holding a pair of rings waited upon it. Lucien twisted my wedding bands off my finger and flung them away as I cried out in horror.
“They don't matter anymore,” he said viciously. “You will make vows to me now, Elaria, and you will keep them or Lucifer will suffer.”
“So be it,” Lucifer called to me. “He is of my making, Elaria. I will endure his wrath. It is not for you to pay for my sins.” When I said nothing, he shouted, “Please, don't do this, my dearest! Not for me!”
I looked from Lucifer to the black rings on their blood-red pillow. Then I lifted my stare to Lucien and nodded once, curtly.
“No!” Lucifer roared. “Elaria, no!”
“Shh.” The Devil waved a finger at Lucifer and a glass partition came down, dampening his voice. “This isn't the part of the ceremony for objections.”
Lucien lifted my hand over the chalice and sliced my wrist with a quick movement. I made a grunt of pain as my blood flowed into the cup. Then he brought my wrist to his mouth and sucked at my wound while it closed. Once my wrist was clean and healed, the Devil released me but continued to hold my gaze, licking his lips as he held his wrist over the chalice and sliced it. His blood fell into the cup, but within a few seconds, the cut healed and he licked the blood away.
Finally, the Devil picked up the chalice and set it in my hands. “Now, repeat after me: I, Elaria Tanager.”
“I, Elaria Tanager,” I repeated.
“Accept this god, Lucien of Vaelestra, to be my husband.”
“Accept this god, Lucien of Vaelestra, to be my husband.”
A flash of light came from the corner of my eye as Lucifer hit the bars again.
“To have and to hold from this day forward, for worse and even more worse.” His eyes gleamed, and he grinned wickedly.
“That doesn't make any sense,” I growled.
“Just say it,” he growled back.
I said the stupid words.
“In pleasure and in pain,” he went on. “To love and to cherish, to satisfy his every desire and obey all of his commands.”
I glared at him but repeated the words.
“To be loyal and true to him for all of time.”
After I said the final vow, Lucien beamed at me.
“Drink.” He tapped the chalice.
I drank and something shivered through me. My stomach burned, and I gasped, blood dripping down my chin. Magic invaded my cells, magic that did nothing. It just flared, then settled inside me. I let out a relieved breath as I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand. I didn't want to give Lucien the chance to lick it.
“I, Lucien, God of Vaelestra, do claim this woman as my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better and even better, in pleasure and pain, to dominate and debase, to slake my lusts upon her body and guide her with my will. To be loyal and true to myself for all of time.” He took the chalice from me and drank deeply.
I would have rolled my eyes at his vows, but the magic inside me suddenly brightened, and I gasped as a bond formed. Fuck. Maybe there had been more magic in our blood than I thought. What did I just do?
“Now, the rings.” Lucien—I had to admit, the name suited him—took the rings and handed me the larger one. “Slide it on my finger and say these words: With this ring, I am bound.”
I slid the cold black band onto his ring finger and spoke woodenly, “With this ring, I am bound.”
The Devil put a band adorned with black jewels on my finger and repeated the words, “With this ring, I am bound.”
Then the Demons cheered, Lucifer raged, and Lucien smiled magnificently.
I nearly retched up the blood.
Chapter Thirteen
“Now, I shall take my bride!” the Devil shouted to his Demons.
They roared and surged forward to gather before the dais we stood upon. Lucien swept a hand over the altar. The chalice, knife, and pillow vanished, then a pallet appeared, draped in red silk. He lifted me by the waist and set me down upon the cushion, then pushed me onto my back to lean against a wedge of pillows. I felt as if I were about to be examined.
“Now is your time to protest, Brother,” the Devil called to Lucifer as the barrier disappeared. “Rage and shout! Your cries will be the perfect soundtrack for our marriage consummation. Perhaps my bride will even