Chapter 123 Consumed
AUDREY
"Don't ever forget my love, I'll always be by your side" he murmurs so only I can hear his words as we make our way through the hallways.
He brings out a hand and my gaze flickers from his face to his outstretched hand. Keeping my gaze locked on his I slip my hand into his and he squeezes gently, bringing warmth spreading throughout my body.
I gazed into his eyes, watching as his dark onyx shards light with an underlining desire, deeply suppressed but not enough to dismiss them from his gaze. His love, adoration, unfiltered desire and deep attraction for me could be felt in waves. The way his eyes gazed into my own, telling tales as old as time, a desire and longing deeper than the depths of the ocean, hotter than the scortching heat of the sun.
As I got lost in the depths of his eyes, dark like the sky on a stormy night, like an impending catastrophe waiting to unravel and take down everything in its path leaving no survivors. There was a darkness within him, a darkness he dragged everywhere with him and I was completely consumed, completely engulfed by this darkness and I wouldn't have it any other way.
His eyes told tales centuries old, a tale of pain, sadness, loneliness and a grieving soul lost in time. A broken heart, never mended, only shattered, with each fade it was darkened, bleached, tainted until now. When I looked into his eyes I saw the shadow, a past shell of a broken soul now rejoicing.
I inhaled sharply, feeling all the overwhelming emotions hit me at once. How on earth I was able to decipher all that just by letting myself swim in the crashing waves that were his dark shards I had no idea. But somehow I felt like everything I saw was true, it was so transparent, maybe only to me.
Somehow it didn't scare me, it only drew me closer. It drew me closer to want to unravel all the depths hidden in his eyes, to know what the darkness I saw meant. To understand the tale of pain and the shattered shadow of a soul I saw. I wanted to understand, to know. Maybe I was just putting in too much meaning but something about what I saw made it's way into the walls of my mind to live.
Slow music filled the air, the sound of violin rising in tempo, the sweet sound like soft kisses to my ears. The violins were accompanied by low singing from the members of the Royal orchestra. Quiet chattering filled the air, the noise from the great crowd being drowned out by the sound of the beautiful instruments. The violins rise, reaching crescendo before crashing.
We came to the top of the stairs, the ballroom filled to its capacity coming into view. I let my eyes survey the large ballroom that was filled to its capacity, titled men and women of the King's court gracing the floors, gowns of different sizes and colors creating a burst of color around the room.
The color code for the occasion was royal blue or gold, which I learnt were among many colors of the realm, each color signifying something different. I let my gaze wander further to see the huge grand doors were still closed, telling me that what Faye told me was indeed true- the people of the kingdom were behind those doors and they were to be pulled open the moment Darius and I settle on the thrones.
The party looked to already be in full swing and our announcement would be the show stopper, the ball of the season.
Inhaling a deep breath Darius squeezes my hand reassuringly as he gazes ahead. We begin our decent and I keep my gaze hovering over all the people who had stood still as the announcer made loud mention of our presence to everyone.
All eyes we're on us as we made our way to the thrones, Darius taking a seat before I did. I let my hands rest on the arms of the throne, remembering how to do accordingly to what Faye had showed me. In that moment I recalled the reason behind why both Darius and I were the only ones in the entire ballroom dressed in red and gold. Faye explained that in this realm red and gold meant a new beginning, a big step forward, a celebration of union which explained why I could see people murmuring and directing questionable glances our way.
White signified- marriage, which I would have to be dressed in on Darius and my wedding day, for a newly wed bride it signified chastity and I was to wear white as well as soft colors for the duration of my honeymoon to show my early years of marriage, whereas after my honeymoon I would be required to wear darker colored clothes to show my completion of my honeymoon and my official beginning as queen. For when I'm pregnant I would be dressed in blue and pink to show my indifference towards the gender of my baby and the future heir to the kingdom even though there would be this invisible pressure to deliver a boy.
I faced forward, keeping my head high and not letting the eyes I could sense bother me. I gazed towards Darius to see him offer an outstretched hand, smiling softly I slipped my hand into his and he held it securely, bringing my hand to his lips where he planted three kisses to my knuckles before pressing a final one to the ring on my finger.
I watched him with pure unfiltered lust and adoration as he gazed back at me with just the same amount of want. Something at the corner of my eyes made me turn to gaze at it properly. Lord Mark Anthony stood there, watching out exchange with a look in his eyes that I couldn't decipher. Non the less I paid no attention to him, pretending like I didn't just look his way.
Unfortunately for me my attempt to avoid him proved to be futile as he began walking towards Darius and I.