The colour red became black as night fell over it, pale flecks of pink reflected from the blood moon, barely indistinguishable from the shadows. They made his bouquet of roses look dusky, chillingly to his liking.

On a carefully placed blanket, beneath an archway he conjured from the shrubbery, the votive candles were already lit for atmosphere. More unlit candles stood strewn about the grove with an aisle created from the space between them, waiting for a cue from the man himself, waiting impatiently at the end of the walkway for his late Bride. A light breeze threatened the lit tapers but he clicked his fingers to strengthen the flames once more.

When he finally felt the swelling sweet sensation of her magic wafting closer, he was facing the opposite way. Allowing her to get a little closer before acknowledging her. A power move that would have worked in any given situation other than this one.

Because when he turned around he was immediately hit by the vision of her in white lace gown, tainted by night. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Caused by memories begging to be remembered, from a version of himself finally achieving a long forgotten goal. She was so close to being his. He shook himself mentally, looking her dead in the eyes, not focusing on how beautifully grey she was.

This was part of his plan.

Nothing else. If she married him she had a stake in not wanting him to die, he had her on his side- not Josette's. Not to mention economic expansion, what that would mean for welfare and general society and other various nerdy points that he'd built up in his mind. All to block out the single notion that despite what he said, everything he did- all of it, the way he acted, spoke and behaved towards her- all pointed to one silly idea. That he loved her.

He didn't.

No matter how hard his heart was beating as he watched her take hesitant steps up the grassy aisle.

He couldn't.

A flick of his wrist and the candles on either side of her lit up. She widened her eyes as they did and he smiled at how quickly her shock turned to awe, looking around at how beautiful everything looked bathed in an amber glow.

He wouldn't.

'Alright that's impressive.' Her melodic voice sang down the aisle.

'I told you I'd bring the romance.'

'I told you I'd bring the contract.' She shook the papers in her left palm to draw attention to them. She gave them to him by way of greeting when she reached the makeshift altar, accepting the bouquet he swapped them out for, taking a moment to relish in their calming scent.

'Looks good.' Without reading it, he dropped the pile bluntly onto the grass and reached behind him. 'But I'll sign it after.'

'After what? The contract is the wedding.'

'And miss out the whole vows part? I know we're getting married in secret, in the middle of the woods, with very minimal decoration but I draw the line at letting my signature be our whole wedding ceremony.'

'Who cares and you call this minimal?' She gestured to the field of stars. Candlelit beacons scattered over the grass as if he'd brought heaven down to them.

'I do. I'm in charge of romance, remember. And signing a contract is not romantic.' From behind him he brought an obsidian encrusted dagger, rimmed with a silver blade. She barely flinched at his sudden reveal of the weapon, safe in the knowledge that she'd brought her own. Cold metal resting against her thigh and covered by layers of white silk.

'So I have this Grimoire,' he explained, like it was the most natural object in the world, 'It's got a lot of helpful spells, sometimes even an entry or two about other supernatural beings and even details of a ritual or three. And I looked it up out of curiosity- you know, wedding rituals- and found one. A common ritual,' he recited from knowledge, 'performed at weddings to connect two souls together. 'So I thought, what would be more romantic than that? Binding two souls together.'

She took a step back, seeing the earth suddenly tilt and her nerves go cold, feeling sick.

He didn't want to marry her for convenience, for political gain, or even because he loved her. She'd been so wrapped up in how desirable her title as Queen made her that she forgot a whole other half of her existed. A half of her that he found equally as desirable. Enough to want to marry her for her magic. Bind them, and he could use her magic for himself, fixing the everlasting hole of a siphon.

'You want my magic.'

He took the steps she retreated until her back was against the leafy archway. 'Is it such a bad thing?'

'Yes, it's mine.' She spat.

'It still would be. In fact it would be stronger with the power of two people.'

'You're a siphon. You would be constantly draining me.'

'You don't know that. I don't even know that. I'm not even sure if this will work.'

This wasn't part of her plan.

The plan to stall him long enough for Enzo to be able to take him down quickly. She would help magically, of course, but Enzo had been adamant on doing the bulk of the labour. Enzo was now three minutes late. In those three minutes she'd been blindsided. Bonnie had seen a magical wedding ceremony only once before. They were powerful and intimate rituals. Signing the contract would have been the easy way out. She could burn paper after he was dead and no one would have known what transpired between them.

Before anger, before betrayal, before bitterness she felt disappointment. Disappointment that there was an ugly ulterior motive to his proposal, just like she'd suspected all along. She'd give Enzo five more minutes. If he didn't make it, she would take Kai down herself.

'Fine, but we start with the vows.'

Enzo stood waiting on the side of the grove, watching Kai lay out the candles by hand, admiring the perfect curve of the green canopy he'd conjured and hating it all the same. Jo waited eagerly beside him, hoping to high hell the cloaking spell was still working with Bonnie so far away, until she scolded herself for doubting the strength of her magic. Qetsiyah held up the rear.

'Where's his back up?' Jo asked. 'No witnesses for the marriage? Nothing? It's like this whole wedding is a trap for her.'

'Why would he do that?' Said Qetsiyah, mindlessly drawing a circle in the mud with her foot as the other two focused on surveillance. He had orders not to take on Kai until Bonnie arrived and Bonnie was running later than he expected.

'Because he knows.' Jo replied, worried.

'He doesn't know. No one is that all-knowing. Not even that bloody Prince.'

'King.' Qetsiyah corrected. 'Why do you hate him so much? I mean, I know why his sister does but you barely know him.' She asked, her polite tone trying to compete with Jo's growing paranoia.

'Because he's a horrible person.'

'But you came looking for Jo before you knew what he did. You were hunting for dirt on him. It doesn't take supernatural senses to know you were motivated by hate.'

'My motivations are irrelevant.'

'Convenient.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means you're a little too invested in that Bennett witch's dealings with Malachai for it to be platonic.'

'Why, do you get the sense she likes me?'

'More you like her.'

Sulking now, Enzo ignored Qetsiyah and focused on Jo who'd been disregarding their conversation in lieu of repeating a spell back to herself 'Sanguinem desimilus, sanguinem generis fiantus.'

'What's that do?' Enzo asked, eyebrow's furrowing as he used his little understanding of Latin to translate the words and coming up confused.

'It'll kill him.' Qetsiyah answered curtly for her.

'How's that?'

'It's a spell for draining someone's life force. All Jo has to do is get close enough to perform it and it's our job to help her.'

'Oh.'

They both left the conversation to follow along to the point of Jo's soft gasp. There at the back of the treeline Bonnie started to emerge, dressed in a white gown, pink tinge settling on the lace from the overbearing moon.

'She looks beautiful.' Qetisiyah sighed. 'How did she get it made so quickly?'

'It was her mother's.' Enzo said, words coming out softly as his throat constricted. The image of the garment's predecessor, floating up an aisle in the dress, swollen stomach hidden under the draped skirts, ran through his mind. He wondered how she found it before focusing again, shoving down unsolved emotions the vision brought.

'Okay,' Jo said, rubbing her hands together. 'This is it. I'll give him an aneurysm, Enzo you hold him back physically until I can grab him and complete the spell. Qetsiyah you-'

'Oh I already have a job.'

In unison both Enzo and Jo looked back at her. Her eyes were focused on Bonnie, watching her hesitant gait up the aisle as she waited for Kai to drop down, the glow of the candles helping to fight some of the rose hue on her dress. Before any of the other's could ask about her unknown role she answered with a palm flying up to eye-level, turning and fingers curling.

In an instant they dropped.

Enzo hit with a thud while she helped Jo fall with slight grace, laying her down gently before returning to voyeur.

'Was that dress expensive?' He asked by way of making conversation as she adjusted the skirts to stand opposite him, coming from the end of the aisle. Her eyebrow twitched in the way it always did to substitute for the question why. 'Because I've been waiting to tear you out of it my whole life.'

'You haven't known me your whole life.' She repeated slowly, murdering his flirt with her dead tone.

'But you're okay with the dress ripping?' He replied with a side smile.

'Shut up.' She sighed. 'Can we get on with this?'

'Biblical bit first or off the cuff?'

'If I say off the cuff promise you'll keep it classy.'

'Of course. As if I would risk saying anything to ruin our wedding. Think of the story we'd have to tell the grandkids.'

She scoffed. Even after admitting that this marriage was for nothing more than the sake of gaining a stable source of magic he was trying to disarm her with false romantics. That he thought a nice sentence here or there would erase the value of his actions was a smack in the face.

'I'll go first' she surprised him, spending the whole way here thinking of something to say to force some guilt from him. 'Do you know why I was running late to the wedding? Because I was picking out my dress.' Neither Elena or Caroline knew where she was tonight, which made dressing herself with petticoats and heavy jewellry were out of the question since they wouldn't be there to help. So it was a simple white dress, dug out from the chest at the foot of her bed. 'Because there's some dumb, stupid part of me that secretly cared what I looked like on my wedding. For you. I wanted to look pretty for you Kai, because I think deep down inside, I can actually stand you. More than stand you, I think I prefer your company to the company of other people. So I'm wearing it out of hope that this won't be a whole disaster.' She looked down, sunken features as she finished her vows. Vows that felt more like pleading.

Her eyes missed how his adam's apple bobbed, gulping at how her words seemed to constrict around his lungs. He exhaled, starting his turn by lifting her chin. His original plan had been to recite a cute poem he found perusing her library. But the pressure in his mind, becoming a bloated nuisance, meant remembering anything was going to be a bother.

It didn't matter.

Words from his chest began crawling up his throat like bile.

'You know since I met you there's been this feeling stuck in my gut that you're someone important to me.' He said harshly, like it was an accusation. Softening, he continued, 'I don't know how, I don't know why but it's just lodged there. But the more I learn about you the more I'm beginning to understand why it's you. I think it's the thing that's driving me to want to marry you so bad. You know,' he shrugged, desperately trying to remember the generic poem before his tongue hurled the confession out. 'Pair with your spirit so I never have to be without you for even a moment. I'm sorry if this isn't how you want to do it. Or even if I'm not the person you want to be with for the rest of your life. But I tried to make it nice,' he indicated over his shoulder to the candles. She was moved by his words, even if she was trying to hide it. 'We don't have to do this now. Like this. If you really don't want to. We can hold the day, make huge preparations, lots of friends or family, massive chapel, cheering crowds, the whole 324 inches.'

What the hell?

'What the actual hell?' She nearly shouted. Watching his own face fall as he realised what he said.

'What?' He tried to play it off as if it was intended.

Her mind was blank, trying to take in everything he said. Everything he was saying. She could postpone this whole thing right now. Give her more time to think and Jo more time to prepare. Prepare to kill him, she remembered. Because he was a murderer.

He lies.

'No,' she replied softly, 'We're here now. You've already seen the dress. Again would just be bad luck. Start with the biblical part now.' She ordered, trying to sound resolute in her wanting, waiting for Enzo to give any signal. It was Jo she really needed. Jo who claimed to have a way to take him down forever. He smiled triumphantly, believing he'd convinced her.

'Alright then.' Kai cleared his throat and put out his palms for Bonnie to place hers flat on. She looked at them warily.

'I promise I won't kill you.' He said, watching the unease remain as she slipped cold fingers down his tingling fingertips, along his palm, to rest over his wrist, his pulse thumping under her touch. The urge to suddenly pull the magic clouding around her grew stronger with the contact but he tamped it down.

A sudden thought occurred to her. 'Do you remember the verse?'

'Memorised it last night. Didn't you?'

'I didn't know I'd have to study for my wedding. Besides I was up all night making that,' she indicated to the dishevelled pile of papers.

'Well repeat what I say but switch the names around.'

'Okay,' she let out a shaky breath suddenly feeling overwhelmed by how real this was becoming.

Not real.

She reminded herself. It was a distraction. By the end of this night she would not be married to him, not legitimately.

'Let's do this.' She sighed.

'Glad to see you so eager.' His thumbs brushed the side of her wrist where they came to rest to try to relax her. But the action made her feel more like an animal, calmed before slaughter. In another part of her mind maybe the anxiety was excitement, filtered to an acceptable watery feeling in the pit of her stomach.

'I Kai take thee, Bonster,'

She tried not to smile at his use of her nickname instead of full name. There was no one here to correct them and force them into making the ceremony rigid.

'To be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life. Until death do us part.' His hand dropped hers for a moment as he delved into his pocket. In the darkness she saw the glimmer of two small silver objects before her closed his palm around one and held the other between two fingers. 'With this ring,' her body joined her fingers in temperature as she felt the cool metal slip onto her left hand. 'I thee wed.'

Silence hung between them as she took a moment to inspect the simple band, perfectly snug around the joint.

'When did you get these made?'

'The day you sent the invitation.'

'I Bonnie,' she rushed into the words, hoping to distract from how hard her chest ached and the pressure on her mind congealed around her thoughts. 'Take thee Kai, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days in my life.' She ended, waiting for him to pass her the second ring.

'Till death do us part,' he reminded.

'Right.' She nodded, hating that she forgot the simplest part. 'Till death do us part.' She took the band held out to her, feeling an inscription on the outside as she fiddled with it to place on his finger.

8:6 7 Solomon

'With this ring I thee wed.'

At the end of her vow the sky did not crack like she expected. The spirits did not smite them for devious intentions.

He turned around and picked up the dagger from the blanket, freeing her from his touch. She followed his move and gathered up strewn papers, presenting them to him as he held the hilt of the weapon out to her.

'Now for the part that counts.' She swapped objects with him, watching as he went to pick up a candle to help read the pages. Bonnie obliged, holding the tip of the blade against her palm and readying herself for the pain.

'In the spirit of being true to you I actually have a confession.'

'Really?' She tried her best not to sound sarcastic, as if she hadn't suspected him from the very beginning.

'From husband to wife I feel honesty is important.'

'Aren't I lucky.' She muttered, twirling the dagger now, consciously reminding him that he'd passed her a dangerous weapon willingly.

'See, you know I know about your magic,'

'I do know that, yes.'

'But I also know about Jo's little visit.'

Her face blanched. It didn't matter, she calmed herself, she had the upper hand. Enzo, Jo and Qetsiyah would be here soon.

'And I know Jo's roped you into helping her. It's quite selfish really. That girl cannot do anything by herself. So I realised I needed to remove her as a threat. You are like really smart by the way.'

She ignored his quick compliment.

'But the problem with a smart person is that they don't think anyone else is as clever as them. I knew that to get to Jo I'd have to get to you and your whole entourage. That stupid vampire you hang out with- seriously he's so irritating, what do you see in him- had to be neutralised, god that sounds so professional. Anyway the only clean way to do that would be to get you all in one place and what better way to do that than with-'

'A wedding with no witnesses.' She realised, eyes widening and trying her best to sound a little panicked as she reached out with her magic. 'Where are they?'

'Not dead. That's the important part.'

'Why are you telling me this? There's no way I'm going through with this now.' She held the dagger tightly between them.

'Oh I know. I never actually thought you would. I'm surprised you even got through the mortal part. I don't actually need to marry you to solve my siphoning problem, hell I don't even think that would work-'

'Then why would you-'

'To distract you, lure you out here alone, see you in a white dress. Pick your poison. Surprisingly Bon, I have actually found a way to cure my problem without your help. It's been months in the works. But dear sister Jo thinks she can waltz in and take over with barely any planning. She always gets things so easily.'

'Is that why you made her your fall guy?'

'It's more like she was collateral.'

'Or from years of building resentment.'

'That too. Either way Bonster, it's good to be King.' He said, reminding them both that no matter what his motivation was for anything, he still got what he wanted. 'Now since I am benevolent and you're my wife-'

'Not really.'

'You're my wife, and I'm your husband.' He intoned, darker than anything before and she didn't challenge it this time, focusing her powers and feeling Jo and Enzo's life forces nearby. Unconscious but not dead with Qetsiyah missing.

So her suspicions had been correct.

'Seeing as your my wife I'm giving you a rare opportunity. Go back to the castle.'

'No.'

'Bonnie,' He stepped closer. 'This isn't your fight, don't make it. You'll get hurt for someone else, for no good reason.'

'You promised you wouldn't hurt me.'

'I lied. I lie. It's what I do.' He lied once more, begging her not to test the fidelity of his dishonesty. 'Walk away. I'll be back in the morning and then we can have an honest to god, all cards on the table, real discussion. I'll tell you anything you want to know, no more games. You can decide if you want to marry me again, in front of everyone this time. We can become lawful man and wife.'

'We could be now.' She answered in a small voice, stepping closer and putting the weapon down. She indicated to the papers in his hand with her eyes. 'All you have to do is sign.'

He frowned, taking in the sudden turn, and followed her eyes. Bringing the candle in his other hand closer, he scanned through the parchment. 'I don't-' he flicked through the blank cream pages. 'I don't understand.'

'It's right…' She took the outstretched finger of her left hand, heavier with the new ring, and pointed at the empty space. 'Here. Phasmatos Incendia!'

Suddenly they leapt away from each other, dropping the erupting paper onto the grass. With Kai stuck in seconds of distraction, dabbing flames from his sleeves, she bolted for the treeline towards faint life signs. Only to run straight into his chest. She stumbled back, nose throbbing and eyes watering from the pain.

'Motu-'

He cut her off, clamping his hand around her wrist. The second his flesh met hers a burning sting exploded through her veins. Scouring her for magic and scorching anything left behind.

But she fought it, trying to push him back and douse the flames, it only made it hurt more. The tighter she held onto her magic the more he took when he ripped it out.

She kicked out, hitting his knee and enjoying his wince.

He latched onto her other wrist in retaliation. He could end her right now, but he'd never taken everything all at once from someone. Killing her wasn't something he wanted to risk, this was only about benching her. Bonnie sank to her knees and he joined her on the grass, relishing every last drop of her pain.

'Sorry about this. But you did kind of start it by working with my sister.'

'F-ff-f-' She mumbled, barely able to breathe.

'What was that your majesty?' Kai mocked, turning his ear to her lips to listen better, holding her wrist under his chin.

Bonnie mustered up her waning strength and whispered.

'F-fuck y-you.'

He found it funny. But his laugh was cut off as a distinctly sharp object wedged into his eye.

She poked him.

Bonnie fucking poked him.

Even worse, it hurt. Really bad. As he yanked her away he siphoned up what little magic she had left, even the stubborn sludgy part that just didn't want to budge, all of it- now his. Bonnie dropped, and tipped over, head on the grass.

'Sonofabitch.' Kai let go and stood up, blinking his eye as quickly as he could and mopping up the moisture with his sleeve. 'You couldn't have jumped in?'

'I had my own things to do.' Qetsiyah emerged from the shadows. Truthfully she'd just been standing there watching the world's most boring fight. Two people holding hands only for the most violent part to be a kick and a poke.

'Fetch some guards to take her back to the castle.'

'I'm not an errand girl and we had a deal. I've kept up my end of the bargain, now take me to the coven.'

'After the merge.'

'We never agreed on th-'

'Look at it as a failsafe. I win, you get what you want. I lose, and it's your fault for making Jo so strong and you suffer because of it. Extra incentive for me to win and not betray me in any way.'

'Praeligo. Tacitus.' Qetsiyah spat, fingers splayed out towards Bonnie.

Kai watched her limbs suddenly pull together and bind under the pressure, and still she did not wake.

'What are you doing? Stop it now.' He commanded, a sudden pit his stomach.

He knelt down beside her body, examining the joints where her elbows and knees were now inseparable from one another.

'I'm not your servant little boy and you no longer have the upper hand.' The witch boomed, her voice deeper and louder than Kai remembered it being. The air around him began sparking in his lungs. 'You have no idea the things that I have done and what I am capable of if you don't obey me. Now, take me to the Coven or I will break every bone in her body with a snap of my fingers.

He let the threat linger between them, standing up he took a step back from Bonnie.

Why could he hear a sudden ringing in his ears? Was it Bonnie's own magic turning on him, still loyal to her and pissed he would leave her to die? And the ache in his gut the further back he moved… He was sure if he closed the distance between them it wouldn't hurt so much anymore.

And the pressure on his mind.

The stupid pressure.

So irritating, a constant weight that he'd been trained to ignore. What was the cause? What was the reason behind this anchor in his mind.

Maybe the problem wasn't the anchor, he wondered, maybe it was what was floating on the other end.

Don't pull on that chain.

And he listened.

'So do it.' Kai said, dead behind the eyes. 'What do I care?'

'You'll care a huge deal when you show up to the Castle gates with the body of their Queen and a war on your hands.' Kai stepped between them, blocking Qetsiyah's murderous glare from landing on Bonnie.

'A war I'd win in seconds, and conquer another Kingdom out of it. So, your only option is to play nice and hope I win.'

Qetsiyah opened her mouth to speak or to swear or to scream. Her jaw unhinged and suddenly she was aware of the prick in her neck, stinging spreading from the point and crawling up her face. She felt it heavy behind her eyes, wanting to flutter closed.

No, awake, she had to stay awake.

But her head started to feel heavy. Her fingers weighed seven times more than usual as she brought them up to her neck ghosting over the soft feathers of a dart. She knew it was a dart because she could see one mirrored in Kai's own neck. He lasted even shorter than her, collapsing seconds after it hit.

Lightweight.

She swayed, planting her feet to secure her footing.

'Crucios!'

The strangled spell came from behind her. Before she could turn to it there came a whizzing and the second dart stabbed the other side of her neck. She made sure to faint forwards so's not to land on the needles.

Sheila uncloaked herself and the guards, looking around at the valley of bodies. Only one of them was technically dead but they had about twenty minutes before Enzo was up and annoying them again.

'Tie them up with these.' She handed the guard beside her the ropes, strong enough to bind even the oldest witch. Designed especially for her. For the day Qetsiyah would return to seek her revenge on the Bennett Coven.