He put me down and Mum pulled me tight. ‘You’re everything and more than I could ever have dreamed.’ She then held me back at arm’s length and looked me over. ‘Even without my Grigori gifts I can see what they all see.’
‘Who?’ I asked, smiling with confusion.
She looked around. ‘Everyone, sweetheart. Everyone.’ She cupped my face with both of her hands. ‘You’re empowered. And that makes you luminous,’ she said, using the same word Lincoln had used, not so long ago.
Dad looked down at Lincoln’s hand, which was joined with mine, and gestured to the markings on our wedding fingers.
He raised his eyebrows at Lincoln. ‘Missed a call, did I?’
Lincoln swallowed beside me and, in a rare display of nerves, suddenly seemed to be struggling for words.
Dad maintained his stern face and spoke levelly, which only made it worse. ‘What? You don’t believe in tradition?’
Lincoln cleared his throat.
I elbowed Dad in his side and he finally gave way to a smile. ‘So, I’m guessing they don’t have phones in the angelic realm?’
Mum and Dad started to laugh as they took in Lincoln’s freaked-out expression. I couldn’t help it; I busted up, too. It turns out we all have the same twisted sense of humour.
Lincoln forgave us. Eventually.
Three hours, a few too many glasses of champagne and way too many dances later, Lincoln and I slid into the car we had waiting. Steph and Salvatore had already left, headed on their honeymoon to the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
‘Ready?’ Lincoln asked as we settled into our seats, bound for the airport.
I nodded. ‘It’ll be strange going back and Griff not being there.’
Lincoln pulled me into the crook of his arm. ‘True, but Spence and Chloe will only be a couple of days behind us, and Steph, Sal and Zoe won’t be far behind.’
I smiled at that. We hadn’t asked any of them to come with us but Spence hadn’t hesitated, stating plainly that now that I’d got my shit together there was no way he was going to miss out on the fun. Which pretty much translated to: he figured he’d get more fighting action with me around.
He was probably right.
I’d already placed my bet with Onyx that Mia would be close behind. Judging by the way she and Spencer were currently dancing, I was confident it was money in the bank.
‘And Dapper and Onyx will be back and forth,’ Lincoln went on.
That was true too. Griffin had recently put Onyx in charge of a new task force for the Academy, to help the transition to human lives for the many exiles who had been stripped of their power in New Orleans. Onyx was the only one we knew who had previously gone through the transition, so he was the perfect choice to run a kind of halfway house.
I snuggled into Lincoln’s welcoming arms.
The driver turned to us. ‘JFK airport, was it?’
Lincoln nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘You two headed home or going away?’ he asked, in a friendly voice.
‘Home,’ we said together.
‘Oh, yeah? Where exactly is that?’ he added.
I took in another deep breath. Sun. Honey. ‘Actually,’ I said, meeting the green eyes I would love until the end of time. ‘I’m already there.’
The driver gave us a nod of understanding and turned his attention back to the road.
Lincoln smiled, pulling me closer. ‘It’s midnight,’ he said. Then he leaned over and kissed me, and the world was just as it was intended to be. We would fight again. I was no longer naive. Terror would strike at its leisure and darkness laced in misery would test and threaten all we had. But not today. Today was ours.
‘Happy birthday, baby.’
I smiled, realising I’d spent my entire life wishing my birthdays away and this time I had actually forgotten. It wasn’t as if they’d ever represented anything I wanted to celebrate. For the first seventeen years it had only been a reminder of my mother’s death, and for the past two, just a marker of time spent alone.
Lincoln reached behind him, revealing a black velvet box and a large envelope. My brow crinkled as I took them. ‘What’s this?’ I asked, turning the envelope over in my hands.
‘Open the box first,’ he said, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind my ear.
I bit down on my lip when I looked inside and saw a divine platinum necklace holding a solitary lily pendant; a diamond nestled in each of its delicate petals.
I tilted my head to allow Lincoln to fasten the chain. He took full advantage of the moment, peppering my neck and shoulder with goosebump-inducing kisses.
‘I love it.’ It was the perfect symbol of our love.
Lincoln sat back, smiling proudly and gestured to the envelope. ‘Open it.’
I did. The words took a moment to sink in. My hand went to my mouth and beneath it I could feel my uncontrollable smile as I reread the words over and over: You have been accepted into the Fenton Art Course.