The Demon King's Bride

Pomp and Circumstance

Xanathal

The whole of the hall was silent. While Xanathal had overseen his share of weddings, this was the first time that he was one of the participants. He had to hand it to his staff, the room was decorated to extravagent proportions. He wondered, briefly, what his new wife would think of such an act. Would she believe them to be wasteful? Greedy? Would she use such a display to believe the rumors that circulated about his kind?

Never before had he second guessed the way such things were handled, but now...now he worried that he would lose ground with the woman who would shortly be joining him at the altar. The sheer extravagance that had gone into decorating the hall spoke volumes. He knew next to nothing about the woman he was about to wed, but something told hi she would not be pleased with such a display. Less than a day, and Xanathal found himself second-guessing nearly everything around him.

Nothing could have shocked him more than to find that the very bride that the council had arranged for him was his fated mate. It had been rumored that such a thing was a myth, especially for those of his kind. Yet, there was no denying the almost instant draw he had towards the female when he had met her. His whole body had felt as if it were aflame from just a glance of her from across the room.

Those few brief moments with her in the parlour had not been enough and yet, they had been everything. In the span of a few moments, the center of his world had shifted. He was alive, more aware of the world around him than he could ever remember being. He heard the whispers of the crowd, the buzz in the air, everything suddenly seemed so much more clearer than he could ever remember it being.

For Xan, it was like the blinders that had been coloring his view of the world had been ripped off. He was now aware of the things around him that he had long since become numb to. Now, there was more to see, to observe, it was as if everything had been made new once more. Xan, for one, could not wait to see what else the world had in store for him now.

Turning from where he stood on the dais, Xanathal watched as the last of the guests were escorted into the hall. The whole of the room was filled with attendees, ranging from visiting royalty from the other mystic kingdoms, to his own people, flooding into the castle to see their leader married off. The news had spread quickly, with most of the populace unable to believe that their leader was taking a bride after so long on his own. Many wanted to see if the wedding would actually happen, or if the rumors were to be believed.

Not even a day before, Xanathal had been livid that his people had even whispered about the deal. Let alone, doubted his own honor in holding to it. Now, he was ecstatic. He wanted the whole of the kingdom...hell, the universe to know that she was his. That she would only be his, from here forward.

What had started as an occasion he associated with doom and gloom, had turned into an event he wanted to rejoice in. When she was finally locked to his side, he wanted to scream from the mountain tops that he had found her. Yet, he had to be patient. Wait. The more he considered what was happening, the more he knew that there would be far more problems than solutions. The whole reason that the Council had forced this marriage was because they feared what he was capable of.

If they were to learn the female they had chosen for him was actually his mate, it could set off a new sense of unease and distrust. Also, what if she did not recognize him as her own mate? They said she was wolfless, so she could be unable to find or even identify who her mate would be. Not that he would know how that would work. There was so much that Xanathal did not know where his new bride was concerned.

It had become clear that starting today, he would need to do everything he could to learn about his wife.

Phoenyx Ariella Trevain.

Already, she was changing the whole of his world. For the life of him, Xanathal could not find it in him to regret his decision to continue with the wedding. If anything, he was more than eager to move forward with this new chapter in his life. Among the emotions swirling through Xan's thoughts there was curiosity, anticipation, and a healthy amount of dread. The realization that he would be navigating all of these new developments with no clear understanding of all the situations surrounding it was overwhelming. There were so many ways that this could go wrong. That he could make a simple misstep and lose his mate or some other thing of importance.

Yes, his throne could be considered one of those things, but the truth was, if he were to step down, there would always be another that could take the mantle on. Whether it was one of his family, or another of the noble houses, there would always be a body to step into the role of King among the Dark Celestials. So that was not a true worry for Xanathal. However, upsetting the balance that existed in his kingdom, as well as among all the rest of the supernatural kingdoms was a very real possibility - one that would make himself and any who were close to him a target.

There were so many possibilities, so many unknowns. His mind was turning over scenario after scenario without end. So much so, that he did not notice when the murmurs of the crowd in the hall fell silent. He was in the middle of trying to reason out his next move when the shift in the atmosphere began to register. No longer were the people murmuring and talking quietly among themselves. Instead, there was the soft lilt of music coming from the corner of the room.

Turning his head, he noticed that the whole of the room had gone silent with their attention focused on the doors to the back of the hall. His heart seized in his chest, whether or not he was ready, it was time. The ceremony had begun. Even as the music changed, and the doors at the back of the room opened, Xan felt his heart seize in his chest as his mouth went dry. Everything was about to change.