Foretold (Daughters of Saraqael Book Three) (18 page)

Her heart was absolutely overflowing. She did what she could to suppress her surging emotion, knowing her makeup would be ruined, but tears still spilled from her eyes. Again, she nodded. He smiled. Then he pressed his ring into her right hand.

She glanced down, deeply curious. The rings were silver in color. Her band was delicate and crafted of filigreed waves surrounding the center stone, a yin-yang circle of light blue and midnight blue gems. His band was also silver but solid, and contained the same center stone. She thought of how well she and Caleb complemented each other and knew the rings were completely perfect.

And when she looked up and saw the love in his eyes, she also knew pure joy.

He held her gaze as he spoke. “Skye, my life is better now and always will be because you are in it. I know that I am the most fortunate being on any plane simply because of your love and faith in me. I love you beyond all reason, and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of this lifetime with you. I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”

He slid the ring he held over her left ring finger. It started to glow a deep blue-green. Her eyes widened as she marveled over how right it felt on her finger.

She took a moment to center herself so she could speak after his heartfelt vows. Then she caught his gaze, smiled and said, “Caleb, my life is better now and always will be because you are in it. I know that I am the most fortunate being on any plane simply because of your love and faith in me. I love you beyond all reason, and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of this lifetime with you. I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”

She lifted his left hand and placed the ring on his finger. It also started glowing the blue-green color. To complete the ritual, they joined their left hands so their rings touched. Then they leaned forward and kissed to seal their vows.

Because their eyes were closed, they didn’t see that their rings sparked and flared with that unusual blue-green light...that the light then also flared from the rings of their siblings, causing them all to jump and wonder.

What Skye and Caleb did experience was the brief sear of pain indicating the making of their avowed markings. Her right shoulder blade and the outside of her eyes burned with a flick of power, as did his right bicep. When they finally parted, she glanced curiously at his mark, knowing it would match hers.

The symbol was a dark blue triangle at the center connecting three light blue swirls emanating from each of the triangle’s points. To her, it symbolized the strong, centering force that he provided for her.

And to me, it symbolizes how you take me beyond that center to even greater things.

She gasped, then laughed as his thought filled her mind. She knew that was going to take some getting used to. Pulling him close for another kiss, she allowed her love for him to fill them both.

Come on…let’s go get married.

The ball was held in the largest stadium within Estilorian Central. Although it had been designed for things like skills competitions, it was very rarely used and had never been filled to capacity. For the quickly-planned dinner event that would end with the wedding of Skye and Caleb, the Lekwuesti had converted the stadium seating to include long tables and chairs along every tier, ensuring room for at least ten thousand beings.

It was standing room only.

“Have the wedding at the ball, you said,” Caleb muttered to his brothers, glancing around the chaotic stands from where they stood beneath one of the tunnels. “Oh, sure.”

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” Gabriel pointed out. “You’re avowed to Skye, so don’t knock it.”

“Hmm.”

“You have to go through with the wedding,” James said sagely. “Gabriel won’t let you two have sex otherwise.”

Gabriel nodded. “Yep.”

Caleb’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m not getting married for the sex,” he grumbled, earning grins from his brothers. “And anyway, I don’t see how it is that you two got to have private ceremonies attended by only the elders and I have to do this with every being on the plane watching.”

“It’s not our fault you fell in love with the sister who enjoys the attention,” Gabriel said.

Knowing he had a point, Caleb sighed. He looked over his shoulder. The sisters were a few feet behind them chattering away about everything from their hair to their clothing to the food that would be served. He could only hear half of what they were saying over the crowd noise, but he occasionally had a stray thought of Skye’s filter through his brain. Mostly, she was thinking how very happy she was.

She also thought a lot about how good she thought he looked in his tuxedo. It almost made it worth wearing the uncomfortable thing just to experience the thoughts she had when she looked at him. Almost.

She laughed at something Amber said then, and he felt a smile pull at the corners of his mouth in reaction to the contagious joy in the sound. She could always make his heart twist in his chest with her laugh.

He supposed if it meant he would be officially bound to such a beautiful and inspiring female, he could get through this one challenge.

She caught his gaze, her light blue eyes twinkling.
It’s not like you’re facing down a Mercesti horde, you know.

No, that would be easier.

She laughed again.

Shaking his head, he turned back to his brothers. “Security is going to be a nightmare,” he observed, once again glancing around the stadium.

Gabriel and James sent thoughts of agreement. The good news was that they had quite a few volunteers from among the Waresti, Corgloresti and Gloresti assisting in the security detail that evening. Gabriel and the elders had met with the volunteers and briefed them all earlier. Rather than having the seating separated by class, as they had done at the welcome ball, this time the seating would be mixed to encourage mingling. It had been easier to place the volunteers throughout the stadium without drawing attention to them that way.

“Well, it looks like they have our table ready,” Gabriel said a few minutes later. “We might as well head on out there. Better to get seated while everyone else is doing so.”

Caleb heartily agreed. Much better that way than to have everyone’s attention focused solely on them as they entered.

They escorted the sisters from the tunnel. They all walked past where the other elders stood conversing with the Lekwuesti who had organized the event. The elders would be sitting at the same table as Gabriel, James, Caleb and the sisters. That table was in the center of the ground level, which would be converted to the dance floor following the meal. Due to the increased guest count, there had been extra tables set up around the elders’ table to accommodate everyone.

“Holy mackerel,” Amber mused to Gabriel. “I haven’t seen a stadium this packed since we went to see the Braves in the playoffs.”

Caleb had no idea what she was talking about. Gabriel sent a brief thought to explain she was referencing a human athletic sport called baseball. That thought flashed through his mind even as he scanned the stadium looking for any potential danger. Although they didn’t want to think there would be any problems that evening, they had to be prepared.

As the Estilorians milling around the seats realized the sisters had entered the stadium, the noise suddenly lowered. The girls hadn’t even reached their seats when everything went utterly silent.

They stopped walking a few feet from the table and glanced around. Caleb realized that everyone was staring at them. Amber, Olivia and Skye took a few steps closer together as their eyes moved around the seats. Caleb, James and Gabriel moved protectively to shadow them.

And then everyone who had already taken their seats suddenly stood. In continued silence, everyone bowed from wherever they happened to be standing.

Holy cow.

Caleb heard Skye’s thought and felt the emotion behind it. Her awe flooded through him. He knew she was deeply humbled by the show of welcome and honor. He also knew she didn’t feel she was worth it.

He placed his hand on her shoulder.
You’re worth this and more.

She gifted him with a smile. The tiara she wore sparkled in the light but couldn’t compete against that smile in brilliance. Then she joined her sisters in issuing graceful curtsies to acknowledge the welcome.

He then followed Gabriel and James in leading the sisters to their places at the long table intended for them. Their places were easily identifiable due to the color of their place settings.

“Oh, how lovely!” Skye said as she spotted the light and dark blue plates and glasses delineating her and Caleb’s seats.

He pulled her chair out for her and waited for her to take her seat before he took his own. The noise in the stadium rose again as everyone else also took their seats. The activity on the stadium floor slowed as the various tables acquired occupants and the elders joined them at the center table.

Before any of the elders took their seats, they stopped by Skye and Caleb to extend their congratulations on their avowed status. She was so giddy with joy that he had to forcefully counter the emotion she inadvertently conveyed to him with his own stubborn will. He could hardly fault her for her happiness. It was actually quite humbling knowing how happy she was just because of him. But it did make it harder to focus on staying vigilant and seeing to her protection.

Dinner was served after the elders were seated. The Lekwuesti had prepared a wide variety of dishes. Chicken, beef, pork and fish accompanied by an array of salads, soups, vegetables and breads were passed family-style around the tables.

“I don’t know how I can possibly eat over the butterflies in my stomach,” Skye said, scooping a meager amount of mashed potatoes onto her plate.

“Easy,” Caleb said. “One bite at a time.” He stabbed a piece of chicken and ate it to demonstrate.

“I’ll eat your portion,” Amber said only half-jokingly to Skye, reaching past Caleb to hand a platter of fish to her sister.

The pass might have looked rude to an outside observer, but Amber knew Caleb hated fish. For some reason, the significance of that simple action suddenly hit him. He had never known anyone as well as he knew this group he now considered his sisters and brothers, just as he had never been known so well by anyone. His life had changed in some really amazing ways since the sisters had entered it.

“You’re not going to go getting all emotional on me, are you?” Amber asked when he stared at her. She elbowed him in the side, making him grin.

“You’d never let me live that down.”

“Nope.” She grinned back at him.

They all enjoyed their dinner, making friendly conversation with the elders. While their table was notably the most energetic, there was more conversation noise at this event than there had been at the welcome reception. He knew the elders found this good news.

After everyone had eaten, the tables on the ground level were removed by Sebastian. Then the dance floor cleared, leaving just Skye and Caleb standing alone. The lights slowly dimmed until only a single ball floated over the bridal couple and one over to the side of the dance floor. Skye watched with amazement as Amber stood in that light and accepted her guitar from Sebastian. The Lekwuesti elder touched the guitar’s body, causing it to glow to project its sound. Skye was flooded with emotion when she realized her sister, who hated to be in the spotlight, was going to play for them.

“A wedding present,” Amber said with a small smile. After a few testing strums, she broke into “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Olivia made the gift perfect by singing along with her.

Caleb held his hand out to Skye. She beamed at him.

“Humans normally wait until after the wedding to have the dinner and dancing,” she said as he swept her into the dance. “But then, the groom doesn’t normally see the bride before she walks down the aisle, either.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then we’re doing it all wrong?”

She laughed as they spun. “No. We’re doing it exactly right.”

As that song ended, he spotted Quincy standing along the edge of the dance floor, watching them. He led her over that way, reading the intent in the Corgloresti’s eyes. They came to a stop just as the last note faded and Amber transitioned to a second song. Skye’s eyes went wide when she spotted her new friend. A bright smile lit her face.

“Hi, Quincy!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, squeezing Caleb’s hand and giving him a grateful look. “Come on, dance with me.”

She took Quincy’s hands before he could even say hello and pulled him onto the floor. Caleb watched them go with a smile.

Time passed quickly. Sebastian conjured a small band when Amber tired, and its music filled the stadium. Skye danced with a number of partners. Gabriel, James and all of the male elders danced with her, as did Harold and Alexius, Hitoshi and the Corgloresti commander, Raphael.

Caleb was fascinated by the things that ran through her head about each one of them. She found Gabriel ridiculously charming and James perfectly adorable. Her love for both of them was evident. He discovered that she had known about Knorbis’ love for Malukali before the elder did himself, and she was extremely happy for both of them. Ini-herit reminded her of Nick, her father-figure on the human plane, and she wished he was as receptive to emotion as the other elders so he could be happier. She was quite intimidated by the giant Waresti leader, Uriel, but found his commanders, Harold and Alexius, very personable and considerate. She was awed by Hitoshi and found his dark blue markings “totally cool.” And she thought, with a laughing apology toward Caleb, that Raphael was a male almost too beautiful in appearance for words.

It was hard to be offended when he knew exactly where her heart lay.

Who’s this?

He glanced to her right as she ended her dance with Raphael and watched her next hopeful partner approach. The tall male wore his blond hair long enough to tie back. Skye was silently comparing his clothing with what she termed the Renaissance period on the human plane.

Raising an eyebrow, he thought,
The Gloresti second commander, Balduin.

He hadn’t seen his second commander since he had departed to guard Skye’s Estilorian form during her time on the human plane. He decided to tune completely into her thoughts, curious over the approach of the other male.

“Hello, commander Balduin,” she said politely with a curtsey. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Good evening, Skye,” he said in smooth tones. “I confess that I am flattered you know me.”

Caleb didn’t want her to call attention to their shared connection. He was sure she sensed it when she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she inclined her head and smiled. He was sure he was the only one who noticed her discomfort.

“Did you want to dance?” she asked a bit hesitantly.

“I would be honored.”

They stepped onto the floor. Caleb watched them move among the many pairs of dancers and kept his thoughts connected with her.

“Has Caleb mentioned me, then?” Balduin asked.

“Oh, you know Caleb. He’s very respectful of his leaders,” she said circuitously.

“Of course. He certainly is that.”

She continued to move to the music, but Caleb felt her continued uneasiness. Where she could normally guide anyone in conversation, she remained oddly silent.

How come I’ve never met him before?
she wondered.

He’s been in charge of the Gloresti stronghold while Gabriel and commander Hitoshi were away. One of the three of them is usually there at all times because our lieutenant is relatively new to her position and still learning. I guess they made an exception for this.

After a minute, Balduin spoke. “I must congratulate Caleb later on avowing with you before you were introduced to the rest of us.”

Caleb’s expression darkened.

“I beg your pardon?” Skye asked with wide eyes.

Balduin shrugged. “I am merely pointing out that you were on your way to our homeland, but before you reached it, Caleb avowed himself to you. One might presume that he was concerned your interest would be turned by a competitor if you had made it to us sooner.”

What a pompous ass
, she thought, though her expression remained politely interested. Caleb felt his anger rising.

“And being avowed to you now gives Caleb quite a bit of prestige, does it not?” Balduin said.

And with that comment, Caleb started purposefully across the dance floor.

“I see,” she said thoughtfully. “You feel threatened by Caleb.”

Although her perceptive comment caught Caleb by surprise, he didn’t falter in his stride. And then, timing it perfectly, he took her hand when she extended it toward him and then danced her away from Balduin, leaving the second commander stranded in the middle of the dance floor.

That was probably rude
, she thought with a smile.

No more so than his failure to address me directly
, he returned. His temper was on a slow burn.

We can’t have you unhappy on our wedding day
, she decided.