The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 90: The Ceremony (Part Three)

Chapter 90: The Ceremony (Part Three)

"I, Damien, the heir of the shadow and second prince of the Midnight Realm, accept the power that binds me to Annalise, my wife and the future queen of this realm. I accept her 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 her my trust, my love, my shadow and accept hers in return. My power belongs to her now just as hers is now mine. And I shall never forsake her for another, my soul forever belonging to her. To the stars may we never part."

Damien repeated his vows after Annalise was finished with hers and felt his soul finally responding to her vows. Their moon threads glowed bright red with darkness surrounding them as a golden thread connected both of them before it entered their hands and spread across their bodies and headed straight to their hearts, creating the purest form of soulmate bond.

He pulled the woman back in his arms as he sealed her lips in a deep and passionate kiss. His hands went around her small body to pull her closer to him if that was even possible considering their bodies were almost pressed together.

He felt his shadow power sleeping deep inside her and this time, her body accepted him and his powers without any resistance. This gave him the opening that he wanted as he directed his darkness to fight against the dark energy.

Back in the Ceremony Hall, the High Priestess ended the ceremony as she chanted the last sacred spell before the crystal, that had been hanging over their heads, burst open and a small stone dropped from it that Damien immediately caught.

"The ceremony is over. Second Prince Damien and Princess Annalise are now husband and wife, their hearts bound together by the sacred golden thread and their souls by the sacred vows to the Stars." The High Priestess announced as she officially ended the ceremony by making declaration.

"Damien, take your wife to your bed-chambers." The queen ordered before she left the hall with the High Priestess, Valerius, and Kenric. The doors of the hall closed behind them as Damien and Annalise were the only ones left behind.

Damien ended the kiss as he pulled away to look at his wife and saw that the fight of powers inside her body was proving very harsh on her already exhausted body. "Let me end this hurriedly. But this will hurt a little bit as it’s gonna be your first time."

She opened her mouth to say something but seemed like no words came out of her mouth. She just stared at him with confused eyes.

Damien let one of his hands rest against her nape while the other one remained wrapped around her waist. He tilted her head to the side, allowing himself full access to the left side of her pale neck. He moved his face closer and placed a kiss against her pulsing vein and immediately felt her shudder in his arms.

He plastered a few more kisses on the side of her neck, easing her into the moment, and heard a sigh leaving her lips as she relaxed against him. He nibbled lightly on her sensitive skin in the crook of her neck before he finally allowed his fangs to come out and immediately pierced the beautiful pale skin as his canines sank deep into her flesh.

A small cry of pain immediately left Annalise’s mouth but she neither protested nor tried to get away from him, instead, she turned her head to the side to give him more access to her neck.

Damien took the first taste of her blood and immediately felt his entire body shivering as the intoxicating blood took over his senses. His soul responded as the last thread of the soulmate bond came into place and their souls finally joined, the bond coming to completion as the marking sealed the fourth stage of the soulmate bond.

Their powers combined and he experienced the true essence of her powers for the very first time, immediately coming to a big realization but it didn’t matter at the moment. The only thing that mattered was the woman in his arms, his wife and mate.

As their powers and souls combined, it left no space for the dark energy to continue with its invasion of her body and it finally pulled away, leaving her body immediately and allowing Damien’s powers to heal her injured body that was still resting on the obsidian table.

"Damien..."

His name was a soft whisper on her lips as she shuddered in his arms as he continued to drink her blood that tasted like the sweetest elixir that could have ever existed. Being fully aware that he needed to stop, he finally pulled out his fangs and sealed the cuts with a lick of his tongue across the bleeding punctures.

He pulled his face away to look at his woman and found her face flushed as she stared back at him with heavy eyes. She was tired beyond reason and badly needed rest. "It’s alright, Princess. You can sleep now, I’ll be here with you." He murmured softly as he placed a kiss on her forehead and watched as she immediately snuggled her face into his chest.

A smile made its way to his lips as he felt his heart filling with warmth. He brought both of them back to their original bodies that were waiting in the Ceremony Hall.

Damien’s eyes flew open and finally landed on the sleeping form of Annalise on the table in front of him. He immediately moved to pick her up in his arms while trying his best to not wake her up. The woman immediately snuggled her face into the crook of his neck as soon as she was in his arms.

The very next moment, both of their silhouettes dispersed from the hall.