23 Amashumi amabili nantathu

This chapter is dedicated to @Mona_Annor for being a dope person! Thanks for the support! This one is a bit longer than usual so I hope you enjoy it :)

Melissa's POV

This was a truly beautiful place to declare my love for her. I felt a familiar pang of nostalgia as I looked out of the doom into the green waters of the lake. I could how much life vibrated within it. It was alive with promise and destiny and all the stories of their people.

I remember my grandfather's word. I would make us practice capturing water drops for hours. From the sky, the morning dew or off the feathers of a Puffin. It didn't matter the source – only that we take the time to capture the droplets and appreciate that within that droplet lied the entire history of our world. He said Ægir, the father of waves and all that breathed in the water, gifted a single wave to each of his daughters and told them to whisper a secret to it and then allow it to flow freely. Those waves spread to cover the Earth and teach their secrets to each new droplet of water they encountered. In so doing, Ægir, not only fathered the oceans but taught water to become the greatest storytellers of our world.

The reason this particular anecdote was floating around my mind was that that say grandfather had promised to whisper the name of my future love to one of the waves. He said I would find them when the time came. Now, looking back. It makes perfect sense that I stumbled upon my wounded love in the middle of a thunderstorm. Not only had the waves conspired with the sky to guide me to her but her gods had helped them to do it.

With that thought in my heart, I felt surer than ever about my choice to marry her. Not that it was much of a choice – she was the person I was destined to love.

I only hope she felt the same.

I loved down at her serene expression as she slept, curled up in my arms. Not that the 'fearless Orisha warrior' would ever admit that she desired to be held as she slept each night. She looked so innocent and at peace when she was in my arms. She breathed easily and smiled softly without a care in the world or a kingdom to weigh her down with duty. She was free beside me – in my arms. I intended to keep it that way.

Despite the threat of death by the locals, I had never felt safer. Sam and I had always wandered around without a real sense of belonging. But one night changed everything. It brought Nikola into my life. I had no idea when we saw the half-dead girl that she would become the love of my life or my brother's best friends. We saved her life, but she often forgets how much she saved us. She gave us a family again. She was willing to put everything she cared about and believed in to make sure that we were safe and that we knew we would always be her number one priority.

That's why Riley irked me so much. She was the only thing in the way of Nik really being mine. She had never kept her past a secret from me and I knew exactly how much Riley meant to her. When I met her, her brother's death and her resulting hatred for Riley had helped her block out the grief she felt for losing them both. She had never gotten the opportunity to deal with her feelings about her because she drowned them out with hatred and animosity. But now the hatred was gone. She even had reason to feel gratitude for her lost love.

I wanted to be the bigger person and put my feelings aside to support Nik's need to heal and mend bridges. But, I did not want her to mend past relationships – at least not one with Riley. She was Nikola's first love and she was probably the only person who could pose a threat to my relationship with Nik. That was not something I could allow to happen. I refused to lose Nik to anyone. Especially to the only person she had ever loved as much as she loves me.

"Schatje," my beautiful fiancé mumbled sleepily, pulling me closer to her. She nuzzled her head into the crook of my neck and placed a soft kiss on my neck. That made my skin tingle and the familiar spark in my belly. Gods, I love this girl, I thought to myself.

I smiled down at my love, kissing her head and brushing her gorgeously messy curls away from her face. She hated when people touched her – especially her hair. The only people she allowed to even get close to her was me and Sam.

"Våkn opp, schatje," I whispered into her ear, kissing her jaw softly. She clung to me more and mumbled something along the lines of "not yet". I giggled at her secret adorableness. Deciding that we had probably slept too long. The morning sun was always illuminating the waters before us.

A loud knock finally woke up the sleeping woman in my arms. I tried not to chuckle at her dishevelled state. She was not a morning person, but she had gotten used to being awake at the crack of dawn. Apparently, training had to happen before the sun was ready to start her day.

My obnoxious twin brother came stomping into our room and flopped onto the bed, onto an already grumpy Nikola. He just giggled at his friend's grumbles. He even went so far as to poke her repeatedly until she kicked him, eventually knocking him off the bed. He just chuckled as he sat on his bum on the floor.

She moved, peaking over the bed, and smirking at her handy work. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, smiling at my two idiots.

She finally relents and moves further up in our bed, leaning over me and kissing me softly. I looked up at her smiling face and pecked her lips once more. She kissed my forehead once more before hopping off the bed and dragging my amused brother out the door. I laughed at the pair of idiots.

I finished my morning ritual and made my way up to the main living space.

I figured the kind man of the house, Merlin Nik called him, might want some help making breakfast. In all honesty, Sam was the cook in our little family but I was no stranger to the kitchen. I made my way towards the kitchen only to see that the princess was already there. Riley really was inescapable.

"Good morning," I said, announcing my presence in the process. Riley smiled curtly at me; her lips somewhat pursed. I tried my best to stop my eyes from rolling her obvious distaste at my presence. I had told Nik I would be civil with her, so I decided to put my best foot forward and moved to help her set up the table. We worked in awkward silence until everything was set up.

"So, are you excited for today?" she asked. Looks like she's trying to place nice also.

"Yes, I am," I replied simply. She looked at me. It seemed like she wanted to say something, her mouth opening slightly before she pursed her lips again and nodding her head.

I was about to say something else, but the booming voice of the old engineer entered the room, his cane tapping harshly against the cement floor. The Lioness cringed at the sound causing me to smirk at her discomfort.

"It would appear that I have died and woken up to a dream with two angels to help me. Angels and food – the Gods surely love me," the grey-haired man grinned as he approached us. I giggled at his antics and made space for him to start the breakfast. Riley and I helped him with prepping the ingredients. As we worked, I stole glances of the princess. I could not fight the feelings of jealousy that gnarled in the pit of my belly.

There was no denying her beauty. Her radiant skin that reminded me of hot cocoa milk in the winter and her voluptuous dark braids that fell onto her angular shoulders effortlessly. Even her vibrant hazel eyes possessed an otherworldly essence to them. I could see why Nikola had fallen for her. I doubt even the blind were immune to her beauty. It made me feel even more bitter towards the princess. Everything good about her stood in direct opposition of me keeping the woman I love in my arms.

Why couldn't she be grotesque like I had imagined her when Nik told me that she transformed into a beast with claws that eats its prey live and uncooked. That would be easy for me to be civil with. A bloody beast was no match for me in the game for Nikola's heart. But a breathtakingly gorgeous princess – that was a worthy opponent if I ever thought of one.

We finished up the last touches on the breakfast, Riley and I only exchanging words with the older man, barely acknowledging each other's presence. I only realized that the others had joined us when I felt to strong arms embrace me from behind, nuzzling her face into my neck. She was smelt fresh – having just showered after her sparing session with my brother. I assume from the hungry expression of Quaahir and Zain, they had joined in. I would usually join her for training, but my particular talent was left unpracticed in our current location. The thought of drowning the woman I love on the day of our wedding was not exactly appealing. Riley on the other hand…

Then it dawned on me, after today, Nik would never have to fear drowning again.

Everyone was seated, some already eating. Nik remained standing behind me, with me secure in her embrace as she leaned in. She whispered lowly, "Can I talk to you … in private?" I turned slightly, surprised to see a serious expression on her face. I nodded and followed her out of the room. Everyone was too engrossed in the food to worry about us leaving. Riley of course was the only who noticed, staring us down as we left.

As we left earshot, I turned to her, asking "What is it?"

She ran her hand through her hair before looking up at me with a distressed look in her eyes.

"Why does Samuel have my family crest burnt into his back?" she asked. Oh.

"Did the others see it?" I asked. She raised her eyebrow in disbelief before furrowing them and shaking her head.

"He wore a shirt, that should have been the first red flag. Anyways, I saw it when he left to get showered. He forgot to close the door before he took off his top," she rambled. She looked up at me, biting her lip. "Was it from when they took him?" I sighed. I did not know why they would brand him, but I could put two and two together to say 'yes'.

"Fuck," she growled, punching the wall beside her. The reinforced metal wall minds you. I swiftly moved towards her and cradled her distraught face in my hands. I forced her to look at me.

"It is not your fault, okay. You said it yourself. They are racist bigots who hate people with my skin. They must have seen the pendant when they took him and did this to spite him," the words made sense as I spoke them, but they failed entirely to calm my love down. There were tears in her eyes. I knew she hated that she wasn't there to stop what happened but at some point, she needed to get it through her gorgeous head that she couldn't protect us all the time. I took her into my arms and let her sob into my shoulder in frustration.

"I should have been there," she sobbed, "I should have killed them. I will kill them. All of them think they can hurt my family!" She hated feeling powerless, but I had full faith that she would find the guilty parties and bring them to a gruesome justice. I looked forward to rewarding for her successful hunt.

"He is fine, schatje. We're both safe and together. After today no one will be able to hurt us again," I reassured her. I kissed her forehead, then her cheek, her lips, her jaw, all the while I unbuttoned her shirt. She was losing her resolve one button at a time. She growled, hoisting me up so my legs could wrap around her waist. She immediately latched her lips onto my neck. That alone was enough for me to writhe in please and moan softly into her ear. This motivated her to go further and she squeezed my waist, igniting a path of flaming flesh and her hands moved up my body until they were right under my breasts. She moved her hands over them, squeezed them gently and kissed me furiously. My lips were buzzing with electricity and the rest of my body was on fire under her touch. She had a way to speed up my heartbeat to inhumane levels.

She eventually pulled away, looked back at me with lust painted eyes and bruised lips. She sighed, resting her head against my exposed chest and releasing a frustrated breath onto my skin that fired me up even more. She was reigning herself in. She always tried her best to control herself around me. Sometimes I wished she didn't. I wanted her to let go and really surrender to her impulses, but I think apart of her was afraid of breaking me. If only realized how much I wanted her to try.

After a few moments of heavy breathing and lustful lingering stares, we composed ourselves enough to rejoin the others. She immediately went to my brother, patting his shoulder and stealing some of his food.

"Ew, don' touch my food after being with my sister!" the blonde idiot slapped her hand away. She stole a piece of meat, eating it in front of him. Her cheeks were adorably pink, but they still managed to laugh together. To my left, I saw the young princess glare at Nik. I take it she did not enjoy the idea of me and Nik being intimate. Deciding to taunt her more, I walked up behind my beloved and kissed her cheek, making a show of squeezing her arse. This earned hoots and cheers from everyone in the room, even Sam chuckled. Riley, however, growled in anger before excusing herself in a haste.

Quaahir smirked at her dramatic exist while Zain smirked at me. I quirked an eyebrow at them.

They strutted over to me, as if examining me, then announced, "We better get started if we want you to be ready in time for your wedding. I have always wanted to style a ghost!"

I didn't have time to protest before I was swept away to who knows where for Zain to apparently style me for my wedding. I heard the others chuckle at us. Nik just smiled at me lovingly.

I couldn't wait to be bound forever to her in the eyes of the Gods and both of our ancestors.