Lily's eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Hey, I'm all for skin art, but it's not for me. What is this?”
Celine smiled in understanding then knelt before her, lifting the opal box with a small golden latch up. “This contains the ritual instruments.”
“She said instruments, this doesn't sound good,” muttered Willow.
“Shh!” Chloe said.
Celine opened the latch and pulled the top up. Lily squinted at the objects inside. Inside was a glass container the size of an ink well with a paint-like substance inside the color of chocolate and a cone-shaped object that looked like it was made out of parchment paper.
“What is all this?”
Celine picked up the ink well object. “This is the sacred bowl or durku. Inside it contains a special ink that I will use to paint onto your body. This cone, the lathu, will hold the ink so I may draw precisely onto your skin. It will look very beautiful on your paler skin.”
“Why do you do this though?”
“It is our way. When a mating occurs each demon, err,” she blushed, the look stunning on her dark skin, “person has sacred symbols and words painted onto their hands, feet, and stomach. It is the final binding.”
“Is it permanent?”
She shook her head. “No, it will come off naturally in a few days. Washing it helps, though most newly mated couples prefer to let it wear away on its own.”
“I see, let's begin then, shall we?”
Lily had to undress completely and lay down on the bed. Celine lit white and red candles around the bed on the floor. For “purifying and love” she said.
She wasn't exactly comfortable having her sisters see her naked but they were more focused on watching Celine work. Celine poured some of the liquid into the cone. The substance did pour like paint, too, Lily noted. The cone came to a very fine point to where Celine kept a finger pressed across it so none of it would spill.
She settled on her knees at the end of the bed, one of her feet pulled up on her lap. “I shall begin now if you're ready.”
Lily nodded and Celine set to work. What unraveled was a piece of art on her foot that covered her toes up to her ankle. The lines were intricate, the design incredible. Lily looked at her sisters’ faces and saw that they, too, had their jaws on the ground.
“How can you make such fine detail with that little cone?”
Celine smiled. “A lot of practice, my lady.”
What looked like small flowers colored the edge of each toe with leaves coming off to cover the toes. Extending off of that, leaf-like patterns swept up her feet intermixed with demonic letters. Around her ankles thin lines were drawn then branched upward in triangles with wavy lines off them.
Similar yet different patterns were pained onto her stomach from hip to hip and then each of her hands. The design covered the top and bottom of her hand extending from fingernail to wrist. Her fingers had the lines traveling down them with little ticks coming off each side. But that was only a small part of the major design that was a flower in full bloom drawn in the middle of her palm.
“It's so beautiful,” Lily said in awe.
Celine finished and packed up her tools. “Thank you very much.” Celine went into the hall then came back a few seconds later. “This is your gown.”
Lily whistled. The black dress looked sexy, flowing, and half see-through. “Telal will like this.” Chloe slapped her in the arm. “I probably deserve that one.”
With the help of her sisters, Lily dressed. A black slip went first and felt like real silk—soft and luscious against her skin. It didn't completely cover her shoulder, and it slid down, barely, to mid-thigh. Lily kept looking down at her painted feet, which, in a way, resembled sandals and her hands, gloves.
“It's beautiful, Lily.” Chloe sighed with a look of longing. “I'll have to get a henna artist to color me up some time. I think Tyrian will like it.”
“Count Lyonis in too,” added Willow.
Over the slip went the lace, gauzy-like material that she could see her skin through. It was a wrap that she had to hold the fringed ends to keep on. It also fell to mid-thigh.
“Is this all I wear?”
Celine nodded, her eyes bright. “You look very lovely. No shoes, no gloves, wear only this! The ceremony will begin when you come out front. Someone will be waiting for you downstairs to ensure you do everything properly.” She left and Lily turned to her sisters.
“I almost feel insulted by that but, hell, I have no idea what I'm doing.”
“You'll be fine,” Chloe said. She hugged her and kissed her. “I'm going downstairs. I can't wait to see this. I'd tell you that if you are still undecided I have a car parked at the curb, but let's just say I have Draven downstairs and he's prepared to port you out, if necessary.”
Lily laughed. “That won't be necessary. I love him.”
Chloe's eyes softened. “I know.” She left then it was Willow's turn.
“I love you so much, little sis. We wouldn’t be able to survive without you. You've always been special, different. Lucky for both of us, I got over my envious stage when I was eighteen.” Willow wrapped her in a hug. “I love you. Take care of yourself and your demon. And if he ever pisses you off, let me know. I have a man that can shapeshift.”
Lily laughed, tears wobbling and falling from her eyes. She started to wipe them away but Willow caught her hand with an unsteady sigh. She used her own hand to wipe them away.
“Don't use your hands on those tears now. This shit might wash off.”
“Right, good point.” Willow gave her a smile and wink then left.
Lily waited a few minutes then peered out the window. She faced the wrong side of the castle but she could hear what sounded like a crowd of people. Her stomach tightened again, rolling around like she'd eaten something bad. Unable to wait anymore, Lily stepped out of the room and made her way downstairs.
Two women waited for her. From their expensive clothing, she placed them to be royalty. They smiled at her.
“My lady,” the first with bright red hair said, bowing, “I am honored to present you. This is Prucilla and I am Jordana. We are but old friends of Telal's.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You are so beautiful,” Prucilla said, her face breaking into tears.
Jordana slapped Prucilla's arm. “Don't cry now. The ceremony hasn't even begun yet. Now, my lady, once you step outside you will walk to Telal. Trust me, he'll be straight ahead. Then he will guide you in front of the people. There he will recite sacred vows to you and you will return them. And that is all, okay?”
Lilly nodded fast. “Yes, okay.” Her heart pounded and she tried to slow it but that only made her start to perspire.
“Please relax; once you see him you'll know everything's is fine.”
Lily took a deep breath and decided it best not to wait. Better to just get this over with. So she opened the door by the metal rung and stepped outside and into a massive crowd of royalty and non-royalty, of friends and family. She had only a moment to be overwhelmed when her eyes caught on Telal. He waited for her at the bottom of the stairs in a pair of fitted black trousers that stopped above the knee and nothing else. His stomach, hands and feet held the same painted drawings as hers did. On his golden skin, it looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Lily smiled and went to him. His own smile melted her heart and made it beat fast like a galloping horse. He locked their hands together, the paintings meshing perfectly as if they'd been meant to do so and then he walked down a path that had been carved out of the crowd. Everyone hushed and only the sound of the wind stirring the grass and trees graced her ears.
A man wearing a ceremonial gown of red, gold, and blue stood at the end of the row, his hands clasped behind his back.