Page 106 of Bride By Initiation

"Oh! Right," Zara says.

Valentina embraces her, then me. She retreats and turns to the crowd.

The applause dies down.

She holds her arms above her, crying out, "I now pronounce to The Underworld, Mr. and Mrs. Sean O'Malley Jr.!"

The applause resumes, and an SUV drives into the arena. It stops next to the stage.

Kirill still wears his mask. He opens the door to the back seat, then motions inside, stating, "It's time to go. We'll give you some time to yourselves, but your orders will arrive soon."

"Orders?" I question.

Darkness fills his expression. "Yes. Every member of The Underworld has them. We all have a duty to fulfill your father's vision."

"And when do I find out the entirety of his vision?" I ask.

"Soon. Now, go enjoy each other," he answers in a nonnegotiable tone.

"Sean, let's go," Zara says, tugging my arm.

I look at her.

"Please," she begs.

I glance around the arena as the sun rises higher. The masks cover the audience's faces once more. They begin stomping and raising the torches into the air again.

"Sean. Please,"Zara repeats in a soft tone.

I cave and grab her hand, leading her to the SUV, wondering what we just committed to, but knowing all will be revealed soon.

And now, I'm going home with a wife, but not just any wife.

Zara Marino is my bride. There will be consequences in the outside world for what we've done tonight. I don't fully know what they are yet, but my gut says it won't be long until we find out.

OceanofPDF.com

18

Zara

Neither Sean nor I speak during the ride in the SUV. It's only a short time before we arrive at a private airport.

The sun shines brighter, and the driver rolls down the divider window. He announces, "There's a pair of sunglasses in the side door for each of you."

I glance down to find a designer case. Sean picks his up.

The driver suggests, "You might want to put them on. It gets pretty bright around here once you don't have the protection of the tinted windows."

Sean and I don't argue. We put our glasses on, and the SUV stops beside a plane. There's a huge body of sparkling turquoise water on the other side of the runway.

Sean doesn't open the door. As soon as the driver gets out, he says, "Do you know where we're at?"

I shake my head. "No idea. You don't either?"

"No," he admits uneasily.

"Do we need to worry?"

---