Bab 46: Mating Bond (2)
His blood was on fire, boiling in his veins, but Lord Kieran tried to contain his anger, in fear that his emotions would flow through the bond he now shared with the mortal magus. The mating bond between them allowed him to check the mental and emotional stability of his mortal mate.
He had underestimated Xanaros shamelessness this time. Indeed, he had impulsively bestowed a geas of protection on Iris Scarborough, but at that time, Lord Kieran had never thought that their paths would cross again.
Aside from that, no one had been foolish enough to volunteer as a tribute. How was he supposed to know that Iris Scarborough was to become his mate?
Lord Kieran sneered at the thought. He'd never consider himself as one to take a mate. Not in his seemingly endless life. He'd been with a woman before, but things ended up badly between them. To think that he had once considered taking her as his wife, only to be betrayed by her in the end.
However, being mated to Iris Scarborough now, Lord Kieran felt like he had inconvenienced his mortal mate. The Red King wouldn't have harshly punished her like this if she wasn't acquainted with him prior to her arrival in Asnar. There could be a way to free Iris from this mating bond.
"The Red King surely went overboard this time." He heard Callum say to Yuri. "It's impossible to remove a mating rune, not when the Black Mage himself was the one who created the spell."
It was also surprising that the rest of the members of Court of Shadows didn't admonish Xanaros for placing a mating rune between Lord Kieran and Iris Scarborough. It made Yuri, Callum and Aiden think that the rest had already anticipated this would happen as soon as they sensed the geas Lord Kieran placed on the mortal human.
"A seventh tier mage might be able to remove it, but there's no assurance that there wouldn't be a fair equivalent exchange in the process." Yuri responded, yawning behind his hand as they traveled back to Aisgarth.
At least this time, they could ride their steed without worrying about being ambushed on their way back home. They also didn't need to take occasional breaks that could delay their travel.
"Even demonic magic can't dispel a rune like that." He added.
Despite the Black Mage's infamy, it couldn't be denied that he was one of the strongest and smartest magus that appeared in Asnar. His spells and curses were considered as forbidden arts and unorthodox, but some of them were useful that the demon lords and other magi learned to utilize them. So it wasn't surprising that the Red King knew how to use one of the spells created by the Black Mage.
"What do we do now?" Aiden asked. "Can the mating rune kill Lord Kieran too if Lady Iris was killed by someone?"
"Who knows? The mating rune was just established and their bond isn't that strong yet. The curse might override the mating rune, considering its one tier higher than it." Yuri responded. Since he was Aisgarth's greatest demon mage, knowledge of magical ways and abilities were like a second nature to him.
"Xanaros is rushing to his death." Lord Kieran commented. "If we aren't bound by that blood pact, my blade would have already met his throat before he could say a word."
"Should we send Ricci to protect Lady Iris then? But I doubt that Queen Asheera would want her exiled daughter back in Shayla Kingdom." Aiden reminded them of Iris's vulnerability. If Kieran's enemies view Iris Scarborough as a way to kill him, her life will surely be in danger.
"There's no need for that." The Undead Lord said. "Asheera needs Iris alive more than anything, but she's foolish if she really thinks she could manipulate Iris to become one of them. It would be like biting more than she could chew."
As her mate, it was the Undead Lord's responsibility to protect Iris from any danger, but there was no way he would be able to step into Shayla Kingdom without causing war between them and Aisgarth. He and the High Queen weren't on good terms anyway and he expected that Queen Asheera would try to keep his mate away from him.
Yuri and Callum looked at their lord, noticing that Lord Kieran was acknowledging his mortal mate by her given name. They still didn't know why their lord had given Iris Scarborough a geas of protection. What could have happened during the three days they weren't on Kieran's side?
Lord Kieran fell silent, noticing that his new mortal mate was conscious now. Several emotions flew through their mating bond and he struggled to keep them from affecting him. He prepared himself to receive her disappointment, her rage for being mated to him, but to his surprise, there was none.
He couldn't understand. Shouldn't she be throwing a fit now, blaming him for what just happened? If there's anything, the only thing he could sense through their mating bond was her longing for her family and uncertainty. He'd known from the moment he met Iris Scarborough that she was one odd human, but he didn't expect it to be to this extent.
The Undead Lord pushed the thoughts away. No matter how pure Iris Scarborough was, she was destined to witness how darklings like him could be cruel towards a human like her very soon.
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END OF VOLUME I
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
anjeeriku
anjeeriku The next chapters would be part of the Second Volume. Thank you for picking up and reading the first volume of BDL. This is my third attempt to write a fantasy novel as I'm trying to breakthrough my comfort zone and write other genres other than Contemporary romance. Daily updates will start on Aug 1. Reviews and comments are deeply appreciated.
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