Melchior watched her tongue, mesmerized. Had Serenity distracted him this much when he saw her earlier? He came back to himself when Chigaru offered him the silver dagger. Melchior took the dagger and sliced Serenity’s palm. Unlike Serenity, his touch was gentle so he wouldn’t cut too deeply.
He brought the wound to his lips, but he watched Serenity. He expected her to flinch or at least show a little revulsion. She continued smiling. Nym was right. Serenity was a happy child.
The mage stepped forward and pressed their bloodied palms together. As he held them and said his words, the human priest stepped forward and wound a silver cord around their joined palms and said his words of ceremony.
“By bhresya custom, you are wed,” pronounced the mage.
The priest said, “Your union is bound as your hands are bound when your lips have met to seal this contract between male and female.”
Again, Serenity didn’t wait. She reached up with her uninjured hand to the right side of Melchior’s neck and latched on to the horn there. Her smile broadened at his surprised look. She pulled him down to her.
Upon learning that Melchior’s horns protruded not from his temples but the middle of his neck, Serenity had wondered if she could pull on them. Nym had assured Serenity the doing of which would only entice Melchior, not anger him.
Their lips met in a chaste kiss—a mere pressing of lips—but Serenity didn’t release Melchior until she was satisfied with the length of it. She dropped her hand away from his horn and he straightened.
“You are married,” the priest said. He removed the silver cord and handed it to Serenity.
Available in Ebook:
Serenity by D. Reneé Bagby
Fantasy Romance
They can have an everlasting love… if the demon will allow it.
Assassination attempts are nothing new for Princess Serenity. Since before her birth, many enemies have tried to end her life to stop her from fulfilling a marriage treaty that would bring an end to the war between humans and demons. She happily embraces her upcoming role and wants nothing more than to be a loving wife to her new husband, but that may be asking too much in a political union.
King Melchior is not a demon and his people aren’t savage monsters. He proposed the marriage treaty to prove to the humans that he and his people want peace. He didn’t expect to end one battle just to start a new one in his bedroom. No matter how eager his new wife proclaims to be, he has no intention of letting her in his bed or his heart.
The atmosphere of the palace is strained, and the estranged royal couple have made themselves easy targets for attack. The assassins will restart war the moment they kill Serenity, but one magic is strong enough to save her. In order to use it, Melchior must decide which is more important to him—his pride as the ruler of a strong and powerful people or his love for a small, determined human who was brave enough to offer her heart to a demon.
0 Comments