Eternal Fire (8 page)

When the high priest kissed the goblet and lifted it with both hands toward the ceiling, shouting some strange gibberish, a ring of fire immediately blazed around the altar, but not a hair on Victor’s head was singed.

A priest dipped the dagger into a bowl of serum, and my heart sank.
They’re gonna poison us!
I remember how horrible it felt when Victor was poisoned, and I couldn’t allow it to happen again.
There has to be a way out of this nightmare!

As if he’d overheard my desperate thoughts,
Ethano shot me an evil, triumphant smile. Lifting his arms high into the air, he thrust the poisoned dagger straight into Victor’s heart.

My world came to a crashing halt. My stomach lurched, and I screamed bloody murder. Terror and grief struck through me like a lightning bolt, and I couldn’t breathe. I blinked, hoping I’d wake up and realize it was all a bad dream, but I knew it wasn’t. “No!” I screamed so loudly that every face stopped their chanting to stare at me. I pounded on the invisible bubble that was holding me
. If I break free, Ethano’s a dead man!
I vowed.

Black shadows flitted around the room, and the candles were blown out by a mighty gust of wind. Darkness enveloped the room, until I couldn’t see a thing.

“
Liz!”

“
What’s going on?” she asked.

Suddenly, a beam of brilliant light shot up from the altar and encompassed my sister; a second later, another grabbed me. The brilliant, blazing energy bounced all around me, brighter than a hundred suns. I covered my eyes as I struggled to breath, as if something—some unseen, volatile force—was sucking the life out of me. It literally felt like an elephant was sitting on top of me, and I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on. I was slowly being crushed to death, and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to look at Liz, but I couldn’t. “Liz!” I screamed in my head.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it disappeared. I sucked in a big, giant lungful of air. A burning sensation flooded my body as sharp jabs of tiny pins and needles prickled my skin.

“
What happened?” Ethano roared.

The priest slammed a book shut, and his lips pressed into a grim line. “The connection was broken.”

“
But why?” Ethano demanded to know. “We’ve spent months preparing for this ceremony. It was all perfect. I personally made sure! The queen and princess are connected by blood, and we have…” He didn’t finish his thought, but I knew he was about to say king.

We were caught up in some ancient ceremony, and they needed our blood. Everything was a blur as the cruel reality hit me. I couldn’t think straight as tears streamed down my face. I watched the priests rush around the altar while others flipped desperately through the pages of the book. Something had gone terribly wrong, but I had no idea what.

My world crashed down around me, and thoughts flooded my mind. I remembered the first time I had laid eyes on Victor in the forest. I remembered those blazing blue eyes, his dark hair fluttering in the wind. I remembered our first kiss that nearly took my breath, how we danced at the festival, laughing as we spun each other around. I could almost feel the wind blowing though my hair, racing through the forest on a unicorn. I especially remembered him making love to me by the waterfall, under the stars.

I was an emotional volcano, and I had exploded. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the bittersweet memories rolled across my head. Our wedding played out across my mind…

The priest nodded. “King Victor Fesque II, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife? Wilt thou love her, honor her, keep her, and guard her, in health and in sickness, as a husband should a wife, forsaking all others? Wilt thou cling only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

Victor met my eyes and smiled. “I will.”

“
Princess Gloria Jarod, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband? Wilt thou love him, honor him, keep him, and guard him, in health and in sickness, as a wife should a husband, forsaking all others? Wilt though cleave only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

“
I will,” I answered.

The priest continued, “Do you take Princess Gloria Jarod to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, till death do you part, if the Holy Church doth ordain it? And thereto plight her thy troth?”

Victor smiled, flashing those gorgeous white teeth. “I do.”

The priest turned and repeated the vows to me. When I agreed, he said a blessing, then joined our hands together. “The third finger on the left hand has a special vein called vena amoris, the vein of love. This vein runs from the ring finger directly to the heart. The special ring that is placed upon this finger is the symbol of the sun, Earth, and universe, and it represents perfection and peace. It has no beginning and no end, just like time. The rubies represent love, and the diamonds signify eternity,” said the priest, nodding to the sparkling gems set in a gold band.” He turned to the king. “You may pledge your allegiance to your love and undying devotion.

When he handed me a matching ring, I looked closer and noticed that Victor’s ruby was square, making it look more masculine.

“
Put the ring on Victor’s finger,” the priest whispered.

With trembling hands, I slid the ring on his finger and gazed up at his beaming face.

“
We’ve done it,” Victor whispered.

“
I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest said. “My King, you may kiss your queen.”

“
You’re mine now—forever. Our bond is unbreakable, the spark between us never to be quenched.”

In slow motion, I remembered his face lowering onto mine, our lips barely touching, his hand wandering to the low of my back, drawing me closer, my chest pressing against his as his lips came down harder, though with nowhere near as much force as I would’ve expected from such a man…

A flame spread over me, spanning from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.

Victor dismissed the priest, and I let out a breath of relief. His mouth hovered over my lips, his hot breath giving me goosebumps. “I’m so blessed to have a bride as beautiful as you.” Victor’s eyes bore down into mine. “I’ve been burning to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you since the moment I laid eyes upon you.” He slipped his hands behind the back of my head and pulled me even closer. He kissed me again, more deeply this time, pushing past my lips and plunging his tongue deep into my mouth…

“
Sarah!” Liz yelled. “I’m so sorry.”

I screamed as shudders rocked my body.
The love of my life is…dead? How could this be happening?

Again, memories flooded my mind…

“
Are you trying to seduce me?” I whispered, shivers racing down my spine. “If you are, it’s not working.”

“
No?” His lips lowered ever so gently onto mine, his black hair caressing my face where it touched my skin. “How does a man seduce his own wife then?”

“
You mean your pretend wife. I don’t even know you.” I cringed inwardly at how low my voice sounded, how breathless, betraying how much I wanted him to keep going and ignore my halfhearted attempts to refuse his advances.

He smiled. “That is an easy problem to solve, as we have hundreds of years to get to know each other.”

“
But we did everything right,” a priest protested, cutting through my thoughts.

Another priest shut the book. “The connection is broken between Elizabeth and Charles.”

“
Was the life force between Sarah and Victor adequately destroyed?” another priest asked.

“
Yes,” Ethano said. “I’m sure of it.”

“
She is still connected to Victor’s life force though,” a priest said. “That is why this hasn’t worked.”

“
But she can’t be!” Ethano roared. “I told you I disconnected it myself, and I never make mistakes.”

I knew the connection was broken, because Victor had died, and I was still alive—even if I didn’t want to be without him.

Ethano waved his hand toward me, and I was gently brought back down.

Liz yelled obscenities at the priests, and a small, yellow ball of light blazed toward her from Ethano’s hands. As it hit her in the chest, she screamed and immediately slumped over.

“
Liz!” I yelled, but she didn’t respond. My Immortal vision allowed me to see the rise and fall of her chest, even in the dim light, so I was sure the fiend had had put her in some kind of deep sleep, the way Victor had with my friends when I was running away from him a year before.

The invisible ball that held me prisoner descended until my feet landed on the ground with a
thud
. As the walls around me dissipated, my body was suddenly paralyzed. I struggled to move a finger or anything at all, but I was totally at the mercy of Ethano. I hated the way he could control me. He laid a hand on my forehead and lingered there for a minute. I had no clue what he was doing, and a million scenarios crossed my mind. A wave of heat rushed through my body as my breath caught. He was doing some kind of mumbo-jumbo, and I wished I knew what it was.
Or maybe it’s better not to know.

He smiled. “This is even better.” He turned his gaze to a priest who was standing next to him. “Get me the
Book of Maldara
.”

The priest nodded and hurried off, then returned with a thick tome. He began thumbing through the pages like a madman, then stopped and smiled widely. “Yes! We could have never anticipated this.”

The priests gathered around as their faces lit up. “Are you sure?” one said.

“
I’m positive,” he said with certainty.

Ethano met my gaze, an evil smile curling on his lips. “You never cease to amaze me, Sarah.”

I wanted to spit in his face. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I really couldn’t have cared less. I was fighting to speak, and with one wave of Ethano’s hand, I felt the muscles in my mouth free up. I swallowed hard. “I want to see Victor one last time. Please? Is that too much to ask?”

His cold eyes met mine. “Too late. Your king is dead.” He almost smiled when he said it.

How could he delight in my pain?
His words tore at my heart, and I turned and rushed over to Victor on the altar. I cupped his cheek and wept. He looked so sweet and serene, almost as if he were merely asleep. “Victor,” I said, “I love you so much. I’ll always love you.”

“
Touching,” Ethano mocked in the background, and many of the priests joined him in heartless chuckling.

Ethano continued with his speech, but I tuned him out. More tears rolled down my face. I wasn’t one to cry, but I was losing all control. Emotions overwhelmed me as I slowly stroked my love’s raven-black hair.

Suddenly, strong, unforgiving hands gripped me from behind, yanking me away.

“
No! Give me one more minute,” I spat.

“
Your time is up, my Queen,” Ethano said. “You were supposed to die tonight, but it seems destiny has saved your life.”

“
Let me bury Victor,” I begged. “He deserves a proper burial.”

“
You needn’t worry. He will get what he deserves, and he’ll have your sister to keep him company.”

His callous words hit me full force. “No! You can’t kill Liz too.”

“
Their deaths will appease my anger toward you, a perfect vengeance.” He lifted his hand up, and Liz floated softly to the ground.

I rushed over and wrapped my arms around my sister. I could feel her chest rise, but I took little comfort in knowing she was still alive, only for them to kill her.