The unbreakable oath hung in the air, a palpable force that seemed to still the world around them. The heavy pounding of the waves slowed, the tide receding to leave a hushed beach and a stillness that permeated with promise and newfound trust. This profound calm was centered entirely around an oath that would last forever.
Daniella tilted her head back, a wide smile finally breaking across her face. Finally. After three lifetimes, she wouldn't just survive; she would make him pay. Revenge. It was a concept she hadn't dared to truly comprehend before, but now she could taste it.
She lay still on the cold stone, allowing the giddiness of the moment to wash over her. His blood would soon be on her hands. She didn't care if it took ten years or fifteen; as long as he died by her hand. And now, she was assured it would happen. Eric would never be able to get to her unless he could go through Jasper—an immovable force. Her smile was bright, alluring, and honest. It held no trace of seduction or gentle teasing; this was the smile of victory and hard-won joy.
Jasper, still kneeling between her thighs, his cock still pressed to her folds, watched as she reveled in her triumph. Her soft laughter echoed off the walls, a sound nearly lost in the low shush of the ocean. She was enchanting. He watched everything about her: the way her chest heaved, the smile that was suspiciously real. More than that, he watched beneath the skin, seeing the way her soul seemed to brighten. He had never seen a soul react to its external stimuli so readily, as if this girl felt everything with her entire being, soul included.
His rising passion cooled as he watched her. He wanted to savor her victory, their victory, but a sudden mood of responsibility he might regret later moved him. He shifted, lowering his body to lay beside her. Their palms remained connected, her hand squeezing his tightly, as if letting go would break the oath.
As her chuckles quieted, her soaking wet green hair stuck to her cheeks, plastered all over her skin. She turned her head to face Jasper. "Why do you need to be so powerful?" Daniella wondered aloud, as another strong wave drenched them in the ocean's cold embrace. Why, when he was already at the top, did he need to be even more terrifying?
"Who would ever say no to power?" The lie slipped from his lips before he could even think about it. But her almost disappointed smile made him continue. They were allies, bound by more than the kind of love other kingdoms had. They were bound by oaths and destiny now, combined Fates. "The marriage market isn't where this ends. The princes, all of us, we'll have to battle each other. You either yield or you get killed. Normally, everyone except the winner dies. That's how the next Supreme King is decided. They wait until we have offspring to replace us."
In a strange way, it made Daniella feel better that this marriage market wasn't only deadly for the princesses, but for the princes as well. If her fate wasn't completely tied to Jasper's, she probably would have laughed at their suffering.
Rolling onto her side so she could face him completely, she rested her palm under her face. "I don't intend to be a widow." Her fingers traced the length of his nose before brushing over his soft lips. "You're not allowed to die! It doesn't fit into my plans."
Jasper snorted, then cupped her plush, ample cheeks and pulled her hips closer to him until her body was plastered to his side. "So romantic! That's exactly what I needed to survive."
"I won't accept your survival if you don't kill them all. If you don't kill them all, don't come home," she grinned, nipping at his chin.
"Psycho!" He grinned back.
"Lunatic," she chided back. They stayed like that, pressed together in harmonious silence, the waves the only chorus to their budding commitment.
As the night pressed on, she began to shiver, her lips turning blue. The cold was becoming too much for her body to handle.
"We should go back."
Nodding, Jasper got on his knees, splitting her thighs once more. "I need a souvenir." His fingers hooked onto her panties, the black lace barely covering her, and slipped them down her legs. The wet center stuck to her skin as he peeled it away. He didn't want to lose a single drop of her nectar. Using his black smoke, he covered the panties before letting the smoke rest in his breast pocket.
His palm slapped against her exposed vulva for good measure before he took her hand and pulled her back up to her feet.
"Hey, ow," she hissed as his hand slapped her sensitive region. She glared up at him as he raised her to her feet. Her bare soles came in contact with the tile floor, her shoes long lost to the ocean, never to be found again.
Jasper smirked at her obvious discomfort, knowing that if she stayed this feisty, their marriage would surely be an exciting one.
His ghostly skeletal wings of shadow and smoke billowed out behind him. Lifting Daniella into a princess hold, he bent his knees before shooting up into the air. His wings met no resistance against the evening breeze as he carried her back toward the Princess Chamber.
He landed on the large balcony that led inside to the princess chambers. He saw the other princesses inside, each of them in their own sections, pushed together by groups and alliances. He noticed her maids in the very center of the room, completely isolated as if they were the center of everyone's attention—the ultimate targets.
Their presence didn't go unnoticed. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear. "The pendant I gave you. Put it on, never take it off. It's imbued with my magic. As long as you wear it, nothing can harm you."
Daniella frowned in confusion. He had given her that pendant, the beautiful necklace, the first day she had spoken to him.
Something long dead inside of her stirred, a kind of warmth. She hadn't been protected in so many lifetimes, and this time, when someone protected her, she hadn't even noticed. He just did it.
"You're a bit of a softy, Lunatic." In that moment, she decided that would be his nickname.
"I'm known as a bleeding heart, Psycho." He turned her shoulders toward the entrance of the balcony, making sure to slap her ass hard as he pushed her toward the doors.
"Ow!" she howled at the sting. "Stop slapping me!" she hissed, punching him in the chest as hard as she could, only to pull her hand back, shaking it in pain. The moment she looked up, he was already gone. She couldn't even make him out in the night sky, knowing that his wings would eat up all the light around him and make him look like a shadow in the night.
"Princess!" Lola was the first to notice Daniella's form on the balcony. The three maids had hung back as they noticed Jasper and her still in conversation, only to see Jasper slap the princess's bottom and Daniella turn and punch him in the chest. The treasonous action! It was a crime to hit a prince, and she did it so openly, as if she didn't fear the consequences.
"Do you think our princess has secured a Prince?" Ida asked the two other maids, keeping her voice low. The only reason any princess would be this close to a prince would be because she knew she'd be his Queen.
"Let us not jinx anything. We shall wait!" Josephine cut into their excitement, not wanting to harm Daniella's chances with their hurried words.
Lola, noticing how Prince Jasper had suddenly disappeared, led the charge. The three maids headed outside to greet Daniella, their worries finally assuaged. "Princess Daniella, we were told you were missing!"
"Good heavens, what happened to you? You're completely drenched," Ida said, confused how she could be with Jasper and he would keep her in such abhorrent conditions. If they were lucky, she wouldn't get sick.
"Come, we will bring you to the bathing chamber. Get you nice and warmed up, Princess."
Daniella let her maids guide her but stopped at her area, which now seemed to be in the very center of the room. She opened the drawers of her vanity, pulling out the pendant that Jasper had given her. Sliding the necklace over her neck, she knew that as long as she wore it, she would be safe.
Because if this room was anything to go by, it looked like they were drawing war lines, and she was in the center of the storm, lucky if she wasn't devoured by the current.