Bella Vita (43 page)

The man came forward again. He took each
goblet from the plates and held them.

Wnow ere yex ishloa nistel
devante noz, nez ishin dexela.
He held the
cups above us toward the skylights above.

Under the eyes of those that have come
before us, we join these two.

The man handed each of us our glasses.

Exex esetl vivred, mei
extele veza teot cete jite.
Dom held his
goblet to me.

With this blood, I offer you all that is
me.

Exex esetl vivred, mei
extele veza teot cete jite.
I mimicked his
actions.

With this blood, I offer you all that is
me.

Saift t jetelatery ina ne
lratetrela. Saift t tetotal vetra destinuiastas.
The man gestured for us to drink.

Drink and become one and the same. Drink and
fulfill your destinies.

Dom and I both titled the cups so the other
could drink. The blood flowed quickly from its containers. I had
tasted his blood before, but this was different. It was infused
with the spell, and as I swallowed the rich warm fluid, I knew that
Dominic and I would never be the same again. His blood coursed
through my body and I had to fight not to react to it. I watched as
Dominic went through a similar battle. We both broke out in sweats
and I reached for him, he took hold of me and pressed himself
against me. Our bodies shook. I looked into his eyes and saw that
they had become red, I could only imagine that mine had the same
blood color. I vaguely heard noises in the background- people
shouting to us- but I couldn't have responded even if I wanted to.
Dom looked at me with pleading eyes as his fangs slid down, I could
feel mine doing the same.

As his fangs pierced my throat, mine sunk
into his. We both drank until the beast that was coursing through
us, disappeared. When we pulled apart, our eyes were back to
normal. I could feel my connection with Mike, just the same, I knew
that he had just witnessed it all.

Diz ere letwl yta tilze
dexonet dexa ishnika.
He waved something
over us as we were helped back to our feet.

It is the will of those above that these two
be joined.

“
Emma Hutchinson, do me the
honor of being my wife as well as my bindmate.” Dominic pulled out
my ring.

“
Yes, of course, I'm your
wife and your bindmate.” I held out my hand for him, and he slipped
the cool engraved band on it.

“
Dominic DeDominico, do me
the honor of being my husband as well as my bindmate.” I slipped
the ring I had on my right hand off.

“
Yes, nothing in this world
would make me happier, I'm your husband and your bindmate.” I
pushed the ring on his finger.

We joined hands. I looked at both of my
hands in his, on the left my union with him, and on the right my
union with Mike. It seemed that I would always be a part of these
two worlds as they were both a part of me.

Diz finta. Vez dex foth
ina. Holeatad voz hinew litkinz te hartera voz inatas prarts
wednea.
He held our linked hands together
as we turned and took our first steps as married and bound
couple.

It is done. You two are one. Embrace your
new connection by taking your first steps together.

As we stepped down the aisle, everyone
around us erupted in cries of joy, but instead of embracing it, all
I could hear was the anguished howl that echoed through me.

The rest of the evening passed in a flurry
of faces, all congratulating us. Every time the chaos around me
died down, I could feel the hurt burn strong through my connection
with Mike. I knew the pain would die down, I knew he would remember
that we were bound in a completely different way, but right now, I
felt like my heart was breaking- and it was supposed to be the
happiest day of my life.

“
Okay, so I totally, like,
only got a little bit of that. Your grandpa tried to help out on
the sly and translate the silence for me, but ohmygod, you're
married!” Kelly bounced at me again.

“
Yep. I probably should've
warned you about the mental communication thing.
ALL
vampires do it...
not just those with a connection.” I tried to smile at
her.

“
You gonna tell me what's
eating you before I have to leave to catch my flight back to New
York, or am I gonna have to witch it outta ya?” Kelly cocked a
perfectly manicured brow.

“
Remember how I told you
about my connection with Mike?” I sighed.

“
Yep.” Her face remained
the same.

“
Well, he is hurting
really
bad over this
wedding... and... I can feel it
all
!” I hoped that was a good enough
explanation.

“
Well, screw him. You are
bound to him, you're bound to Dom... you need to remember to be
bound to yourself before all of those stupid boys. Today is
supposed
to be
about
you
! Not
Dominic, or Mike... just
you
!” Kelly was blunt.

“
I get that, really I do.
But, it's like his hurt is my hurt. I can't break free from it.” I
knew my eyes were pleading with her to understand.

“
Can you excuse me a
second?” Kelly's eyes were set in a hard, cold way.

“
Um, yeah. I'll be here.” I
watched her walk away.

A few minutes later, I felt like I had been
cut off from Mike. I couldn't feel the pain and hurt anymore. It
was like a void had replaced part of me- making a hole.

Mike?
I was beginning to panic.

Yep.
His voice was smooth and calm, like the sea before a storm-
or after it.

We are still connected,
right?
I was suddenly very
confused.

Of course. I would
never
break that.
His voice cracked slightly.

Then why do I feel this
void where there is usually a solid connection?
I didn't understand what was going on.

I don't know. Maybe it's
just a side effect from your wedding. Go and enjoy your day, Em.
Today is all about you, don't you worry about me. We can talk
later.
I felt him pull away from the link-
from us.

What the fuck?!
My inner temper was flaring now.

Emma?
Dom's voice was concerned.

Sorry.
I didn't want to have to explain why I was upset.

No need to apologize. I
know exactly what you've been going through. I also know how you
feel.
His voice was calm, not
accusing.

I cringed.
Of course, he would be able to feel it
all.
I felt like an ass for not thinking
about the binding I just did with Dom.
Oh,
great, something else to adjust to.

I'm sorry, Dom. I'll try
and keep the balance better.
I tried to
reassure him as I made myself a vow not to hurt them
anymore.

“
Better?” Kelly eyed me as
she walked up.

“
Yes.” I knew what happened
now.

“
In case you're wondering,
no, I didn't spell your connection to Michael away.” She shook her
head that I would even think of something like that.

“
I'm sorry, Kel. It's been
a long day.” I tried to really smile at her.

“
It was a good attempt.”
She laughed.

“
Oh, look, there's my new
husband.” I waved at Dom, my attempt to take the focus off me was
obvious.

“
Greetings, newly wed.”
Kelly slapped him on the back.

“
Thanks, Kel. I'm glad you
were here.” He beamed at her.

“
Me too. I'm just really
sad that I won't be able to hang around this time.” She
pouted.

“
When are you leaving us
this time?” I was a little sad that she would be leaving
soon.

“
Well, my car will be here
in about an hour.” She shrugged.

“
An hour!” Dom and I both
chorused.

“
Yep, I've got to get back
to New York. Besides the punk shoot coming up, I have two other
smaller shoots to do.” She smiled apologetically.

“
Oh.” I felt
down.

“
Hey, I'll be back again in
a few months for another Italy, well, Europe shoot.” She was
bouncing again.

“
That's great.” Dom was
clearly trying to take some of my burden as he could see I was a
sinking ship.

“
I'm glad that you won't be
away for a long time.” I managed.

“
Hey, we can always write.
And, you guys can always come to see me in New York.” She
hinted.

“
Well, actually, for the
next few months, at least, we won't be able to leave Italy.”
Dominic said cryptically.

“
Um, hello? When were you
going to tell
me
that? And why the devil not?” My temper soared back
up.

“
Well, we will be moving to
the palace soon. Once that move is complete, then, well, we've...
eh... political things to take care of. We won't even be at the
school anymore, or teaching.” Dom was flustering in his words- he
was trying not to upset me further.

I held my breath, trying to regain control
of myself.

“
Wow, so you guys are
really, like, royalty. That is so COOL.” Take it that Kelly would
find the “cool” side of what he just said.

“
Yeah, real cool,
apparently to have my life controlled.” I glowered at
Dom.

Emma, stop growling. It
isn't becoming of the future Queen of the vampires.
Grandpa chastised me.

Why didn't anyone explain
all of this to me?
I was so
upset.

Well, we were not sure who
would be the best for the task. I was elected last night. It is my
job to help you during this transition. We will discuss this later.
Right now, you need to put on a brave and happy face and mingle
with your guests. Take your young man and make a united front that
the vampires will want to stand behind.
His wisdom floated into my mind.

“
How about we go greet
everyone, Dom?” I smiled but inside I was still hurt over how
everything had been pushed on me without any warning.

“
Hey, before you go and do
your rounds?” Kel sounded unsure.

“
Yep.” I smiled at her, the
best I could manage.

“
Give me a hug, and let me
give you your wedding present.” She held out her arms.

“
Aw, Kel, I'm going to miss
you so much.” My eyes welled with tears.

“
Wow, you know, your tears
are tinged red, right?” She shook her head.

“
Interesting.” I hugged her
tighter.

She laughed, it sounded like the tinkling of
wind chimes in a breeze.

“
Come and see me soon,
since I won't be able to go anywhere for a bit.” I
pouted.

“
As soon as I can, I
promise.” She beamed as she walked over to the table that was
crowded with gifts and pulled out a simple envelope, “this is for
you.”

I took the silverish package and cocked my
head at her. I wasn't sure what to do with it.

“
Open it, I wanna see if
you like it.” Kelly danced from one foot to the next.

“
Okay.” I pulled Dom next
to me so he, too, could see what it was as I pulled back the
flap.

I could see the card as
soon as I got the envelope open, but I smelled something on it-
something that screamed
magic
at me. I pulled the small card from its home. It
was a traditional wedding congratulations card, but inside I found
something more important.

Kelly had written:

Once this card is in your hands, don't fear
your dreams. Tomorrow and the next day may be uncertain, but know
that your heart will never fail you. Your love is the truest form
of protection you have from the world around you. So on this day,
the day you wed, I cast this spell, knowing it'll hold stead. Emma
and Dominic bound through vampiric magick, know that your love is
truer than most that have done this rite. Just as you'll ultimately
fight, also know that you'll always have each other. In this spell
I cast, I ask that the powers above protect you on your woven path
together- even when weathering each other.

All my love, Kel.

She had included another note that there was
a big shiny package on the table too. I laughed.

“
Do you like it?” Kel's
voice questioned herself.

“
Kelly, this is the best
gift we could ever receive. Thank you.” Dominic gave her a brief
hug.

“
Oh, Kel, I could never ask
for more than this. Thank you so much.” I hugged her hard, I wasn't
sure that her protection spell could hold against the prophecy that
loomed over our heads, but the fact that she would try, warmed my
heart beyond words.

“
No problem. Now I've got
to get back into my street clothes and get my stuff and get outta
here. Take good care of each other. In some moments in life, you'll
find that you only have each other.” She smiled kissed both our
cheeks and then disappeared into the crowd.