“Once she is filled with his seed, the ceremony will conclude and if they are blessed, she will swell with child.” The High Priestess’s voice suffused the air as a loudcreak!echoed around. Even still, Griffin didn’t open his eyes.
He never understood why only one man could claim a woman. If more than one could, perhaps his own mother would be safe and his father would be alive. She wouldn’t have been locked away in the Isles of Sacerdos.
Or perhaps that was the point. The High Priestess wanted to control the Cherished.
Griffin’s eyes flashed open, and he found the Priestess staring at him. Her mouth pinched into a frown as she studied him.
“What if two men claimed her and agreed to share?” He wasn’t sure why he asked the question, but it spilled from his lips before he could draw it back.
The room, which had been buzzing with energy, went completely silent. He noted the woman was sealed inside the Iron Mother now. A screen on the far wall of the throne room lit up as Troy threw her onto the bed.
He looked back down at the Priestess. Her eyes were cloudy, but there was clear anger in their depths.
“She would need to take them both together, they would need to claim her together. Two separate seeds in the same womb. And that is not natural. It cannot be done.”
Griffin mulled the words, he didn’t disagree with the woman outwardly, but internally he began to unravel a centuries long tradition.
Present Day – Grypheem
Raven hissed as Matt withdrew the needle from her arm, collecting her blood. Griffin had half a mind to jump and pummel the man to death.
But it wouldn’t change anything except perhaps lead his brother here instead.
“The King wanted me to remind you all the ceremony is this evening,” Matt said as he got to his feet. “I will see you all tomorrow at the wedding. Congratulations, Raven.” And then the annoying man was gone.
Raven stared listlessly into the fire, she hadn’t been herself the last few days, but Griffin didn’t blame her. This was going to be a lot, and he was terrified himself.
That he would hurt her.
That this wouldn’t work.
That she would be taken from him.
That the High Priestess would decide to just kill them all instead and be done with it.
“They will retrieve us soon, we will complete the ceremony, and then this will all be over.” Griffin reached out, squeezing her hand.
“Until the wedding tomorrow.” Raven cut her attention back to him. “After this, we will rescue Levi.”
He nodded. Except it wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact. “Yes, the day after the wedding we will retrieve him before fleeing for Violencia. Our marriage will play a large distraction, the Priestess will have to accept your existence outside of Sacerdos, and my brother will have a ship prepared for us to leave.”
Julian came out of the closet dressed regally in a gold-trimmed cape, he could practically pass as a prince. Griffin’s lips quirked at the thought.
Raven stood abruptly, the gown she wore was nearly sheer, a large hibiscus threaded into the front. He knew she was bare underneath, her nipples clearly pebbled and visible through the material, and his cock jerked in his pants at the sight.
“These countries are ass backwards,” she declared, twirling around. “They parade me half-naked through a hoard of sex-deprived men. Showcase it for all to watch. And then let them know I am claimed by another. How does that not start wars? How does that not end up with more men being killed?”
Griffin chose not to mention that, in his opinion, was exactly the point. The ceremony was designed to sow discontent. To allow one more chance for a man of higher ranking to claim Raven.
But he wouldn’t let that happen. There was only one man with equal rank to him that was unmatched and it was the Prince of Luscinia. He hoped this last minute ceremony would prevent him from intervening.
“It is asinine,” Julian agreed, cutting his attention to Griffin. “And there’s not an alternative? We can’t just leave now before all of this?”
Griffin rolled his shoulders, standing up and spinning to them. “We need to fight one battle at a time. This will buy us the time we need to do that.” He focused on Raven. “But if you don’t want to do this, if it’s too much, we can stop it.”
Raven met his stare, jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed. “I can handle this. Can handle you both.”
“Good.” The single sharp knock was their sign that it was time.
