Amnon and I entered my house, where a servant waited for us. He took the umbrella from my new guard and told Father requested my appearance in his office as soon as possible. Silently, I thanked him with a nod of my head and walked down the dimly lit hallway to the door at the end with Amnon trailing behind me. I knocked and waited until I heard his gruff voice say, "Enter."
I glanced up at Amnon a little uneasily. He rested his back against the wall, his mighty arms folded against his barreled chest. I didn't think he was even looking at me until he gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. Though only having known him for a few hours I was comforted by his silent promise of remaining where he was. With a deep breath, I stepped into Father's office, closing the door behind me. He was partially sitting on his desk, his fingers tapping against the wood. His hair was down, spilling over his shoulders in an ebony waterfall. I leaned against the door until he impatiently beckoned me closer.
"Sit." He ordered, his eyes as hard as topaz. He moved to the back of his desk.
I sank into the leather seat, my back stiff. I kept my face as impassive as I could, though I didn't maintain eye contact with him for long.
"Show me the ring." I blinked as his command registered then fumbled in my pocket for the black box.
He snorted, "You didn't even put it on when he gave it to you? I hope His Majesty wasn't offended."
"If he was he didn't say anything." I mumbled, opening the box and handing the ring to him.
Father examined it in the light, nodding his head in approval. "One hundred percent real diamond. Pure gold. His Majesty spared no expense."
He handed it back to me and I reluctantly slipped it onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly, to my displeasure. Father folded his hands under his chin as he regarded me.
"The King and I will discuss the plans for the wedding for the next two weeks. Your engagement will be announced at the end of the week and you will be moving into the palace tomorrow night. You will learn the duties of being a queen as well as polish your etiquette skills. It has already been agreed Mikayla will be your Maid of Honor."
Just hearing about the wedding and my inevitable marriage made tears well up in my eyes. I blinked rapidly only to have a couple slip past my eyelids. Father stared at me blankly, noticing the tears.
"You are unhappy with this engagement?" He asked, his face unreadable.
"N-no," I answered shakily, rubbing at my eyes, "forgive me, Father."
"Would you rather you marry your brother? You and Zane have always been close."
I glowered at him and hissed, "I will not. Excuse me."
I stood and walked quickly out of his office, slamming the door shut. I didn't hear what he said, but he shouted after me. I ran up the stairs to my room. I stripped out of the dress and into a more comfortable one. I kicked my shoes off and slumped against my bed, gripping my hair in my hands. My door squeaked open and I felt someone's eyes on me. The menacing aura coming from the person matched Amnon's. I paid him no mind. He closed my door and I assumed he came to see if I had gone to my room. He didn't leave; I could hear his heartbeat outside the door.
"I don't want to marry him." I whispered to myself, rocking slightly.
I removed my hands from my hair and stared at the ring around my finger. It seemed to mock me with its sheen glinting in the candlelight. With a little grunt of frustration I threw it against the wall. It clattered to the floor with a sharp click but didn't break like I wanted it to.
Rayi, I summon thee to do my bidding. It was Will's voice, I realized, echoing around me as he spoke my summoning.
I said eagerly, "Open."
As soon as I saw him I threw my arms around his waist. He grunted in surprise, taking a step back from my force and exclaimed, "Hey! What's wrong? Are you alright?"
We were in his home and it was late at night, the moon shining through the windows. I shook my head, burying my face in the top of his stomach. He was wearing a dark colored shirt made of silk. It was soft against my cheek. He placed his hands on my shoulder and pulled me back so he could see my face. He looked concerned when he saw the troubled look on my face.
"Mel, what happened?" He asked softly.
I sniffed and tearfully proclaimed, "The King and I are engaged."
With a soft, "Oh," he started to pull away from me, but I cried in protest, "No! I don't want to marry him, but I have no choice! I-if I said no, I would have been executed. P-please, Will, don't leave me alone to deal with this!"
I wrapped my arms around him again, crushing myself to him. I was afraid he would turn me away and leave me to my fate. I sagged against him in relief when I felt his arms around me and relaxed my arms. One of his hands slid up to smooth my hair.
"I won't leave you. How long do you have?"
I reluctantly removed myself from his warm embrace. "Lin pays my dowry tomorrow and I will move into palace. The wedding will be at the end of the month."
"Damn." Will cursed, running a hand through his hair. The ends had been cut recently, reaching just below his shoulder blades instead of his mid-back. "That doesn't give us much time."
I whimpered, "What am I going to do?"
He looked down at me and said, "Remember what I said just last week? My mind is still made up."
It took me a minute to remember what he was talking about before it hit me. Our very transitory, one-sided conversation about marrying each other. I scrutinized his face, seeing how serious he was. His brows were pulled together somewhat and he stared at me expectantly. He wanted my consent. "You're certain you want to marry me?"
He nodded, his jaw set with determination. "We may not love each other, but I know we will."
"Will, where would we live? I can't stay in the Human World for much longer than a few hours and I definitely wouldn't be able to survive in Heaven."
Will gestured to around the house. "Here. We can have dark curtains during the day so your eyesight won't deteriorate. You won't have to go back there again."
"And how do you propose we get married?" I felt anxious just thinking about this, disbelieving how crazy the whole idea was. Rayi agreed with me, disliking that I was going to an angel when I could have a king.
"We'll ask a human priest to wed us in secret. We both look human enough, though we'll have to hide your eyes." He replied, beginning to sound excited. "We'll buy you a wedding dress and ring so you won't have to wear that horrid thing any longer than you have to."
"Your life is so much longer than mine." My arguments were growing weaker with each passing moment.
I was fearful of what would happen if my father found out. Or worse: Lucifer. Will, sensing my distress, gently grabbed my face, making me look at him. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine.
"It'll be okay, Melanie. I won't let anything happen to you. Don't worry about death now." He murmured, his thumb rubbing my cheek soothingly.
I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch. My will to argue with him died and I visibly sagged with defeat.
"When can we do this?"
He released my face and straightened up. I opened my eyes again. "We need time to work out the kinks...Give me a fortnight."
I bit my lip, thinking. It was certainly cutting it close but I believed in him. "Okay."
"I'll work out the arrangements. I promise, everything will be fine in the end."
He grew shy all of a sudden, ducking his head and looking at me through his hair. I blinked slowly at him, my head lightly cocked to one side. He asked bashfully, "Would...would you want to stay over tonight, Mel?"
The question caught me off guard and I gaped at him. Rayi cautioned, That wouldn't be proper. You are engaged to another man.
The only other male I had shared a bed with had been Zane when I was younger. I suffered from night terrors and would seek comfort from him. The thought of sleeping with Will had the opposite effect to when I would think of sleeping with Lin. My stomach tensed with excitement and I licked my lips. I nodded.
With a small smile, Will took my hand and led me upstairs to the bedroom.
He pulled his shirt over his head when we entered, tossing it on the floor. I stared, incredulous, at the black ink in his skin, various patterns of fire and dragon roping around his back and arms. Never before had I seen the extent of his tattoos, only getting teasing peeks when his sleeves would be rolled up. He grabbed the covers and pulled them back, the muscles in his back flexing. When he turned to me, I saw the tattoos continued around his chest, beginning just below his collarbone and disappearing at the waistline of his pants. Fine red hairs made a straight line beneath his navel, following the tattoos into his pants. Unlike Zane, who was burly, Will was leaner with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His arms were finely muscled while his torso remained solidly built.
I felt my face flush as I stared at his physique, pointedly ignoring his cocky smirk when he caught me looking.
"Come now, don't be shy." He chuckled, lounging on the bed.
I cautiously walked to the other side of the bed, lying stiffly on it. Will turned onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. I rolled onto my side, too, allowing him to wrap an arm around my waist to pull me closer. I placed my hand on the side of his neck, coaxing my heart into slowing down. He kissed my nose, causing me to smile. He returned my smile and whispered, "I've never done this before.
I whispered back, "I did when I was little with Zane. Never with someone I have feelings for."
"I'm an only child so I didn't have any siblings slipping into bed with me." I felt his arm tighten around me. I was brought closer until my other hand was crushed between our chests. I could feel his heart racing and realized he was just as nervous as I was.
I felt him sigh and murmur almost inaudibly, "This is nice."
I had to agree. Being held and holding someone was an indescribable feeling and I hoped I would be able to do it again.
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