Ember of Hope
Chapter 68

The dress Raegan had chosen for the ceremony was midnight blue velvet like her mate’s shiny scales in dragon form. It was adorned with silver intricacies all over and flowed in a train behind her. The off shoulder dress dipped low in the back so she had left her auburn hair unbound and they flowed in waves down her back. Nina gushed at her after finishing doing her makeup. She was still doing last minute touches when Sarah barged in and whistled when she had a look at her. Then she made Raegan twirl to look at her from all angles.

It’s not as if she herself was lacking in her blood red attire. Despite the hill top ceremony; Sarah had on ridiculously high golden heels beneath her floor-length red dress. The slit that ran down from her neck to below her naval was scandalous; as were the ones running from her hips down on both sides. The only thing capable of keeping her modesty intact was the weight of her skirt. Her hair was half up in a bun atop her head and half down her back in loose curls. Her lips looked like they were dripping fresh blood. She was gorgeous.

“The boys won’t be able to take their eyes off you for a second tonight”. Nina declared with starry eyes.

“That’s the plan hon”. Sarah winked at her mischievously.

“Are you both ready?” Nina looked more excited than the girls themselves.

“As ready as we’re gonna get. Let’s go, shall we?” Raegan smoothed her hands down her dress one more time before taking a deep breath in and smiled at them both. She was excited for sure, but a little nervousness started creeping in. This was just like a wedding. And she was the bride. A little nervous flutter in her belly was to be expected, right? One look at her best friend told her she was freaking out internally, so she intertwined her fingers with hers and gave a gentle squeeze. They’d do this together; just like they had done everything together since the day they became friends.

…………………………………………………………….

The ceremony was taking place near the top of the waterfall facing the fortress. Atop the mountain upland; little lamps adorned the trees nearby looking like huge fireflies. The breeze moved through the trees and the bells tinkled. A little farther down; the water from the falls fell down to dark depths. The music created by nature was the most exotic thing a person could experience. Wild flowers were swaying under the moon light. The moon wasn’t full anymore but it still spread its silvery light far and wide. It was much more than beautiful. It was ethereal… and magical. Valiance and Damien had outdone themselves.

A carriage awaited them at the entrance of the fortress to take them to the venue. It was straight out of a fairytale. Near it; a fiery red dragon stood accompanied by two footmen – or so they seemed. When all three of them were settled inside the carriage; the footmen helped tying the leather cinches to the dragon. Even though this wasn’t the first time for any of them to be flying in a dragon-drawn carriage; they yelped nonetheless when he took to the air and the carriage dropped below him. When they touched down atop the mesa; there were more helpers to unclasp the carriage. They thanked their driver and both the helpers as they wheeled the carriage to a side.

For the first time since turning into a dragon; Raegan was truly thankful for her wonderfully heightened senses, for she could see in HD detail. As soon as her eyes landed on her mate; she forgot to breathe. There he stood; with wind playing with his hair, bathed in moonlight. He had on a traditional tunic of same midnight blue velvet as her dress. Her eyes snagged on his muscled thighs clad in black leathers. And damn those leather pants. Someone elbowed her in the side and a giggle sounded near her ear, accompanied by a whisper. “Keep those thoughts for after the mating when you’re alone”. Nina.

“It’s not my fault he looks like that” she defended her actions shamelessly.

“Damn he looks edible” came from Sarah who was staring at her mate with a dropped jaw. Damien; standing next to Valiance in all his golden glory was clad in a similar attire of the deepest green. May be deep red was asking too much from him. But he complemented Sarah’s beauty nonetheless. They made a gorgeous couple together.

As soon as Damien’s eyes caught them; he elbowed his friend and Valiance turned. Both the boys looked them over head to toe and back up again. Their jaws dropped in unison. It was pretty comical until Val’s eyes found hers and heated. They looked like they were lit from within and nothing else except those eyes mattered anymore. Not the breathtaking scenery around them, or the people clapping at their arrival. She took a step forward in a trance. She was brought out from her stupor by a clearing of a throat. She looked at the smiling face of her father whom she’d asked to walk both of them down the aisle even though it wasn’t customary in a mating ceremony.

“You look gorgeous sweetheart”. He bent a little to place a soft kiss on her forehead and she felt warmth spread through her heart. “You too Sarah, both you girls look beautiful”. Sarah smiled up at him with red tinged cheeks. She was still coming to terms with her best friend’s father being a real king. He turned around and both of them took his proffered arms. Her heartbeat accelerated with each step. Adrenaline and nervousness mixed in. Then her mate smiled at her and all the nervousness fell away. He took a step forward and extended his hand for her. His touch ignited a warm spark inside her as soon as she placed her hand in his. She was almost oblivious to the two friends next to them.

“What next?” Sarah asked Damien while nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. Damien took both her hands in his and placed a soft kiss atop them. “Don’t worry, you’ll see. I don’t want to ruin it for you. Just relax beautiful”.

Two women clad in white clothes entered their line of sight. They had runes tattooed on every exposed part of their bodies almost like Adriel and his mate but somehow giving off a completely different vibe. “They are the druids; here for the ceremony”. Valiance told them.

Behind the druids a man followed; holding a huge golden chalice. When he reached them, he placed the chalice on the triangular dais around which they stood. Then he produced a small jeweled dagger with an intricate rune design carved on the handle.

“What’s the knife for?” Sarah asked nervously.

“You’ve used one before sweetheart, don’t you remember?” Damien smiled down at her with grateful eyes.

“Oh” came her reply in a weak voice.

When the druids called them forward; Damien asked Valiance to go first. He took Raegan’s hand and smiled reassuringly at her, “Are you ready?” She took a deep breath in and nodded her head.

………………………………………………