The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 89: The Ceremony (Part Two)

Chapter 89: The Ceremony (Part Two)

Damien watched as the woman tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face as she spoke, "But we are already married."

He felt his lips twitching at her innocent look. While his mind was trying to remind him not to fall for her act, his body, soul, and heart were completely at her mercy. "This is going to be a different type of wedding according to the customs of my family, and unlike the previous time, you will be marrying only me today."

Annalise remained silent for a while, her beautiful eyes just looking at him. Only after certain moments did she react with a warm smile on her face as she nodded her head in understanding. "Don’t you hate me anymore?" She asked.

Damien took a deep breath as he was quite taken aback by the question. Looking at her initially, he wasn’t even sure that she remembered that part of their relationship anymore in her current state. "I’m really not sure what I’m feeling. All I know is that... I want to save you at any cost."

He squeezed her hands lightly before continuing, "I have decided, since there’s no turning back for me after this ceremony, I’ll try to find out the full truth. If I ended up being the wrong one in my judgment and my brothers succeeded in their beliefs in you, I’ll ask for your forgiveness and will accept whatever punishment you will want to give me..."

She remained silent but the look in her eyes told him that she was keenly anticipating him to finish the rest of the statement.

"... And if I end up finding that... that you are indeed planning something bad against me and my brothers with the help of others... I will personally make sure... that you will never achieve it." He let go of her hands and instead cupped her face with his hands as he pressed their foreheads together.

"Will you kill me?" She asked, her voice barely audible but he didn’t hear any sort of hesitation or fear in her tone, only curiosity to know his answer.

"After today, I’ll never be able to hurt you, Princess, let alone kill you. I’ll just make sure that you will fall so deeply for me and my brothers that you will never be able to hurt us. Or I’ll kill your partners and leave you no ally to work with. Or I’ll just tie you up in our bedroom and won’t allow you to step out of it at all." He received a little pinch from her at his last statement which made him chuckle.

"You are being nothing like your usual self. I can hardly recognize you." She murmured as she rested her head against his chest while closing her eyes and he immediately sensed the low level of her energy. The dark energy was almost about to reach her heart.

"Just hold on for a little bit more and all this will end soon." He whispered into her hair and felt her nodding her head twice before she became still.

Damien wrapped both his arms around her as he channeled his shadow powers into her body and searched for the essence of her powers. "Princess, allow me." He whispered again as he made her face him and as she looked at him with hooded eyes, he crashed his lips over hers.

She welcomed him without any resistance, her fingers curling into his sleeves as she hold his wrists that were back to cup her face between his palms as he kissed her deeply but slowly. He felt their souls reacting to one another and then a beautiful moment appeared as he felt a soulmate bond being initiated between the two of them.

A moan slipped through Annalise’s lips as she pulled away from the kiss and looked at him with her hooded eyes. "Was that a... bond?"

"Right." He answered before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He brought his attention back to the hall to listen to the High Priestess and realized that she had almost completed her spell and was ready for the second part of the ceremony.

"Annalise, you will need to follow my guidance so that we can complete this ceremony. Alright?" He looked into her eyes and saw her nodding her head in both understanding and agreement.

He continued to listen to the High Priestess and when the moment arrived, he stretched his left palm out and made Annalise do the same. Their palms were placed side by side as they stood facing each other.

The very next moment, two black threads appeared on their palms while the High Priestess started chanting a new spell. He took hold of the thread in his palm and merged it with Annalise’s moon thread before helping her to do the same with the one in her hand which she merged with his moon thread.

The next thing to appear was a huge crystal that was filled with the essence of the five elements that ruled the Midnight Realm. He placed Annalise’s palm over the top of the crystal before covering her hand with his own.

"It’s time for vows. Are you ready?" He asked and once again watch her nodding her head as her eyes stared at the crystal and their hands in excitement.

"Alright then, repeat after me." He cleared his throat before he started translating the vows that the High Priestess had started speaking in the ancient language of the Midnight Realm.

"I, Annalise, accept the power that binds me to Damien, the heir of the shadow, for eternity. I accept him at the rising of the moon and the setting of the stars. To love and to honor, to cherish and respect, through all of the eras and times that may fall before us, until our souls do us part. I give unto him my trust, my grace, my purity and accept his in return. My power belongs to him now just as his is now mine. And I shall never forsake him for another, my soul forever belonging to him. To the stars may we never part."

She repeated each word, binding a part of her soul to him as if it had always belonged to him. The vows left space for his two brothers but still properly bound them together as not only husband and wife for eternity but true soulmates who would stick together through all the ups and does that their lives would throw at them.