Demon's Design

Epilogue

Zandra spent most of her time, once the demons were gone, going through the library and records. There was so much she needed to learn about the castle, her family, and the portal in the basement. It had been months since he vanished, and she was confident Verick wasn't going to escape wherever he was sucked into, but she wanted to make certain. Recently her nights have been plagued with nightmares about him, and they were becoming difficult to shake. It was starting to feel like there was something she was missing. However no matter where she looked, she found no documentation of anyone ever returning after being sucked into it. Zandra did, however, manage to find information that would allow her to give access to the castle to another. By binding Fen to the castle, it would allow him complete access and should anything happen to her, there would be someone still who could protect it. 

Fen knocked on the door to the study. "Knock, knock," he said walking in then leaning on the door frame. "Have you taken a break today?" He asked with concern. With a sigh she closed the book she had been reading and stood up, stumbling a few times over some books she had stacked precariously on the floor she made her way towards him. Although his arms were crossed showing he was a bit annoyed with her set up, he couldn't help but smile and laugh. "We are supposed to be cleaning this place up, not making it worse."

Zandra managed to make it to him, "I just—" she started to say.

Fen grabbed her by the shoulders gently looking at her with a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay. You said it yourself, no one and nothing comes back after going through. It's going to be alright. Take a break. Let's enjoy our victory. You've been in here for weeks. Henry and Tara have already started some of the heavier cleaning projects. We should help them." He squeezed her shoulders slightly.

She smiled at him and brought one of her hands up, touching his slightly, "you're right."

"Good. Let's get you out of here for a bit," he pulled the door closed as they left.

As they headed down the hall she told him, "I found a way to have the castle recognize you as a member of the family."

"Oh, really?" He asked keenly interested.

She nodded, not giving much thought to what she was telling him. "There is a ritual to give the spouse access to the house, allowing you free reign. With it you shouldn't get lost down below."

"Very well. When do we get started?" He asked with a small grin on his face.

"Whenever you want. It shouldn't take long." She wasn't paying any attention to him, or what she was saying, as she was just repeating the information she had been gathering. 

"Then let's do it now," he told her. 

"Okay. There is a podium like the one downstairs in the throne room. I should be able to access everything from there." Diverting from their course to help the others, they instead headed towards the podium.

Fen asked, "what do I, or we, need to do?" 

"According to the instructions, I just need to make castle to recognize you as my spouse. We will both cut our fingers and place them on the podium while we recite a spell. Apparently, this was how previous generations got married. An oath was sworn as they chanted the spell, binding them together with the magic within the castle." Zandra told him, still sounding a bit aloof after drowning herself in books for weeks on end.

As they reached the podium, she placed her hands upon it and instantly the light screen popped up. At this point now she had done this so many times it didn't phase her anymore. There was certainly a lot of data to go through in every corner of this place. She went through a few different screens, realizing weeks ago that it didn't just give her information, she could record information as well. Not to mention, there were certain aspects of the castle that could be controlled through this connection to the castle. It took a moment for her to go through a few different screens to find what she was looking for. "Okay, give me your hand." Zandra reached out for his left hand.

Fen obeyed, giving her his hand not hesitating to do anything she asked of him. She took it and placed it onto the podium flat with his hand spread out. She placed her left palm on top of his and started whispering a small spell. After a few seconds, she lifted their hands up and brought out a dagger and cut her index finger and then his, neither wincing from the cut. Blood dripped onto the podium; She touched her wound to his and then placed their fingers down on the stone. As their blood mixed together there was a bright yellow glow as a small seal wrapped around each of their ring fingers. The podium glowed for a second and then went back to normal and Fen took a step back as a wave of energy coursed through him.

"What was that?" He looked at her and then back at the podium.

She smiled and signaled for him to grab the podium. He copied what she had done and the stone glowed as the screen came up for him. Looking it over, he could feel the power of the castle connecting with him as he reached out touching the light with his finger, changing the screen he had been looking at. "You should have full access now," she beamed. 

"This is amazing," he touched the magic screen once more in awe. Looking it over he smirked, "you know this says were are bonded together, right? Mates." He pointed to his status next to his name.

Zandra blushed a little, "it's not official. It is what needed to be done so we could start fixing the castle," she said trying to defend herself.

He let go of the podium as he gave her a charming smile, "it's too late now. You've completed the ritual. You're blood mixed with mine," he said.

"I didn't—" she paled. She hadn't thought about it being an actual marriage ritual. Binding their blood together allowed them to become mates. Share power with each other. What had she done? They hadn't discussed it. She had been so lost in sharing information, she didn't stop to think about what it all actually entailed. 

Fen shrugged a little, "it's okay. It not like I wasn't going to ask you anyways."

She shook her head, "you know how I feel about this. I'm so stupid," she cursed herself.

He sighed, then closed the distance between them and forced her to look at him, "it's okay. Getting married isn't the end of the world, my dear."

"I'm not ready," Zandra said sadly.

"For what exactly? You're with me already. I've been waiting for this day since I met you," he smiled reassuringly.

She started to feel overwhelmed, "it's still too soon to settle down. I'm not ready for a family--."

"Family? Who said anything about kids?" He looked at her surprised.

"Marriage implies settling down and having a family," she said.

He shook his head, "our union is whatever we want it to be. Family, no family. Its whatever we decide when we decide it." He leaned down and kissed her softly, "don't let society dictate your life. You haven't up till now, why should this be any different?"

Zandra looked at him and smiled more sincerely, "very well. I guess marrying you won't be too bad."

"Too bad?" He grabbed her, pressing her body against his own. "I guess I should start our bond with you screaming my name then," he kissed her again.

"What about the others?" She said playfully pulling away from him. 

"They'll have to wait. I have a honeymoon to enjoy," before she could protest he scooped her up into his arms and carried her off to the bedroom.