In the middle of the Grand Hall, a huge stone plaque was standing with words carved on it in a language that Seraphina failed to recognize. All that she could tell was that the foreign language looked really pretty written in perfect calligraphy even on the stone.
The stone plaque was set up on a small round high platform. Surrounding the base of the plaque were rose flowers, all in the color of either black or white. A huge bowl of water was sitting there too, the water shimmering under the warm glow of the candle lights.
Seraphina felt a chill running down her spine once again when Mortimer started speaking in a foreign language, it sounded almost musical to her ear, but not knowing what he was saying made her feel uncomfortable. She quickly sneaked glances at the four men, two standing on her either side. Looking at their indifferent expressions, she felt like - either they knew exactly what Mortimer was saying, or they didn't really care about it.
Mortimer took his time in completing those chants of his before he finally stopped, only to bring a dagger out of nowhere. The sight of the weapon froze Seraphina in her place. With every passing second, she was feeling more like a pig that was there to be slaughtered instead of feeling like a bride-to-be.
"My Lord." Mortimer presented the dagger to Lucian who took it without any hint of hesitation and pulled it out of its sheath. Stepping forward, he brought his left hand over the bowl of water and made a cut on his palm with the dagger.
Seraphina watched as the man's blood dropped in the bowl of water, turning the transparent liquid red. Lucian waited until five drops of his blood landed in the water before he stepped back and handed the dagger to Kethan who was standing beside him and on Seraphina's left.
The man turned his attention toward her to give her a little wink before he stepped forward and repeated the same process as Lucian, adding five drops of his blood to the bowl before he returned to his original spot and handed the dagger to Arwan who was standing on Seraphina's right.
Seraphina watched as Arwan and Raven also stepped forward and added five drops of their blood to the bowl one by one. When Raven stepped back, he appeared in front of her instead of returning to his spot beside Arwan. The next moment, he offered the dagger to her.
Left completely frozen, she made no move to accept the dagger and just stared at the man with her eyes wide open in shock.
"My Lady, please accept the dagger and proceed with the ceremony." Mortimer spoke from where he was standing next to the platform and observing everything.
Gulping to get a control over her fear, Seraphina moved her hand and accepted the dagger. It was really a miracle that her hand wasn't shaking, once again saving herself from embarrassing herself.
Get a hold on yourself, Sera. Remember what you have been doing all your life. This is merely a piece of cake for you. Seraphina tried to remind herself that she was no damsel-in-distress. She had ruled the mafia world for nearly a decade and a dagger should be the last thing that could scare her.
As if prep-talking to herself was all she needed, she finally got a hold on her shaking nerves. Taking in a deep breath, she straightened her posture and stepped forward. She tightened her hold on the dagger's hilt and noticed that it too had carvings in that same foreign language. She used the sharp tip of the blade to pinch the index finger of her left hand and added five drops of her blood into the bowl.
She then handed the dagger to Mortimer and returned to her original spot between Arwan and Kethan, all the while sucking on her finger to stop the bleeding.
She watched as Mortimer sheathed the dagger and placed it next to bowl before speaking, "My Lady, please hold hands with the Lords."
Seraphina gave a nod of her head and was about to do as she was told when she realized the problem - she only had two hands, but there were four men. How was she supposed to hold all of their hands?
As if the men sensed her trouble, they all moved together, and the next thing she knew, her left hand was sandwiched between their left hands. Lucian and Kethan's hands were holding her hand from below while Arwan and Raven's hands were placed over her palm.
Seraphina watched as Mortimer once again whispered some words in that musical language and the blood-mixed water in the bowl started glowing with a golden light. Much to her shock, the water separated into five different lines and each line reached toward their joined hands. The water circled their wrists and when Mortimer finished his chant, the water turned into silk red threads that were braided into beautiful bracelets.
The men let go of her hand and she noticed that all five of them were now wearing that red thread bracelets on their left wrists. She turned her confused gaze at Mortimer and found the man smiling as he announced, "The first part of the wedding ceremony is completed. Lady Seraphina is now officially the betrothed of the four Shadow Lords. The second and final ceremony will take place after a month to complete the wedding."