The drive to Anthem took around twenty minutes, giving her time to center herself and reinforce the mental barriers that had kept the worst of the psychic interference at bay over the past few hours.She needed to be fully present for her family, to play the role of supportive cousin and dutiful daughter while also doing her best to secretly monitor the supernatural crisis unfolding across the valley.
The resort’s lobby was all polished travertine and moody lighting, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered spectacular views of the mountains to the east.Delia spotted her family immediately — her parents talking with an attractive couple who looked a few years older than they and who had to be Alec’s parents, while Olivia stood nearby in a strapless white dress that was all about perfect tailoring rather than any fussy beading or lace.
“Delia!”Olivia’s face lit up, and she hurried over for a hug.“How did everything look at the chapel?”
“Absolutely perfect,” Delia replied, knowing she could be truthful about that even when there were so many other things she had to keep to herself.“The florists outdid themselves.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”Olivia’s dark eyes shone with excitement, and for a moment, Delia allowed herself to forget about demons and rituals so she could focus on the simple fun of watching a family member prepare for one of the most important days of her life.
“You look beautiful,” she said, which was only the truth.The gown was perfect for Olivia’s tall, willowy frame, and her dark hair had been styled in an elegant updo that showed off a pair of delicate pearl and diamond earrings that looked like antiques.
There was her cousin’s “something old,” Delia supposed.
“Thank you,” Olivia replied.“I know it’s silly, but I keep waiting for something to go wrong.Like this whole thing has been too easy.”
If only she knew how much effort had gone into making it look “easy.”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” Delia assured her.“This is your day, and it’s going to be perfect.”
Aunt Vicky appeared at Delia’s elbow.“We need to head over to the chapel.The photographer is waiting for us.”
Right.Olivia and Alec obviously weren’t worried about seeing each other before the ceremony, and they’d scheduled a photo session to precede the main event, taking advantage of the warm, golden-hour lighting in the chapel’s gardens.
Everyone hustled out to their cars.Soon enough, Delia was back at the chapel, standing off to one side as the photographer posed the happy couple and the small wedding party in various locations around the garden.The sunset had turned out to be spectacular, with beams of gold and amber breaking through the heavy clouds, and Delia guessed the lighting was just perfect.
But as they were just finishing up and getting ready to head inside the chapel, another massive energy surge hit the city, strong enough that the photographer and Alec’s one groomsman, a tall, sandy-haired guy named Nick, paused and looked around as if they’d heard something.
“Did you feel that?”asked Alec’s sister Abby, a petite brunette.“Like the whole grounds shook or something?”
“Probably just a truck going by,” Alec said easily, but Delia caught the worried glance he sent toward Olivia.
Her cousin, meanwhile, had gone pale.“I felt it, too.Like a vibration, but not quite.”
The psychically sensitive members of the wedding party were picking up on the ley line activation.Delia realized she needed to get everyone inside and through the ceremony as quickly as possible, before the supernatural interference became too obvious to ignore.
“I’m sure it was nothing,” she said.“The chapel grounds back up to a main street, and there’s a lot of truck traffic around here.”
To her relief, everyone appeared to accept this explanation, and they headed inside.
The chapel had looked beautiful when Delia checked the flowers earlier, but now it had been transformed.Candles flickered on every surface, their warm light making the white peonies and orchids and hydrangeas seem to glow.Soft music played from hidden speakers, and the atmosphere seemed to be exactly what Olivia had dreamed of…lush and romantic, and utterly peaceful.
Or at least, it was peaceful if you couldn’t sense the supernatural storm building across the city.
Delia took her seat in the third row, between her parents and Alec’s grandmother, a sharp-eyed woman in her eighties who’d flown in from Phoenix for the occasion.As the chapel filled with guests and the ceremony began, she allowed herself to be drawn into the moment — the processional music, Olivia’s radiant smile as she walked down the aisle on her father’s arm, the traditional vows that somehow felt fresh and meaningful.
But underneath her enjoyment of the wedding, Delia’s psychic senses couldn’t stop detecting ripples and shifts in the supernatural situation downtown.The energy felt as if it was building toward something massive, something that would reach its peak in just a few hours.And even though her bond with Caleb was tenuous at best, she had a feeling that, whatever he was planning, he was running out of time.
“Do you, Olivia Marie Gunderson, take Alec Robert Donohue to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.”
The words rang out clear and strong, and for a moment, the simple power of the marriage ceremony seemed to push back against the darkness that threatened the city.Could love be a force of protection…commitment a shield against chaos?
Right then, Delia thought that kind of energy could be exactly what they needed.Not only Delia’s growing psychic abilities or Ty’s angelic powers or even Pru’s dogged pursuit of the truth, but the combined strength of everyone who cared about protecting this place and the people in it.
As Olivia and Alec embraced, sealing their union, another energy surge rolled across Las Vegas.This time, though, instead of hunkering down in the bunker of her psychic defenses, Delia reached out through her connection to Caleb and sent everything she had — her love for him, her determination to make sure he was safe, her absolute refusal to let Vinea’s plan succeed.
For just a moment, she felt him receive the message.And in that moment, she sensed his surprise at the strength of what she was able to send, followed by something that seemed almost like hope.
