“So fucking perfect,” he whispered as I swallowed my moans.
When Corvus threatened to burn down the door, Scorpius came inside me. When he was done shuddering with pleasure, he ordered me to lie still and grabbed the crystal initialed thong I had laid out for the wedding.
He pulled it up and over my legs, then patted where he was still spilling out of me. “I want you to feel me as you walk down the aisle,” he said gravely. “I want you to remember who you belong to.”
“Yes, sir!” I saluted him mockingly, and he groaned as he clutched himself.
“I need to go before I ruin you for our wedding,” he said, then he stalked out of the room.
There were loud shouts and smacking as the rest of my mates attacked him.
I rolled my eyes at their antics.
A pang twisted my heart.
Last night was the first night in months that I hadn’t slept beside all of them. The nightmares had been the worst sort—memories. I’d woken up heaving in the dark, patting at my arms.
I shivered as I remembered the feeling of being lit on fire for hours.
Eleven, twenty-two, thirty-three, forty-four, fifty-five. The repetition calmed me down.
I was secretly grateful Scorpius had broken the rules.
Already, the tense, achy feeling in my joints from a sleepless night was receding.
Meandering around the room, I picked up the thousand-year-old engraved, enchanted wood champagne bottle Corvus had gifted to me.
The wood reminded me of my pipe. I’d discarded it in a drawer forever ago.
There was a time where I smoked every minute of every day.
It had been my crutch for so many awful months.
When I thought about the pipe, I thought about the infected screaming in my face as I gutted them, chasing monsters down dark mazelike corridors, convinced I’d never find my way out.
Never again.
When I’d first put the pipe away, the compulsion to smoke had made my tongue itch for days. I’d suffered night sweats and choked at random times.
But I hadn’t given in to the urges.
Now months had passed, and the cravings were gone.
Never again, I repeated. The lungs held memory, and if the pipe was between my lips, then I wasn’t living in the present; I’d be trapped by my past, coping in desperate ways.
It had served its purpose, and I’d survived.
It was time to move forward.
I popped the top off the champagne, brought the bottle to my lips, and chugged the sweet, bubbly liquid.
I’d stick to imbibing heavily on special occasions.
Instantly, the world mellowed.
A whispering melody started to play. I stared down at the enchanted bottle in awe and chugged some more.
The music was rich and melodious.
I felt like I was flying.
All worry drifted away, and I fingered the outfit I’d had custom designed for today.
Everything’s going to be all right.
Hours later, I walked down a makeshift flower aisle that led to the pond on the estate.
The sun was setting and cast the cloudless sky in streaks of gorgeous pink.
It was a deliciously warm day with a slight breeze, but snow flurried overhead and drifted around us magically. I tipped my head back and smiled as I unleashed my powers.
It coated the grass in sparkling white.
My blue curls supported a crystal tiara and hung loose around my face. A gossamer white silk dress was draped across my shoulders, and it floated around me in an iridescent sheath of fabric.
In the dress, I felt like I was a fluffy cloud on a summer day.
My makeup was subtle but pretty.
Pink gloss shone on my lips and matched the pink on my nails.
I’d covered up the scar on my cheek, and my skin glowed tan from the sun. Vanilla-scented oil covered every inch of my body, and I smelled delicious.
My favorite part—cobalt ice covered my hands and crawled up to my elbows, creating the illusion of elegant gloves. Ice also wrapped around my skull-tattooed throat like a choker.
The Necklace of Death pulsed warmly against my skin.
Majestic red and gold feathers tickled my back. Horse sat on my shoulder with his chest puffed out like he was proud. A sparkly gold bow was tied around his neck.
Snowflakes drifted across my neck and down onto my chest.
In tall diamond-encrusted heels, I was Lothaire’s height. He held on to my right arm with tears in his eyes.
Enchanted wedding music flowed throughout the quiet hills, and birds chirped as they passed above. The melody was extra sweet because of the enchanted champagne I’d finished off before I’d walked down the aisle.
I smiled, and a serene feeling bubbled up my chest.
It was exquisite.
Swans turned in the lake to watch our meandering ascent down the flower-lined aisle.
A mini horse trotted in front of us, and we stopped to let it pass.
I laughed as Lothaire gaped at the pink bows that covered its mane. Unsurprisingly, Corvus had been the one who gave all the animals extra accessories for the wedding because he didn’t want them to feel left out.
He came across as a harsh psycho, but inside he was a big flaming softy—and a complete psychopath.
It was amusing because you never knew what came out of his mouth; were we going to get into a screaming match and fight to the death, or was he going to blush and put a bow on a small animal? Horse girls were a special breed.
As we walked further down the aisle, I smiled at the small crowd.
There were a handful of guests sitting in white chairs: Vegar, Zenith, Lucinda, Jala, Jess, and Jinx. That was it.
No one else was present.
We hadn’t had a therapy session after we won the war because the High Court canceled our mandatory sessions, but I’d still invited Dr. Palmer.
She’d sent back a letter saying she refused to attend because she believed we should all be incarcerated because we were “a threat to civilized society.”
I’d written back reminding her that we’d saved all civilized society.
She hadn’t replied, which was too bad because some sunshine really could have done her some good.
I stopped our progress down the aisle to shake some feeling back into my fingers because my left arm had gone numb thanks to my best friend.
Sadie walked beside me down the aisle.
She wore the same gown and shoes as me, but she was struggling to walk in the heels. I shook my head at her because I’d told her she could just go barefoot, but she’d refused. She said we had to match.
Her white hair had new red highlights and hung low down her back in a silky sheet. She’d visited the estate every day as of late, and her golden skin had taken on a darker bronze hue that was reminiscent of Corvus’s.
She looked like a sculpture of a princess.
She was stunning.
If you’d told me a few months ago that all three of us would be walking down the aisle together—her, Lothaire, and I—I would have said you were nuts.
Now it made sense.
During the wedding planning, Sadie had gone from maid of honor wearing white and walking me down the aisle to a bride herself. Mostly because she’d wanted to stand beside me for the entire ceremony and plan everything, so it was easier to also just make her a bride.