Chapter 55

Chapter 19:

Trisha’s P.O.V

I walked out of the room with my father, Lucas and Rose following behind us, but they separated from us as we neared the altar.

The music was light and the entire hall was filled with the scent of fragrant flowers. White roses were used as decoration, but within the purity of the white, I spotted the dark velvet petals of the black roses. However, behind the altar, there was a humongous garland made completely of black roses and it was just magnificent.

Candles illuminated the room along with the electric chandeliers; it was a mix of the old and the new. I think it was a harmonious match, just like Damien and me. He was over nine centuries old while I was only two. Vampires didn’t count years as humans did and I had long since understood that passage of time for us was far different, but somewhere deep in my heart, the heart that had once been human, told me in a wondrous whisper that Damien might just have waited for me all these centuries.

He could have married a long time ago, but he hadn't, because he hadn't found the one woman who had been made just for him.

Beside the altar, I saw four of Damien’s inner circle member standing on guard, two on either side of the aisle. Demitri and Keenan Shaw were on one side while Zoya and Tempest Moore on the other. I understood then that they were our bride’s maids and grooms men and they all gave me a smile as they saw me approach, as the guests stood up to greet us. Neema was on the side of the grooms men and he gave me a big wave and a huge smile that I had no choice but to return.

Butterflies swirled in my stomach, wrecking havoc to my senses. Damnit! I needed to stay calm! I felt my father give my hand a light squeeze and realized that my palms were sweating. Looking at him, I gave him a nervous smile, but he nodded his head reassuringly and it gave me comfort.

And then, I looked up at the one person that I had avoided looking at till the end.

My life. My love. My to-be husband. Damien Vandolff.

He was wearing his royal uniform in black and red. A gold chain embellished with rubies adorned his neck and on his head was the crown, symbolizing his status. I hadn't seen him in his royal attire in ages and it took my breath away that soon, I will be calling this magnificent my own. But then I looked into his eyes and found his looking only at me. The emerald green orbs had a sheen to them and it confirmed that I wasn’t the only one feeling emotional at this very moment.

My father led me up to the altar and handed me over to Damien, placing my hand in his. And it felt like the first time all over all. The sparks and the butterflies in my stomach intensified and then Damien helped me up to the altar, and we stood facing one another.

Even if I were to die right now, I would die a happy woman, knowing that I finally had the man of my dreams by my side. The man that I had loved for over a hundred and seventy years and the man I wanted to spent the rest of eternity with, however long it lasted.

Demitri walked up to the center of the altar, standing behind me and Damien. The dark haired man had been friends with Damien forever and was his right hand man, observing any and all changes in the kingdom and reporting it to his friend and King from the shadows. I have had my fair share of interaction with him during my time in court, but he mostly liked to keep to himself and hardly spoke to anyone except Damien. So it was a surprise to see him commencing our wedding, but not so much considering the friendship he shared with Damien.

“We are all gathered here to witness the holy matrimony of King Damien Vandolff and Lady Trisha Redfern,” Demitri recited in a surprisingly booming voice. “To commence the wedding, I would request the bride and the groom to each take a goblet and the royal dagger and make a cut on your palm so your blood can be collected into the goblet.”

Following his instructions, Damien took the dagger with a bejeweled hilt and made a slit down his palm. As the blood oozed out, he took the goblet a clenched his fist over it, pouring his blood into the goblet. I followed suit and did the same, wincing as the dagger sliced my skin, but it didn’t take long for the dagger wound to heal. It was a small cut and I had also drunk Damien’s blood last night during our time at the island.

“Now, exchange the goblets.” Demitri instructed and we followed suit.

“Now, drink the blood of your goblet and finalize the wedding. A union of not just body and soul, but a union formed by blood.”

Damien and I both picked up the goblets and then drank the entire contents in one go. I felt a surge of power rush through my veins as Damien’s blood mixed with mine, but before I could react, I felt his hands on my shoulder and then his lips were on mine.

“The ceremony is completed. I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

I heard Demitri’s voice but it seemed to come from a great distance away as I was lost in Damien’s kiss. But the euphoria was short lived as we heard the cheers and claps of the guests, followed by a couple whistles that I knew had to come from Rose.

We broke the kiss and I looked up at Damien to find his lips tinted a light red from my blood. But when Damien saw me follow his lips, a wicked gleam came to his eyes and he flicked his tongue oh-so-slowly over his lips, just to tempt me. I narrowed my eyes at Damien, but honestly, it was impossible to stay mad at him.

“Zoya.” Damien pointed at her over my shoulders and gave her some kind of a signal as she disappeared into the crowd.

I gave Damien a suspicious look, wondering what he was up to now, but he only smiled. However, it didn’t take long for my surprise to arrive. Damien took my hand and we both stepped down from the altar and I watched the crowd part ways on either side of the room as Zoya came back into the room, this time, pushing a trolley in front of her. There was a large red cushion on top of the trolley and that too was covered with a red velvet cloth, hiding the contents from view.

“Damien?” I whispered as my heart almost burst out of my chest. Is that what I think it was?

Zoya came to stand in front of us and then moved back once again, leaving the trolley in front of us. Taking my hand firmly in his, Damien moved forward and removed the red velvet cover and revealed the contents to everyone in the room, leaving everyone speechless.

I felt the breath get knocked out of my lungs.

It was a crown.

Studded with pure white diamonds that sparkled in the light of the candles and with a huge ruby in the center, it was a crown for a Queen…for me. And Damien had brought it here for me.

The reality of it all hit me anew. I was not only Damien’s bride, but the Queen of all land from this moment onwards. It wasn’t a simple task and I would now have the responsibility of millions of lives on my shoulders.

When I had fallen in love with Damien, although I had dreamed of becoming his lover, possibly his wife…but I had never seen myself as Queen. But all that was about to change from this very moment.

Damien picked up the crown and slowly, placed it on top of my head. I felt the weight of it immediately and it wasn’t just the weight of the crown, it was the weight of the responsibility that came with it.

“Everyone, bow to your new Queen.” Damien announced.

“Long live the King! Long live the Queen!”

Choruses started from all around the room and then, I saw everyone fall to their knees one by one, including Lucas and Neema as the shouts continued on. Rose was the only one who bowed only slightly, but that was because she ruled the sea. She was our equal.

At that moment, I became the Queen to my King.