Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (20 page)

A lone man and woman wait to greet us. Both are wearing flowing robes in the Saven red, black, and gold signature colors. Huge hoods extend over their heads, concealing their faces from view. They both bow as we approach. I adhere to Logan’s hand like glue.

The man steps forward when we are right in front of them, genuflecting before Logan. “Your Royal Highness.” He stands up and falls back.

The woman comes forward, focusing her attention on me. She clasps my shaking hands in her firm ones. “Welcome, Mistress.”

I acknowledge her with a subtle nod, as my lips fight a grin. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hear that term and
not
smirk. A thought occurs to me
. “What will I be referred to after we’ve Eterno bonded?”

“Alma Sadie.”
My brows lift in unspoken question.
“It means soul mate.”

“It’s a marginal improvement on mistress, I suppose.”

Logan smiles.
“When it’s official, and you’ve been initiated as Saven queen, then you will be addressed as Queen Sadie or Your Royal Highness.”

Logan doesn’t hesitate to reel me into his arms the moment he spots the look of naked alarm on my face. My brain is churning ninety miles an hour, and rampant panic is throwing a mad party in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t thought about that. It was bad enough when I thought I was in line for princess but queen? Jeez.

“Hey
.” His concerned eyes probe mine.
“You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I hadn’t considered that. I mean, I know if you’re king, then I’m queen
”—I shoot him a duh look—“
but it never entered my thoughts today.”

His look turns serious.
“Have you changed your mind?”

“No. Never. Honestly, I was just taken by surprise. I’m fine.”
I rest my head against his chest.

“Good.”
He nestles his chin in my hair. “
There are some rituals and things to attend to before the actual Eterno ceremony. That’ll take place in the morning. These Elders are here to aid our preparation. Elder Runa will help you get ready while Elder Manta will be assisting me. Afterwards, we’ll meet with High Elder Jaxa, and he’ll explain the process. Is that okay?”

I lift my head and draw a brave breath.
“Of course.”

Logan releases me. “We are ready.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Elder Manta says, bowing at the waist. So much silly formality. I wonder if I can encourage Logan to change that law once I’m queen. I almost laugh at my swift change in attitude.

“Mistress, allow me,” Elder Runa says, gesturing me ahead.

I gulp anxiously. “Okay.” I cast a last glance at Logan. “See you soon. I love you.”

His smile reaches his eyes, crinkling the corners. “I love you too.” He raises my hand to his lips.

I steel my spine and head off with Elder Runa in the opposite direction to Logan. Emerging from the hangar into a narrow, uneven passageway lined in the same reddish-brown, rugged material as the outer walls, Elder Runa has to crouch down to navigate the space, while it easily accommodates my shorter height. We walk in silence, winding through successive passageways that all look the same. It’s like a rabbit warren, and I’m glad I have a guide. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d get lost.

Stopping at a small, nondescript door, she raps twice. A young Narik female opens the door fully and steps aside to let us in.

Candlelight bathes the room in a mystical glow. A myriad of different size candles line all four corners of the space. A deep tub, sunken into the floor, occupies center stage. Water softly bubbles and foams, slapping the edge of the tub and creeping onto the rendered stone floor. Off to the left are a small dresser and two chairs. Pots and jars of all shapes and sizes clutter the top. An elongated table rests against the far wall, swathed in a ruby-red sheet. Hanging from a hook in the wall is a delicate, white gossamer gown.

“Come, Mistress.” Elder Runa directs me toward the tub. The young girl circles the rim of the tub dropping oils from a fragrant jar into the frothing water. Next, she scatters colorful petals into the water. A luxuriant, sensual smell weaves a hypnotic path through the room. My muscles start to relax. “Please undress and submerge yourself in the water.”

I remove my dress and undergarments and toe my sneakers off. Soft, lyrical sounds hum in the background as I step into the warm water. Lying down, I lean back, resting my head against the rear of the tub. “Close your eyes,” Elder Runa instructs, and I oblige. “Focus on your breathing. In and out.” I do as I’m told, becoming conscious of every lift and fall of my chest, every swell and dip of my lungs. Light fingertips tickle my arm, and my eyes dart open. “Relax, Mistress,” Elder Runa says. “We are going to anoint your body and open it to sensation. Embrace everything.”

My heart is going at my ribs like a jackhammer, but I force myself to calm down. I squeeze my eyes shut as the young girl begins touching my arms with slippery fingers. “Good. Now focus on your senses. Inhale the smells and sounds around you, relax and absorb the touch and feel of the ceremonial creams as it prepares your body for your soul mate.”

Heart rate back up to ninety again.

This reminds me a little of my special birthday treat back on Saven, when Dali introduced me to the delights of the memebaa. I’d been totally freaked out at first then, too. I try to calm my thumping heart and just give into the sensation.

The girl coats my skin with creams, and the sleek, gliding motion is soft and sensual in contrast to the vibrating hum and swish of the water as it caresses my body. After a few minutes, all my concern is forgotten.

“Open your eyes, Mistress.” My eyes ping open upon command. Elder Runa hands me a glass filled with amber-colored liquid. “Drink this and let the nectar cleanse your body and fortify your spirit with love and courage and selflessness.”

Raising the glass to my lips, I sip the sweet liquid. The girl washes my hair in some strange-scented shampoo, piling it high atop my head, while I finish my drink. My body is calmly alert, a strange combination of sleepy peacefulness and edgy energy. Stretching out languorously, I let a contented moan slip out of my mouth.

Elder Runa removes the glass from my hand. “Touch your skin. Run your hands all over your body, and feel the emotions and sensations arising from the innermost chambers of your heart. Indulge and acknowledge your body’s desire.”

I run my fingers lightly all over my body, cherishing every part of me. My limbs feel like a pile of soft goo as delicious tremors fill every nook and cranny, lighting me up from the inside. My head and my heart are swirling with compelling emotion, and I’m bathed in the most delightful sensations and feeling more alert, alive, and confident than I can ever recall.

Elder Runa helps me out of the tub and up onto the table. I close my eyes as she paints my body in firm strokes. I’m so relaxed, so in tune with my body, that I nearly fall asleep.

“You may stand up.” My eyes blink open slowly, and I swing my legs off the bed. Surveying my naked body, I gasp. Every inch of my skin is covered in glistening gold-painted swirls. “Lift your arms up,” she commands. Feather-soft material tickles my skin as the dress sheaths my body. My fingers toy in the sheer material as she hands me a pair of panties.
What, no bra?

I wiggle the panties up my legs, admiring the sway and fall of the beautiful white dress as it hugs my body. I finger the thin lace-lined spaghetti straps and the delicate lace hem of the dress as it rests above my knees.

The girl dries my hair and lets it hang in natural waves down my back. “I will bring you to his royal highness now,” Elder Runa says. “You may wear these for the journey, but as soon as we reach the chamber, you must remove them.” She passes me my sneakers and a plain white wraparound coat.

We journey to the chamber in silence. She’s a woman of few words, not that you’ll ever hear me criticize her for that. I’m still riding the buzz from my prep session, but jittery butterflies hover in the wings waiting to accost me.

Halting outside another plain, unadorned door, she turns to me. “I will leave you here. High Elder Jaxa will conduct the next stage of the ritual, and then you’ll spend the night with your Alma.”

Butterflies begin a round of somersaults in my stomach, and I’m fairly certain my skin has turned an ugly shade of gray. “Okay,” I mumble, terrified and excited all at once.

Her impassive face softens a little. “You are a natural. Relax. Breathe. Give into your senses, embrace your body, and let your heart and soul guide your actions.” Leaning in closer, she whispers in my ear. “But most of all, enjoy it. This is a magical night, the kind that no one has enjoyed in over two hundred years. Let yourself go, Mistress. Indulge your heart’s desire.”

My cheeks are a flaming mess when she draws back. “Thank you.”

She bows. “Mistress.” She opens her arms, and I hand her the coat and shoes.

After she leaves, I give myself a much-needed pep talk. Bolstering my courage, I twist the handle and step into the room. Scented, smoky air clouds the room in a mysterious haze. High Elder Jaxa—I presume—materializes in front of me, like some kind of weird ethereal being, and I shriek a little.

Dressed in a pure-white robe, with the hood down, he exhibits a tan weather-lined face. He’s as old as dirt. Mysterious crevices line his face from all angles, and his intelligent crystal-clear gray eyes tell an interesting story. His look isn’t unkind. “Mistress.” He bows and I stand there like a clueless idiot. “Allow me.” I take his offered hand, and he leads me into the center of the smoky bubble.

“Sadie.” I can’t see Logan, but that one word is all it takes to calm my tattered nerves.

The High Elder guides me down onto a soft cushion. I can barely make out Logan’s fuzzy form across from me. “Cross your legs and fold your arms in your lap.” I promptly oblige. “This session will enable you both to fully share your minds in preparation for the bonding ceremony. After this, you will have privacy to join your bodies as one. The ceremony tomorrow will join all the components, linking your bodies, hearts, minds, and souls as one. All the steps must align for the ritual to be complete, for the blessing to be bestowed, so please follow my directions specifically. Most importantly, open yourself to one another. Leave any fears or distractions at the door. This night is about you. Give into your love for each other, and let it feed and infuse the Eterno process. Do either of you have any questions before we begin?”

“No, Your Honor,” Logan says.

“No, thank you.”

“Let us begin.”

There’s a slight distortion of the air as he sits down somewhere in the vicinity. The smoky cloud is still hampering my vision, so I have to rely on my other senses to guide me. “Do not touch until I tell you to. Now, close your eyes, and breathe innately until you feel calm and relaxed.”

The spicy scent in the air intensifies as I blow air in and out of my mouth. Logan’s heavy breathing tickles my eardrums. A type of serene calmness washes over me as I inhale and exhale in several quick bursts. Contentment settles on my chest.

“Good. Now open your minds to each other. Imagine it like an invisible line reaching from your mind to your lover’s. Do it now.”

I visualize a thick line snaking from my mind toward Logan. When it reaches him, it latches on for dear life.

“Good, now, push that line through skin, through bone, through tissue, shove it down, farther and farther, until you see a blinding white light. Move the line toward the light and thrust it forward. Do it now.”

I imagine it exactly as he has described, and I feel my energy coursing into Logan. My line pulses and flows like a waterfall traversing a natural path. A dim light glows brighter, and I race toward it, thrusting my line into the center of the essence. A spark of contentment bursts to life inside me. My back arches as my body tingles with unfamiliar sensation. A searing heat spreads across my head.

“Excellent. Now reach out and hold hands.”

Additional warmth whips through me as Logan’s hands firmly clasp mine.

“Invite your Alma into your mind. Think of your innermost thoughts and feelings, your darkest secrets, your deepest desires. Think of them and expand them. Follow the path of the line.”

I focus on my breathing and relax, letting a succession of varying thoughts and feelings and desires inundate my mind. They ricochet through my brain with dizzying speed. Pushing them at Logan, I let the line guide me. When I’m bombarded with feelings and sensations as his innermost thoughts land in my mind, I absorb them like a greedy bloodsucking leech. They nestle in the innermost chambers of my brain, already a part of me. Fierce emotion swells my heart, and a steady warmth builds in the center of our conjoined hands and weaves its way through every part of my body.

“Incredible,” the High Elder murmurs in an awestruck voice. “Test your powers of mindspeak.”

“Angel, can you hear me
?”

“I hear you, Logan, but it’s more than that. I feel you, reaching the very heart of me. Your happiness and joy matches my own. Can you feel it too?”

“
You are in every part of me, Sadie. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

It’s as if we are thinking and communicating as one entity, yet I feel empowered and more confident in myself at the same time.

“Touch each other. Allow the connection to identify and register your physical mass. You can open your eyes if you like.”

Opening my eyes, I sit up on my knees and reach toward Logan. The cloud has disappeared, and we are cocooned in a clear, gold-hued bubble. The High Elder is outside, sitting on a step, with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His hands are twisted in a strange knotted upside-down shape. Logan opens his eyes as I lean in. We gaze into each other’s eyes as if only seeing one another properly for the first time.

Nothing else matters but the enormity of this moment.

Not the fact that I’m practically naked in front of some strange dude in a strange room in a weird bubble with bizarre gold paint etched all over my body.

No, all that matters is the man in front of me.