Now they had double the amount of men and women working for the king’s guard and received weekly reports from every town. If something were to happen with any town again, they would know as soon as one of their representatives failed to arrive with an update. Before Sabine, they had been confident Braith was the eldest vampire, that there were no more threats out there against them. Despite the fact Sabine had denied any others of their line lived, they would not be caught unawares again if a new threat rose.
Throughout everything that had happened, they had somehow managed to keep Braith’s ability to rise from the dead a secret from almost everyone. There was no denying he was more powerful now, everyone could feel it, but most attributed this newfound power to his destruction of Sabine. Though most vampires didn’t feed from each other, some believed he’d consumed some of her blood before killing her.
Xavier had told anyone who would listen that Sabine had most likely faked her own death all those years ago, so she could freely roam the earth with no restraints placed on her by vampire society and so she could kill freely. Maybe some doubted this explanation, but no one was willing to question him or Braith about it.
“Perhaps a drink would help,” Max suggested to William.
Xavier shook his head when Timber lifted his silver flask into the air. “Here, here!” Timber declared enthusiastically.
“No drink,” William muttered.
The Council and humans who resided in and near the palace had unanimously elected Max to fill Daniel’s place last month when they’d been able to hold the election. The other human and vampire Council members who had been elected from the border towns over the years had all survived the war and retained their seats on The Council. There were now nearly a hundred members of The Council and the number would continue to grow as the population flourished once more.
When everything was completely settled, Aria had a feeling Max and Maeve’s wedding would be the next one they’d all be attending.
Aria released Braith and stepped away from him. As William’s best woman, she had to do something to calm her brother; she just didn’t know what.
He spun toward her. “Aria, go make sure she hasn’t changed her mind,” he said.
“She’s not going to change her mind,” she replied.
“Go, please,” he pleaded.
She kept a lid on her impatient reply. It was her role to do these things for him after all, but he had to realize how ridiculous it was to think Tempest would change her mind about marrying him, she was helplessly in love with him.
“I’ll go,” she assured him.
She kissed Braith’s cheek before walking over to take Timber’s flask away from him. “Hey!” he protested.
She shoved the flask into William’s hand when he paced by her again. “For crying out loud, relax!” she told him, earning her a lethal look before she slipped out the door.
She made her way swiftly down the hallway to the room where Tempest was getting ready. Glancing out the wall of glass on her left, she smiled when she saw the colorful blooms of the peonies, hydrangeas, and roses lining the walkways of the garden and spilling into them.
Within the center of the colorful array of blooming roses stood the fountain she’d come to love dearly. Clear water ran through the fountain to spill into its basin. Red and white rose petals floated in the water and more petals had been scattered over the center walkway to create a rose carpet for Tempest to walk down. Chairs were set out, and all of them were filled with the numerous guests waiting for the ceremony to start.
William had wanted to get married in the woods, but Tempest had fallen in love with the garden the minute she’d seen it. After seeing the fountain, she’d decided they should be married while standing before it, and William had happily agreed.
Sadness slid through Aria as she recalled her own small wedding in the woods and Daniel’s loving and wise words as he’d married her and Braith two years ago. At the time, Daniel had been so young. He’d had the whole world at his feet and a lifetime stretched out before him. If only they’d all known how short that lifetime would be, she would have tried to cram in two lifetimes worth of time with him before he’d been killed.
Today, instead of Daniel marrying William and Tempest, William had asked Xavier to perform the ceremony. Glancing back, she realized Xavier hadn’t been the one to follow her out of the room, Braith had.
“What are you doing?” she inquired of him.
“Making sure you stay safe,” but his eyes were latched hungrily onto the swell of her breasts in her blue gown. She may not be one of the bridesmaids, but the blue of her gown matched their gowns. It also matched the blue cloth square Braith and the other groom’s men wore in their coat pockets. Maggie, her friend and lady-in-waiting, had sewn the gown for her.
“I’m perfectly safe within the palace,” she retorted.
His mouth curved into a smile as his eyes met hers. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
She nearly tripped over the hem of her dress and had to resist the impulse to run back and jump him. “I have things I must do,” she replied with far more haughtiness than she felt.
“So do I,” he replied, and one of his fangs flashed in the sunlight spilling through the windows.