Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Oh come and behold her,
She of the Four Faces
Let her bless your Binding
Let her love purify your hearts
And bring your Souls into union,” the four mouths sang together.
The words didn’t rhyme and yet the harmony was so perfect, they seemed to weave together in my mind.
As the priestess sang, she circled the statue of the goddess, her voices ringing out against the round marble walls and high ceiling until it sounded like a hundred voices were singing—not just four.
Finally she finished the hymn and stood to one side of the statue. She beckoned to Slade and me with both hands, inviting us closer.
“Draw near, children,” all four voices said at once. “And let us begin this Holy Binding.”
For a moment I just stood there, feeling mesmerized by the four harmonious voices and the soft glow of the candlelight. Then Slade took my hand in his and pulled me gently forward until we were standing in front of the priestess.
“My children,” she said to us. “I must charge you to answer to each aspect of the Goddess so that She of the Four Faces may bless your union and Bind you together. But first, you must drink of each other.”
From somewhere in her voluminous robe, she pulled out an intricately etched crystal goblet and a small green glass bottle.
“The Blood of the Goddess,” she said as she uncorked the bottle and poured about half of its contents—which turned out to be a clear liquid with a soft, floral scent—into the crystal goblet. She replaced the bottle in her robes and handed me the goblet to hold. I started to take a drink, but she put out a hand to stop me. “Not yet, my child,” the motherly face that was looking at me cautioned. “Your Fated Mate’s life essence is not yet added to the Holy Wine.”
She pulled out a long, thin, silver pin with a jeweled head and held out a hand to Slade.
“Your finger—hold it over the Cup of Binding,” she ordered.
Slade did as she said without comment and didn’t even wince as she jabbed the pad of his forefinger with the long, sharp pin. Several drops of blood fell into the clear wine—‘the Blood of the Goddess,’ as the priestess had called it.
I couldn’t help noticing that the blood that dripped from his finger was golden instead of red, like human blood. It turned the liquid in the goblet gold as well—it looked like someone had melted a golden bar and poured it into the crystal vessel, I thought. I wondered if all the Brute Clansmen had golden blood or if it was only Clan Cruel.
I had no idea and no time to ask. A moment later the priestess was asking Slade to hold the crystal goblet and telling me to extend my hand over it.
I felt a surge of unease—not because I was afraid of getting my finger poked, but because of the sacred nature of this ceremony. Blood was binding—we pricked our fingers on L’Crist and pressed our bloody fingertip to the parchment when we signed a contract.
Well, men did, anyway. Women weren’t allowed to enter into any kind of business dealings or legal agreements. But still, using blood in this strange ceremony made me nervous.
Slade had promised he would only keep me for six months, but what if something went wrong? What if mingling my blood with his really did tie me to him in some way. What if—
“Ouch!” I gasped involuntarily as the priestess jabbed my finger with her long, silver pin.
I felt immediately embarrassed by my outburst—I should have been stoic like Slade. We both watched in silence as several drops of my dark red blood fell into the crystal goblet. For a moment they disappeared completely in the melted gold liquid. Then the Holy Wine began to change.
First it turned from golden to white…then blue…then scarlet…then black…and then back to clear again.
I wasn’t sure what this reaction meant, but the priestess nodded her head and I thought all of her faces—at least the three I could see, since one was facing away from me at the back of her head—looked pleased.
“Very well—the test has been made and your status is confirmed. The two of you are, indeed, Fated Mates,” the motherly faces said.
“As the Goddess wills it,” Slade murmured, nodding.
I frowned skeptically. Surely they didn’t really think that mixing our blood in a cup like this could prove that we were meant to be together? Then Slade elbowed me and I realized he and the priestess were waiting for me to say something.
“Oh—as the Goddess wills it,” I said quickly. I was relieved when they both nodded.
“And now, you must each drink of each other,” she said. She handed the goblet to me first, much to my chagrin. I wasn’t eager to drink alcohol for the first time in my life—I had been told that it was bad for women and that those who drank it found it bitter and biting. Also, I didn’t like the idea of drinking anything that had blood in it. But one look into Slade’s golden eyes let me know I had better get on with it.