“Do you, Nerissa June Allison Shale, accept and pledge to these vows, upon your life and limb and the sacred blood?”
Nerissa coughed, as if Blood Wyne had caught her off guard. “I give you my word, my pledge, and my oath.”
The historians once again echoed her oath.
Blood Wyne turned to Roman, who straightened his shoulders. “Roman, Lord and Heir to the throne of the Vampire Nation, do you pledge . . .” And she was off. His oath was as long as ours, and just as serious. Roman listened intently, his eyes focused on his mother, nodding quietly as she spoke. When she finished, he made his pledge—which included a vow to keep Nerissa, me, and our family safe and protected, and to come to our aid whenever we needed—and the historians finalized it into history.
Then Blood Wyne held up one arm. In her opposite hand she held a long, thin blade, with which she sliced to one side of her vein. As the blood welled up, she held out her wrist, first to Roman, who gracefully bowed, then leaned forward to lick the blood that was bubbling up. Then she turned to me. I followed suit and the blood hit me like champagne—effervescent and unnervingly tingly. Nerissa shivered just enough to tell me she was nervous, but she accepted Blood Wyne’s proffered arm and licked the blood.
Then, one by one, we followed suit—each slicing our arms, though Nerissa was far more cautious than Roman or I because she could die from bleeding out—and offering them to Blood Wyne, and then to each other. When everybody had traded a drink, Blood Wyne raised her arm again and the audience roared its approval. The deal was done, and we were bound by blood.
“I present to you Lord Roman, Heir to the Throne, and his Princess-Consorts Menolly Rosabelle and Nerissa June Allison.” Blood Wyne’s voice echoed through the theater, and once again a roar of approval thundered through the room.
The rest of the ceremony was mostly formal procedure, wrapping it up. Nerissa and I would go through our coronations at a later date, though our status was official as of now. Then Blood Wyne turned to leave the stage, the historians following her. Next, Roman, with Nerissa on one arm and me on his other, exited behind the Queen. Camille and Delilah followed behind us, guarded closely by the security forces. When we were backstage, we saw Shade, Smoky, Trillian, and Morio there waiting for us. They had been hustled out of the audience before the end, apparently.
Nerissa let out a long breath and leaned against a wall. Even though she had the courtesy not to say it, I could hear the Thank gods that’s over that I knew she was thinking.
Roman turned to us. “I would love to take you and your family out for a magnificent dinner, if you would allow me. Just because you and I cannot eat, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t.” He smiled so charmingly that once again, I felt a little like a fraud.
But as if he sensed what I was thinking, he took me aside. “Menolly, I want you to know that I am content. Marriage was not always struck as a love match. All through history, it has been an institution of politics and convenience. I grew up in a time when marriage was a way of cementing allies. And that is precisely what we have done here. We have struck a match that will ensure the strength of the Vampire Nation. And that is what matters to me.”
I gazed into his eyes. I knew he had fallen for me, even though I had warned him many times to guard his heart. But his intentions were clear. He meant every word he said. And that was when I realized that Roman was as much a creature of duty as my sisters and I were. He was playing his part, like Sharah was hers, like Camille would when she took the throne of Dusk and Twilight. He wasn’t mewling like a heartsick lover over the fact that I wasn’t his true match. Roman was taking it in stride and doing what his position called him to do.
That wiped away my worry. He had given his oath not to interfere with Nerissa and me and—for perhaps the first time since we had met—I truly believed he understood and accepted where we all stood.
“Thank you,” though, was all I said.
He inclined his head softly. “We all have our parts to play, and I have been around far too long to let such a thing as love sway me away from my duties. Now, please, allow me to be a gracious husband and take my new family out for a grand dinner. Mother, of course, will not be joining us. She will be at the cotillion but we are not expected to make an appearance.”
Curiosity won over. “Why not? We are the bride and groom . . . brides . . .”
“Because just like the honeymoon, they expect we’ll be at our stable, feeding madly because of the passion and buildup of the moment.”