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Fifteen

Author: B.L. Smith
last update publish date: 2026-04-15 13:41:22

The man standing in front of me was frail. His height made him stoop. The moonlight captured his sunken eyes just right. He held a tome so thick I feared he would fall over. Despite its size it was a beautiful book. The outside was shiny black. Jewels dotted the front. The back was imbued with bright gold filigree. The man stood on an altar made of the same stuff. It was shiny black. It almost looked like water. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch it but I stopped myself. Something about this felt like a test. I don’t know why I got that impression but I dug my toes into the earth and clasped my hands behind my back. 

A slow rhythmic melody started up. The man on the altar started to chant softly. I couldn’t make out the words. I looked around the meadow. The moonlight did a glorious job of illuminating it perfectly. Wolfsbane dotted the meadow. The music became louder. I turned to see Daire at the edge of the meadow. His torso was completely bare. He was breathtaking. He held a knife that glinted in the moonlight above his head. His gate was deliberately slow. The chanting became louder. The man slammed the tome onto the podium. His body hunched even further. His voice bombed around in my head. I tried to put my hands over my ears but his voice kept getting louder and louder in my ears. I could feel pressure building. It felt like my head would explode. I dropped to my knees, unable to keep standing. My forehead gently met the ground. The pressure flowed down into my chest. My heart started to beat faster. I felt like it was going to beat straight out of my chest. I clutched the grass in my hands. The pain started to subside. I caught my breath again. My heart slowed to its normal pace. I tentatively lifted my head from the grass. Daire was staring down at me. His face was twisted with concern. I smiled at him. He smiled back. Suddenly the chanting stopped. I looked over and saw that the man was holding the tome again. 

“Daire Krvna the only surviving member of the Krvna coven. You shall bond with Lucrezia. Take your ceremonial blade and make her bleed.” Daire gently grabbed my arm. He caressed me with his thumb no doubt trying to soothe the panic that was slowly starting to rise in me. He ran the blade across my forearm. Blood started to pool and drip. Daire then handed me the blade. I was suddenly light again. I got to my feet. This time when the tome was placed back on the podium and the man started to chant it didn’t enter my body the same way it just had. This time Daire dropped to his knees. His hands flew to his temples. He ground his teeth trying not to scream. Had I been screaming? His head gently pressed to the ground. His back twitched uncontrollably. I wanted to run to him. To pick him up off of the floor, but I didn’t. Slowly his body loosened and he looked up at me. 

“Lucrezia, human of Rezzidel. You shall accept a vampire as your mate. Take your ceremonial blade and make him bleed.”  I followed the steps Daire had done before me. I gently lifted his arm and ran the blade across it. Deep red blood welled up. The old man slowly approached us. A goblet I hadn’t noticed before was in between both of his hands. He grabbed me first, his withered hand was ice cold. My blood dripped into the goblet drop by drop. When he seemed satisfied he turned to Daire and did the same. It didn’t take as long for Daire’s blood to flow into the goblet.The man walked three steps deliberately then turned. The chanting started again and I was forced onto my knees once more. This time Daire and I were side by side. I felt the rim of the goblet touch my lips. I opened my mouth and a sweet metallic liquid coated my tongue. I swallowed every last drop. Daire did the same. A huge silk ribbon was tied around us. The man stared deeply into my eyes.

“His blood is your blood.” He turned to Daire “Her blood is your blood” He picked the goblet up and poured the remainder of the liquid on to both of us. “You. Are. Krvna.” The Man Hunched over again The chanting started up again. The liquid started to seep into my skin. It moved to the place that Daire had cut me. It danced on my skin healing the wound. As the wound healed a symbol started to form. A blood red bow with frayed tassels was all that remained. The bow around us slipped away. I could move again. Daire scooped me up into his arms. I hugged him back tightly. 

“Thank you. Thank you.” He kissed my forehead roughly. He was finally my husband. This was my home. 

The man handed us a neat package of the items used in our ceremony. They were sacred to vampires. I clutched them in my hands. They were now sacred to me too. 

The dawn was peaking on the horizon. I leaned into Daire. He was my world and I was the sun that revolved around him. I had so many questions but I was so tired. Our cabin slowly came into view. It was calm just as we left it. I got out of the carriage holding my new prized possessions with care. Gently I set them on the table. Daire’s huge arms wound around me. I grabbed his arm. His mark was the same as mine. I smiled. Even though marrying him was terrifying, I smiled. I felt like my heart would burst with joy. He tugged me onto our pallet in front of the fire. We held each other 

“Will you make a shelf for our things?” I lazily pointed in the direction of the table.

“For you I would steal the sun Dove.” He placed a gentle kiss on my lips. Slowly I drifted off.

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  • Silver Sion   Fifteen

    The man standing in front of me was frail. His height made him stoop. The moonlight captured his sunken eyes just right. He held a tome so thick I feared he would fall over. Despite its size it was a beautiful book. The outside was shiny black. Jewels dotted the front. The back was imbued with bright gold filigree. The man stood on an altar made of the same stuff. It was shiny black. It almost looked like water. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch it but I stopped myself. Something about this felt like a test. I don’t know why I got that impression but I dug my toes into the earth and clasped my hands behind my back.A slow rhythmic melody started up. The man on the altar started to chant softly. I couldn’t make out the words. I looked around the meadow. The moonlight did a glorious job of illuminating it perfectly. Wolfsbane dotted the meadow. The music became louder. I turned to se

  • Silver Sion   Fourteen

    “Okay Dove, the first thing you need to come to terms with is that you're small. So, your strongest weapon is your head.” Daire pressed two fingers into my forehead.“If you get into a situation where you can’t fight your way out, you need to finesse your way out.” Daire’s eyebrows rose high.“ The first step to finesse is to know your opponent and If you don’t know them. Then learn them.” He took a step in and pushed my left shoulder lightly. I stumbled back, almost landing on my butt.“Good you didn’t lose your balance. Helping me build the room has been useful with your back and core muscles.” This time he stepped into my space. As I took a step back he took one forward not letting up. I started to panic slightly. Before I knew it

  • Silver Sion   Thirteen

    I stood in the sunrise feeding the chickens. I have named every single one. Chiky, Elma, Vainy, Leerah, and HENderson. I smiled happily with my pun. There was no sign of the fight that happened last night. Daire got up before me. I haven’t seen him all morning. We were low on meat. I collected the eggs trying to dodge HENderson. He got me good on shin. I ran out, closing the gate behind me. Mean rooster. I sat the eggs on the porch. The morning smelled like the forest around the property. I smiled at the thought of a lifetime here. It was something I had never dreamed of. The carriage came into view strolling lazily up the road. Daire sat in the front. His stern demeanor would have made others believe him to be unkind. The truth was anything but. He was a big man but a kind one. His huge hands maneuvered the ropes with confidence. For a moment those hands were on my throat massaging the vein. Trailing my body until they landed on my hips g

  • Silver Sion   Twelve

    Lucrezia! Lucrezia! My mother’s voice rang into my ears. I came around the corner terrified.“Yes? Mommy.” The booze was wafting out of her pores.“Come here you dumb child, this is all your fault.” Her hand lashed out and landed on my shoulder. “All of this is your fault.” Another blow landed on my back this time.“I wouldn’t have to do any of this if it wasn’t for YOU!” This time her fist connected with my side. I let out a squeak. Big fat tears started to run down my cheeks.“You want to cry, I'm going to give you something to cry about. I’m going to show you what I have to do to feed you.” All the pain was unbearable.

  • Silver Sion   Eleven

    I shook my head. He silently watched as I fought with myself mentally.“ I don’t want to go back to your house. That woman isn’t safe. She…It doesn’t matter. I won’t go back.” He smiled. I couldn’t tell if he was angry. “Okay, then kiss me and I’ll give you the information.” My mouth dropped open. His eyebrows raised. Waiting for my answer. He stepped closer, invading my space. I shook my head. His hand snaked around the back of my neck holding me in place. My breath hitched. Our lips touched gently. The click I had felt with Daire happened. Except this time it was softer like someone pushed a button but it popped back up. I pulled away, not able to catch my breath. What was that? I searched his face for an answer.“Hey what’s going on over here?” Daire’

  • Silver Sion   Ten

    Our days went on like this. Time passed.Daire hunted and built Cedar’s room. Cedar and I practiced everything Daire taught us and I started to tend the house.“Lucrezia get up.” I rubbed sleep from my eyes. Daire was holding his hand out to me. I gladly took it. He lifted me to my feet. He opened the door and we walked together. A beautiful horse was connected to a small carriage. I had never seen both before. The horse was black with a white stripe down their back. The carriage was black metal. I spun around smiling. Daire’s eyebrow wiggled. I laughed.“What do you think, love? Shall we go to the city today?” He pulled me into him, his huge body enveloped mine. I looked up at him and we shared an intimate kiss. His mouth tasted like soft cinnamon.

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