However as soon as she picked up the Stone of Solaris, Brantley brought his free palm and pressed her hand in between both his along with the ruby. Not understanding what he was doing, she looked at with a frown. All of a sudden, the halo around the stone throbbed and became larger. Within a few seconds, the royal couple was swathed in the pale crimson light, which danced around them. With wide eyes, she looked at Brantley who was smiling at her. "My mate…" he whispered. "My wife… my queen…"

The light disappeared after a few minutes and receded back into the stone. Bianca's mind froze. She looked at Brantley for some kind of explanation but his smile became broader and he got up. Holding her hand in his, he walked up to the statue of Chimala and placed the ruby in her feet.

​​

"Welcome to the kingdom of Aztec, Your Royal Highness Bianca Frazier," said the High Priest as he made symbols in the air. "You are now man and wife."

She bowed to the deity and then to the priest.

"You may lift the veil now," said the priest.

Brantley turned towards Bianca. His hands were shaking when he touched her veil. She bit her bottom lip. She was married and the man in front of her was her husband.

The sun had risen slightly higher.

Brantley Frazier.

Dragon Rider.

King of Aztec.

As everyone else waited on the outside, as her family waited for them in the courtyard, she became acutely aware of his presence to the level that everyone else blurred in vision. Standing in front of her, he cut a striking figure of suave and fine beauty that reminded her of the kings she had read about in her history books.

Brantley lifted the veil of his wife and placed it on her head. He curled his fingers under her chin and tipped her head up. She darted her gaze in between his lips and eyes. He stared at her with his luminous eyes and he looked as if he was stunned. It was the same look he gave her when he had seen her for the first time when she had turned sixteen. The man became unaware of anyone around them.

"You are stunning," he murmured and pressed his lips on hers. Bianca melted. Her hands curled his neck and her fingers dug in the softness of his hair. She kissed him back with all that had in her.

A sniffle, a gasp, claps and a squeal on the side broke them. Brantley touched her lips with his and said, "You're mine." Bianca's body trembled and her breath hitched.

"Congratulations!" Dawn's chirpy voice came from behind. Dawn had been waiting for this moment. From the day she had found the Stone of Solaris to the day Bianca got married to Brantley, it had been a test for her. Even though Bianca belonged to Brantley, she was meant to be born for him, Dawn had always felt fortunate to be her mother. She had always been grateful to Brantley for choosing her to bear children she once thought she would never have. Every day had been a blessing and she had enjoyed her daughter and now… it was time to hand her to the man she was destined to be with.

Bianca turned to her mother and saw that she was crying. "Mom!" said Bianca and hugged her. Dawn hugged her back. Daryn came behind them and hugged his wife and his daughter in his large arms. He rested his head on Bianca. Bianca pulled away and wiped her tears. "I love you mommy," she said through her tears.

Dawn chuckled. "As if you have a choice." She turned to Brantley and said, "I know you will take very good care of my daughter." She lowered her eyes and looked at the floor. "I am not sorry to have kept you away from her, but I am sorry if I had been harsh on you. Saying that, I want to th— thank," she choked, "thank you for choosing me to become Bia's mom."

Daryn came behind her and held her shoulders tightly.

Brantley walked up to Dawn. He held her hand warmly. "No Dawn, it's the other way round. I am highly indebted to you for my life." Many words were left unspoken but they both understood what each wanted to speak.

"Bia!" Neal shouted from behind. "Girl you are married!" He lunged at her cheerfully and hugged her. "Man I am going to miss you!"

Bianca laughed. "Yeah! I will miss you too. But hey, you got to come here once a week."

"What do you mean? I am not leaving right now!"

Everyone laughed at them.

Brantley held Bianca's hand and said, "People are waiting for you on the outside to see their queen."

Bianca started to bite her bottom lip again. He removed it with his thumb and said, "Leave that for me to bite. You just wave at the crowd."

She became thousands of shade red. When they walked to the top of the stairs, she saw that the crowd had swelled. All she could now see was a sea of faces who all stared at her inquisitively. She held his hand tightly feeling nervous. There was pin drop silence in the crowd. Remembering what he had just said, she lifted her hand up in the air and waved at them gently. The whole crowd erupted into loud cheers.

"Long live the Queen!"

"Long live the King!"

Bianca was overwhelmed by the way people of Aztec welcomed her, cheered her. It was as if they were starved of her. She felt as if she belonged to them, as if she had a duty towards them, which she couldn't comprehend.

A tug broke her reverie. Brantley had intertwined his fingers into her and said, "Your coronation awaits." He pulled her hand gently and they walked to the carriages.

It was difficult for the royal guards to keep the crowd away, but as soon as they were in the carriage, the coachman hurried them to the palace. All through the streets the horses clomped, there were people waiting for the Royals. They cheered their rulers and things started to weigh on Bianca.

Brantley ushered her to the throne room. It was in the center of the palace, right above the atrium.

Her palms became sweaty.

The guards opened massive wooden doors, which had dragons crafted in them. The doors groaned opened to a throne hall. From the ceiling hung large chandeliers at regular intervals. There were two rows of cushioned chairs on either side. A white carpet with intricate motifs and two large green dragons in the center occupied most of the floor. Paintings were hung on the walls and in between them were the unlit torches. The wall on the back was made from stained glass up till five feet and then intricate latticework of iron branched over it in a way that one could see the brown mountain and valley behind.

The chairs were occupied by the councilmen and women and other nobility. All of them rose to their feet when the king and the queen walked in. The guards were standing behind every chair. The gold royal emblem was embroidered on the left side of the breast of green and white uniforms. These guards were the personal guards of the Royals – merciless, lightning fast and first-borns of their family, which meant that they were all protecting the royal family from thousands of years.

Bianca swallowed her saliva.