The blood was still dripping down my chin as I was ushered out of the dining room and pushed towards the backdoor. The sun was just about to dip below the tops of the trees and the breeze moved through my still-damp hair, the blood on my face quickly becoming cool and drying around the edges of where it was splattered on my skin. A few of the guards looked our way as we walked toward the ritual table, and a few of them broke their stony facades their eyes bulging or fear on their faces. I must look frightful in my current condition, I looked down at myself, blood coated the front of my dress, the thin fabric sticking to me like a second skin, blood still dripping onto it from my chin. I raised my hand to wipe my face but my father stopped me.
"No, nothing is to be removed, do you understand?"
"Yes, father."
"Good," We come to a stop just outside of a circle made of boulders that must have come from the forest, the table sat directly in the center of it. I watched as my father took a torch from one of the guards and walked around the circle lighting all three of the large torches I saw Onyx and his friends placing. Once he walked a full circle, examining every inch of the circle and the table, he held out his hand to me as he passed the torch to another guard. I took his hand, it was much larger than mine and warm against the cold. He lead me towards the table and then held me onto it. The second my skin touched the cold stone, all of my breath left my body. Goosebumps erupted all over my skin just like when I was in the pond, and the feeling of being watched was back.
Onyx appeared in front of me, oblivious to what was happening to me as he smiled at me, and under my father's orders caressed my face and helped me lay down comfortably on my back. By his expression, he didn't seem to mind the blood coating my skin. I lay stiffly on the hard table, looking up at the almost night sky, the pink orange colors from the sun are beautiful around this time. Rustling from my left catch my attention, and I turn my head to see my Dad pulling out a very old, large leather-bound book from a cloth sack. There weren't many details to the cover beside a beautiful inseam made of what looked like silver threading. I watched as candles were lit around the circle, and my father began taking deep calming breaths as he clutched the book to his chest with his eyes closed. By the time the candles were completely lit, the sun had gone down and the only light source was from the torches and the candles.
My father walked into the circle with the book wide open, balancing the heavy book in his open palm. Onyx was still standing beside me until my father directed him to lie beside me. My body became even stiffer as Onyx pulled his shirt off, along with his jeans and boots, and climbed over me completely naked. When he was settled beside me his fingers barely touched mine, it was a whisper of contact, but I felt it. I looked back up at the sky, and let out a ragged breath as I tried to release my nerves, I knew something wasn't right, but how do you tell someone hell-bent on being better than everyone else, that this isn't the way?
My father cleared his throat and then his warm, loud voice filled the quiet air around us. Just like with Edna, I didn't understand the language, but it sounded ancient, powerful, and wrong. Just like last time, I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was back at that place, surrounded by darkness as I sat on a patch of grass. I could hear my father's words as he spoke the words, and what sounded like a group of men began chanting after him, but there were only three guards around the circle. There weren't enough men to make the chanting I hear now. I looked around myself into the darkness, and it took me a moment to see thousands and thousands of bright white lights, and then I realized that they were stars. I stood up and began walking towards them when I almost fell at the end of the patch of grass where it completely cuts off, clumps of dirt fell from where my foot slid down the side of the earth and I watched as it fell, and kept falling.
I swallowed thickly as I carefully backed away, suddenly feeling afraid of heights as I made my way to sit down in the center of the patch. My skin began to crawl as the feeling of being watched became stronger, and in a flash, he was standing in front of me. The shadowed man looked more than just a shadow now, his form was no longer see-through like black smoke, but solid. He still didn't have any features, and I don't know how I know he was a man, but he squats in front of me, his head tilting as his empty face looked at me. My breath shuddered and warmth surrounded me like an embrace, his head tilted to the other side and somehow my father's chanting became louder with each breath he took. With each word, the form in front of me became clearer and more solid, and features began to slowly etch across his face of him. And when the ritual was over, a man was in front of me. He was beautiful, with a dark aura around him. Black hair was neatly combed away from his face, dark brown eyes stared intently at me, full, pink lips parted as he breathed. My eyes roamed from his face, down to his hard chest, his thick biceps that were covered in black symbols, and his abs, until they dipped too low, and discovered he was completely naked.
My eyes grew wide and I quickly looked away as I sucked in a breath. His strong fingers reached up and roughly grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. Anger that wasn't there before now danced in his eyes, his features now hard as he clenched his teeth. His breathing was hard and quick as his chest moved with the rhythm.
"You are now mine," his voice was smooth and deep, like how I'd imagine the darkness would sound if it made a noise. His words scared me, but also sent a thrill throughout my body. He pulled me towards him, his movements so quick it takes me a moment to process that I was now in his lap. One second I was sitting on my ass, the next I was sitting in his lap, and now his lips were on mine. My mind was reeling, and I was trying to grasp reality, trying to wake up from whatever this was and be back on the table, shivering in the cold next to Onyx, but I didn't know how to do that. So instead, I kissed him back, and I enjoyed it.