heart crack deep within me.
No one had ever said something like this to me before.
Not even Sayla who cared the most for me.
Tears filled my eyes.
I didn’t know how to respond to this.
I feared that speaking could blow my cover.
So I did the only thing that came to mind.
I hugged him.
“Thank you for being kind to me.”
Uriel stiffened for a moment before he relaxed and hugged me back.
When I finally pulled away, he smirked dangerously at me and I felt something shift in the air.
“I have wanted you for so long now,” he whispered as he placed his finger under my chin.
“Now that we are husband and wife, no one can stop me from ripping this dress off you tonight.”
My heart skipped.
I almost forgot that I would be required to make love to him.
Sayla had been mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for it.
I wasn’t.
The Orin were said to be violent lovers.
They left scars behind.
I had no light to heal myself if I got hurt during the process.
How would I—
Uriel crashed his lips against mine.
My mind went blank.
He kissed me hard.
I felt everything.
His hot lips.
His teeth.
His hungry tongue as it ransacked my mouth while I helplessly remained frozen against him.
He drank me in like I was the oasis he had been seeking for ages.
His hands ran over my body as I felt his hunger for me begin to grow.
His hungry kisses moved down my neck.
“You smell so good… Your blood tastes so good. I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered breathlessly as his hands found my thighs.
How he got there, I had no idea.
All I knew was that my heart was pounding heavily against my chest.
With panic and overwhelming strangely enticed emotions which I could not identify.
I was breathing heavily now as he turned me around so that my back was against his chest.
And he was beginning to bend me over, towards the balcony when—
Someone suddenly cleared their throat.
Uriel hissed and instantly fixed my clothes before turning to face the interrupter.
Lord Dain stood there.
“What is it?” Uriel demanded.
“Word came from Oraena,” Dain began.
“Three Orin succumbed to the Black Madness. Your attention is needed immediately.”
“Shit,” Uriel cussed under his breath.
“Prepare the carriages. We leave immediately.”
How could the monster be so kind?