We were outside the Sacred Room where the trial would take place. Everybody had a different experience. To keep the trial even more secretive, no one else but the couple could enter the room. If we passed, both of us would come out. If we failed, only I.

I was nervous beyond words. I didn't want to fail and lose Jacob. What if I didn't love him enough to break his curse? It had only been twenty days! We were crazy to go in so soon! But, we wanted to be together forever, without there being more to fear. Ten more days wouldn't matter if we weren't madly in love by now.

I smoothed my wedding dress. It was made for a princess and taken out of a fairy-tale story. My hair was done in an up-do with diamond hair slides and pearls entwined in my braids. Jacob was wearing an elegant cream-colored tuxedo with flowers matching the bouquet of lilies and petunias I held in my right hand. I was so nervous!

Cedric was in front of us with an anxious face despite the smile. He was gripping onto the doorknob really hard.

"Let's replay this. You put your hands over the sacred orb. You repeat your vows, claiming the intention of being together for all eternity. Something will happen. The Orb will test you. If everything goes according to plan, the curse will be lifted, and you can join us to celebrate your union. If not..." Cedric paused and looked at Jacob.

"If not you will welcome Camille and treat her as if she was your sister. You will give her my fortune and will make sure no one hurts her until the day she dies," Jacob reminded him of his promise, and my heart fluttered once again at how generous Jacob was.

I didn't want to lose him. Tears prickled at my eyes, and I had to fight the urge to cry. I would keep my poker face on and pretend that I wasn't a bundle of nerves.

Cedric stepped forward and put his hand on Jacob's shoulder. "You have my word."

"I'm ready. Let's get this over with. I want to dance with my wife tonight."

We chuckled, trying to lessen the seriousness of the next step.

Cedric opened the door, and we stepped into the enormous room with vaulted ceilings.

 

 

The orb was on the opposite side of the room and not in the middle as I would have thought. Once we were around the pedestal, the door closed with a dry sound, and we were left alone.

I looked up to see Jacob's expression. He was smiling. On the other hand, I had forgotten how to breathe.

"Relax, everything will be okay."

I took a deep breath and nodded. It helped to clear the fog inside my head.

"Tell me again what we need to do," I requested.

He asked for my hand.

I placed my bouquet on the floor and put my left hand in his. I was shaking.

"And if..." I stopped what I was going to say. Squeezing his hand, I simply said, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I hope that this orb believes us, then," I chimed in with a smile.

"I hope so, too, honey."

"I'll be brave."

"I know. You always are."

The tenderness in his voice sent jolts of happiness down my body and made tears fall from my eyes without me allowing them to. I wiped them away.

"I, Jacob, claim you, Camille as my soul-mate for all eternity. I promise to be kind to you, to take care of you, to love you no matter what the obstacles are that we have to face. I'll follow you through all the reincarnations and dimensions of existence. I'll be a better soul to be worthy of our bond. You are my light and my hope, Camille."

My heart pounded like crazy, listening to his vows. Our eyes never strayed from each other’s.

I gulped, knowing that it was my turn. After this, there was no coming back. Either we bonded for eternity, or Jacob turned into stone. I noticed his clenched jaw.

"I, Camille, accept you Jacob as my one and only soul-mate for all eternity. I promise to protect you from the loneliness you had suffered in the past. I promise to love you and only you with all my heart. I reject any former ties to any other soul that isn’t yours. I promise to be by your side no matter the hardships or conflicts. We will get through it together. You are my happiness, and I want to be yours forever."

My voice almost failed at the end because of the emotions, but I said everything that was inside my heart. We had pledged our love and fidelity. Now, we had to wait.

Nothing happened.

"Are we done? Are we bonded?" I questioned.

"I don't know. Something should happen,'' Jacob said and once he closed his mouth, he stumbled, trembling he grabbed his chest as his face contorted into several expressions of different levels of pain.

"Jacob!" I screamed. "Jacob."

I rushed to his side. He kept grabbing his chest as sweat poured down his forehead. He leaned forward in pain.

"What's happening?" I was terrified. Then, I screamed hysterically. "No! No! It's not fair. No!"

Jacob was turning into stone.

It started with his hands, spreading to his arm. His legs stopped moving, and he bent forward with a panicked look in his eyes.

"I love you. I love you. I swear it's true. I don't want you to disappear. It isn't fair!" I kept screaming and crying. I tugged at his jacket and put my hands over his face. But, my words weren't preventing the stone from taking over his body.

"Look at me," I begged, my vision blurring from the tears. "I'm sorry." I kissed his lips. My arms snaked around his neck as my mouth kept pressing against his, until the softness of his lips were gone, and all I could feel was the cold stone against my lips.

Jacob was gone.

My heart was hurting worse than anything else that I had ever felt before. Life didn't matter anymore. I held on to him tighter. He had turned into stone, and I didn't want to continue without him.

"Turn me into stone. It's not fair!" I shouted at the shining orb behind my back. "Turn me into stone, also." Tears kept falling. My body shook with my painful cry.

I didn't care about what anyone else could do, but I wasn't going to leave that place without Jacob. "He's mine! Give me back my husband," I screamed to the orb, kneeled on the floor and hugging the statue of my Jacob.

I had my eyes closed. I didn't see the bright light or the cold stone disappearing. I only felt the softness of warm hands around my shoulders and the tenderness of lips brushing at my ear.

When I opened my watery eyes, I was on Jacob's lap, and he was staring down at me with lively eyes.

Was I dreaming? Did I lose my mind and was imagining things?

"Is it really you?"

His fingers wiped away my tears. "Why are you crying?"

"You were gone. You became a statue."

He placed small kisses against my forehead and my eyelids. My body drew closer to his as my hands clutched the lapels of his coat.

"I remember the pain, but then...I just opened my eyes and you were in my arms, crying helplessly as if you were in great pain."

"I didn't want to lose you."

"You didn't. I've survived and you, look at you, honey."

I blinked and stared at his loving face, noticing feathers around us. I felt the weight of the wings on my back. They had appeared and were around us, creating a protective cocoon.

I loved my white wings. I loved being an angel. I loved Jacob. Before he could say anything else, I kissed him, once, twice, until all the fear of losing him was replaced by happiness of being married to him for all eternity.

I mumbled against his mouth, "I want to make love to you right now."

His fingers dug into my back, and he deepened our kisses. But then, he said against my mouth, "We can't. Everybody is waiting for us outside. They won't leave until we come out, plus...they are worried about us. We should show them that we are okay."

I nodded, aware that he was right. Despite the blazing desire taking over my rationality, we needed to tell the others that Jacob was alive and well.

"We’ll celebrate our union and, when everybody is distracted, we'll run away to our bedroom and make love until we can't move anymore."

"Okay," I agreed with pink cheeks and a happy smile as I played with his bowtie.

He kissed me again, and we shared another moment of pure lust and bliss. The idea of never seeing him again had been tormenting enough.

"I thought I was going to die when you turned to stone. I never want to feel that again," I whispered, holding his face in my hands.

"Nothing will take me away from you now. But, you ruined your make-up with your tears."

"What matters is that you came back to me."

"Yes," he smirked. "You aced this trial. I was really lucky to find you, was I not?"

"We are both lucky."

Jacob kissed me as he carried me, bridal style, so we could announce to the others that the party was on and we have become fully mated angels.

 

 

 

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