No, she wouldn’t allow herself to contemplate that outcome.They’d find him, and the demon lord who thought he had everything in his pocket was going to find out the hard way that humans also knew how to play.
The coffee was ready.She poured herself a cup and held it in both hands, taking strength from its warmth.
Everything was going to be okay.
Most of the day seemed oddly calm.She met the family for lunch, located a seamstress who could do some last-minute alterations on the pretty blue dress Alec’s sister would be wearing as Olivia’s sole attendant, and then, along with her mother, ferried the group over to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace — mainly because Delia’s Aunt Vicky was dying to see them, even though her main excuse for going there was that she’d decided she didn’t like the shoes she’d chosen to go with her dress and wanted to find something different.
During all this busyness, Delia kept expecting to get assailed by another wave of rogue energy, but that didn’t happen.Had the barriers she’d put in place somehow strengthened?Or was Vinea simply storing everything up for the ritual this evening?
She prayed it was the former…but she feared it was probably the latter.
By the time she pulled into the parking lot at Little Chapel of Hearts a little after five, the late-afternoon sun was casting long shadows across the desert landscape.Clouds had lingered all day, keeping temperatures to a more manageable level, but they did nothing to help the sensation of lingering dread that seemed to have permanently settled in Delia’s stomach.
The florist’s van was already there, and Delia could see two men moving the arrangements of white hydrangeas and peonies that Olivia had ordered, lush and old-fashioned, into the chapel.
She approached the front entrance, noting that the chapel’s energy signature felt the same as it had yesterday — neutral and blessedly free of the twisted supernatural resonance that marked the places where Vinea’s people had been working.At least she’d succeeded in getting the wedding moved to a safe location, even if everything else felt horribly unsettled.
“Ms.Dunne?”A woman around Delia’s age emerged from the chapel, carrying a clipboard and looking harried.“I’m Taylor from Desert Rose.Everything’s almost ready, but we wanted to check the placement of the altar arrangements with someone from the family.”
Delia followed Taylor into the chapel, where the other members of the florist’s team were putting finishing touches on displays that were, she had to admit, absolutely stunning.White peonies and sprays of miniature white orchids cascaded from tall arrangements flanking the altar, while smaller bouquets marked the ends of each pew.Everything looked elegant and romantic, exactly what Olivia had dreamed of.
“It’s perfect,” Delia said, glad that her words were no false praise.“My cousin is going to love this.”
“Wonderful.We’ll finish up here and be out of your way in about twenty minutes.”
As the florists worked, Delia found herself drawn to a window near the back of the chapel where she could look toward downtown, about a mile away.It all seemed normal enough, neon lights flashing even though the sun wouldn’t set for a few more hours.Those streets were probably filled with tourists and locals getting an early start on their Saturday evening activities, whether that was shopping or gambling or catching a show.
If she and her friends didn’t do this right, all those people’s Saturday nights were going to turn out to be horribly different from what they’d planned.
For the first time in hours, a surge of energy hit her, and she winced and grabbed hold of the pew nearest to where she stood.Behind closed eyes, she caught a brief glimpse of Caleb.He was being moved from the room where he’d been held, escorted through endless corridors that surely couldn’t exist inside a structure built by human hands.More importantly, though, she sensed that his determination had crystallized into something specific — he was planning to sabotage Vinea’s ritual from the inside.
Be careful,she thought, hoping the message would somehow reach him through the supernatural static that seemed to have filled the Las Vegas valley.Don’t sacrifice yourself to save everyone else.We need you alive.
Luckily, no one from the florist seemed to have noticed anything off about her behavior.They finished their work and packed up their supplies, leaving Delia alone in the chapel with arrangements that seemed to glow in the late afternoon light filtering through the stained glass windows.She walked down the center aisle, letting her fingers trail along the smooth wood of the pews, trying to imprint this moment of peace before the chaos that was surely coming.
Her phone rang, and Delia pulled it out of her purse.
Linda Dunne.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Delia, where are you?We’re all gathering in the hotel lobby before heading to the chapel.”
Right.The plan was for everyone to meet at the hotel where both sets of parents were staying and then caravan to the chapel together, a bit of last-minute pre-wedding bonding that Olivia had come up with during their shopping expedition earlier that afternoon.
“I’m actually at the chapel already,” Delia said.“I just finished checking on the flowers.They’re beautiful.After this, I’m going to head home and get changed.I’ll meet you at the hotel after that.”
Her mother must have detected some of the tension in her daughter’s voice, because she didn’t urge her to hurry but only said, “Okay.Just come join us when you’re ready.”
“I’ll be over as fast as I can.”
They ended the call there, and Delia walked back to her car.The whole time, she kept tensing, thinking she was going to get hit by another blast of supernatural energy at any moment, but things seemed to have calmed down for now.
She couldn’t take any real comfort from that, unfortunately.Not when she knew those waves of power could come at any time.
Her house was about fifteen minutes away from the chapel, and she drove faster than she should, wishing that Olivia hadn’t insisted on everyone gathering at the hotel first.It was really kind of stupid to have to keep zigging and zagging back and forth across the city when she could have just gone back to the wedding venue after getting into the dress she’d bought for the ceremony.
But brides got what brides wanted, so Delia pulled into the garage, hurried inside her house, and went straight to the master suite.Since she wasn’t part of the wedding party, she didn’t have to worry about an elaborate hairstyle or anything too fancy.She’d bought a pretty sleeveless silk sheath in a becoming shade of celery green, and she brushed out her long red hair and pulled it up into a simple twist at the back of her head.A pair of green tourmaline drops that matched the silver ring she wore more often than not, and she figured she was as ready as she’d ever be.
