My energy shall be yours, and yours mine. Then I will know that you are for real. Then you can join us, and we will destroy them both together.”
Sera stared back at him with something like disgust. But she didn’t flinch, or turn away. Instead, she stared, as if thinking.
“I could think of nothing that would hurt Caleb more,” Sera said, staring Kyle up and down.
And then she added: “And I could think of few better ways to exact my revenge.” To Kyle’s surprise, Sera suddenly stepped forward and kissed him hard on the lips. She leaned back and stared into his eyes, and he could feel her energy, feel that she was just as aggressive as he was.
As Kyle felt her rage, her aggression, her ambition, he suddenly realized that he and Sera were perfectly matched. It was clear to him that they would both stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
He led her into the blackness, to a grassy plateau on the periphery of the torches. As the drums pounded all around them, as Rynd’s men drank and danced and slaughtered and chanted, Kyle led Sera down to the ground, and he knew that this would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
As Caitlin woke to the first rays of dawn streaming through her window, she felt an electric thrill to realize that this was her wedding day. She rose slowly from the comfort of bed, slipping out of the stack of warm furs, missing Caleb, his warmth beside her. They had followed the ancient vampire tradition, and had slept apart on this night before their wedding. She knew he was just down the hall, but it now felt strange to sleep in such a large bed alone, and she couldn’t help missing him.
Caitlin gravitated to the castle window, looking out. It was the first day of November, the morning after Samhain, and the day was breaking cool and crisp. The leaves shimmered in a million vibrant colors, and the ever-present mist of Skye hung like a layer over everything. The dawn spread out in a soft, orange light, and it was magical: as it struck the mist, the entire island seemed as if it were covered in a rainbow.
“Mommy! It’s your wedding day!” Scarlet exclaimed, running over and hugging her.
Caitlin looked down and smiled, and she could tell that Scarlet had been up for a while.
Ruth barked, and came limping over, licking Caitlin’s hand. Caitlin was so happy and relieved to see Ruth up and walking around again, recovering well from her wounds. Caitlin had used her healing powers on her, and it had helped; but Ruth’s wounds ran deep, and it would take time for her to recover fully. In fact, Caitlin didn’t know if she would ever fully recover from her limp—and she suspected not. Still, to see her up and walking around lifted her heart.
“We’re so excited!” Scarlet yelled. “Today you’re going to be married to daddy!” she said, jumping up and down. Ruth barked again.
Caitlin felt a tremor of nervousness at the thought of the day before her, of how momentous it was. Her wedding day. It was really here.
Caitlin wasn’t hung up on the details, on all the pomp and formalities; she just hoped that everything would go smoothly, without any drama. More than anything, she just wanted to be married to Caleb.
There was a knock on the door, and moments later, it opened and Taylor rushed in, followed by several of her bridesmaids, all carrying her exquisite wedding dress. Caitlin wondered for a moment where Polly was, assuming she would have been the first one to enter. But as the large oak door was still open, Caitlin suddenly spotted Polly across the hall, at the far end of it, exiting Sam’s room.
Caitlin smiled to herself, realizing that Polly had spent the night there. It made her feel good to think of her brother and Polly together. She thought they were the perfect match.
Polly rushed in and appeared with the others, her hair tasseled, looking sleepy, but eyes wide open, energetic, and looking more excited than she’d ever seen her.
“The day is here!” she yelled, barely able to contain her excitement, and the other girls cheered.
Within moments, Caitlin was lost in a whirlwind of girls enclosing her, dressing her, rubbing her with oils, doing her hair makeup, her hair, and a variety of things.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and an attendant appeared, holding out before him a small tray covered in a red velvet lining. Atop it sat the most beautiful necklace and earrings Caitlin had ever seen, sparking and shining with large diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
The girls, including Caitlin, all gasped.
The attendant smiled back, looking at Caitlin. “A gift from your husband-to-be on your wedding day.”
There was dead silence in the room, as the girls all stared at the treasures. Polly reached over and took them, and came around behind Caitlin and put them on her. Caitlin was glad she had, because she would have been too intimidated to do so herself.
Caitlin now, more than ever, wished she was able to see herself in a mirror. But the awe-struck looks on the faces of all the girls, gaping at her, would have to suffice. Caitlin herself could see them shining as she looked down, and could feel their heavy weight in her ears, and around her neck, and she could feel how magnificent they were. She felt more indebted to Caleb than she ever had.
The girls rushed back to their preparations, and Caitlin told herself she just had to go with it.
Caitlin felt as if it were all so surreal, as if she were lost in a dream. It would be, she realized, just the beginning of what would be a long, inexplicable, magical day.
*
The morning hours, immersed in getting dressed, in hair, makeup, all flew by in a rush. Caitlin wanted to slow it down, to savor every moment; but there was no way. This day seemed to progress faster than any day of her life.
Before Caitlin knew it, it was early afternoon, and she found herself being led to the periphery of the wedding aisle, concealed, with her bridesmaids, behind a laced-off waiting area. From her vantage point, she could see the long aisle, draped with a red carpet over the grass, leading to a gorgeous altar, covered in flowers. On either side of the aisle, to Caitlin’s surprise, stood hundreds of vampires. Caitlin recalled being told that, in the ancient vampire tradition, vampires from fellow covens around the world would fly in to attend the ceremony and pay their respects.
In vampire tradition, nobody sat. Instead they all stood at attention, all dressed in the traditional vampire wedding garb—men wearing long-sleeved, velvet, black robes and women wearing the same, but in white. They all had a scarlet, linen cloth draped over their necks, like a necklace, hanging down low over the robe. The sight of so many people, so many of them strangers, made Caitlin more nervous.