The bride’s side was filled with family and cops and local witches. All the city’s witch clans had been invited. The cops, both men and women, all wore full dress blues, their plus-ones in off-the-rack gowns and shoes, but just as fancy. I nodded at Sloan Rosen, Jodi’s second-in-command, and took in his plus-one, a very pretty, very curvy woman who clearly had the former undercover cop wrapped around her finger.
The groom’s side was filled with vamps and blood-servants. All the vamps were perfect, of course, and the vamp scents were completely pacific tonight: no blood, no sex scents, the air redolent of herbal and floral scents, and a little red-peppery with excitement. Oddly enough, even the vamps were jittery with anticipation, most of them actually breathing. Weddings were rare in the vamp world and usually made for clan or monetary purposes, seldom for love. A human wedding, a love match, in HQ was a first,and vamps who lived so long seldom got to experience new things.
Derek stood at the back of the room wearing a tux, a weapon, and a headset, talking with the security detail. He nodded at me, looking way hotter than I expected. I gave him my most regal nod back, and that made him grin as if he’d caught me playing dress-up. I sorta felt as if he had. Alex was in comms. Eli was making rounds through HQ and the grounds, keeping us all safe.
Across the room, three arcenciels in human form were dressed in silky, fluttery gowns that matched their dragon colors, the fabric moving in an unseen wind. I hadn’t known the three were invited, but Storm, Pearl, and Opal sat together whispering and were quite well behaved for young rainbow dragons. So far.
And then Wrassler—Homer—entered, which meant the ceremony was about to begin. The big guy was stunning in his black tux and tails. His groomsmen and women gathered at the front in a line behind him, including Bruiser, who put everyone to shame in his formal wear. Two security groomswomen wearing black ball gowns with white collars, like the tuxes, took their places. Gee darted in and took a place at the back of the room. Not a groomsman, but I wasn’t surprised he was here. He had the red striped lizard on his shoulder, its tail around his neck, and the arcenciels turned and stared at the misericord, as if they felt him enter.
Rick LaFleur took a seat, alone, on the bride’s side, his face aged and his hair stark white. I reined in a jolt of shock. My old boyfriend, and Jodi’s one-time partner in the woo-woo department, had been through some hard times. He had aged; were-creatures weren’t supposed to.
As if he felt my gaze, he turned his head and found my eyes in the soft light. Holding my eyes, his lips quirked up on one side, and he inclined his head as if in recognition of all that had happened between us, and in our worlds, since we met. He had changed and grown, yet Rick—the player of yesteryear—had no plus-one, which seemed sad. I wanted Rick to be happy.
Deon appeared at the back of the room, a checklist in hand, giving quiet orders through a headset. He waswearing black too, though his jacket had no tails and was covered in sequins. He gave me a stern look, the expression on his face reminding me of the housemothers in the children’s home where I grew up. I might be the Dark Queen, but that look still sent a shock of fear through me. He stabbed a finger at me and then pointed to my chair. I sighed and followed orders, Quint fading behind a column near my place. The moment I sat, Jodi’s mother was escorted down the aisle and took her seat at the front. The murmuring voices went silent.
The quartet’s music grew louder. Bridesmaids wearing jewel-toned gowns began to pace down the aisle in that odd step-pause-step gait. Some were witches, some were human, some were cops. Two were men, wearing cop dress blues. The parts of Jodi’s life that she had tried so hard to keep separate and secret had merged over the last couple of years; all her friends were here to support her, regardless of job or paranormal classification.
When Jodi stepped through the doors, everyone stood. The wedding march began, the quartet amplified through speakers. I started tearing up. My petite friend looked freaking gorgeous. Her dress was a heavenly cloud of pure white silk with tiny pink rosebuds made of rose quartz sewn into the heavily embroidered cloth. She had one of those long train things in pale pink and a veil made of net; both were sewn with pearls. She found Wrassler’s eyes and smiled, and he teared up too. The scents in the room were suddenly almost overpowering as Beast peeked in.
Jodi started down the aisle. She walked alone, no father or father figure to give her away, which I figured she intended. Jodi wasn’t a woman who would have cared for being handed over like property.
She reached the front of the ballroom, and Wrassler took her hand. Both of their faces were glowing with happiness. They wavered in my tears.
I had never been to a wedding. It was so cool, so amazing. I hoped the house I had bought them on the edge of the Garden District was a sufficient wedding gift. It was tiny, but it was adorable and fully refurbished. No way could Wrassler and his cop bride live at HQ. And no way could Wrassler, soon to be admin head of all NOLAsecurity, be far from the protection detail that would keep them safe.
I hoped they didn’t mind me masterminding their lives. Wrassler was used to such things, but I figured Jodi would make a stink about it even with a free house to lure her in.
The wedding march ended. Everyone sat. Gowns rustled, bodies shifted on the chairs. The scent of vamp excitement rose even higher. Behind me, the arcenciels began to glow.
“Dearly beloved,” Father Juan said, beginning the ceremony, which went on a long time and involved a lot of kneeling, which had to hurt Wrassler’s stump above his prosthetic leg. When they spoke their vows, Homer’s voice shook. Jodi’s was clear and ringing. Jodi’s mom cried. The bridesmaids cried. The vamps cried. The three arcenciels cried. Gee and his stupid little red flying lizard cried. The visiting witches cried. I cried. Fortunately Quint had applied waterproof mascara to my lashes, so it didn’t matter. Much.
The ceremony was beautiful. The vows were passionate.
After, Jodi and Wrassler kissed and were announced as spouses.
Everyone applauded and cheered and threw rose petals instead of rice or birdseed as the happy couple raced down the aisle, the maids and groomsmen behind them.
It was perfect.
I met Bruiser’s eyes at the back of the room, and my breath caught at the expression in his eyes. He mouthed,I love you.
I said it back to him.
And then he was swept away, and the room was quickly rearranged by the caterer and set up for dining and dancing. Deon and his staff began bringing in food. Everyone found their table to eat their weight in shrimp and lamb pops and boudin and sausages and entire tubs of steamed crawfish and corn on the cob and platters of cheese and fruit and veggies and dozens of loaves of bread. Later we all ate pieces of the cake that stood four feet tall. I loved every moment of it and ate enough that I had to loosen the waist of my armored leathers.
The vamps didn’t drink down anyone, the witches didn’tturn anyone into a toad, and the arcenciels didn’t make a scene. The alcohol disappeared by the buttload. And the first dance was fabulous, tiny Jodi in big Wrassler’s arms.
When the waltz was over, the quartet was replaced by a DJ who had every song ever recorded on his music system. And I got to dance.
Yeah. It was perfect.
At dawn, Bruiser and I stripped and fell into bed in Leo’s old room, too tired to make the drive home, so exhausted I was asleep instantly. The crown fell off during the night, but not before I had a bruised noggin.Stupid crown.
At dusk, when we woke, I was still in half-form, which was a pain, but at least I wasn’t needing ten thousand calories for breakfast. We put on regular clothes, (jeans and T-shirts, thanks to Quint) piled our gear and equipment into an SUV, and finally made our way back to the freebie house. We held hands the entire way back, and there was something precious in the touch. Far more intense and important than making love. A quiet something that spoke of a future. A promise.
When we pulled up to the freebie house, a rental car was parked there. A familiar form was sitting in the driver’s seat, watching us. Ayatas FireWind was here.
Bruiser called Eli on his cell. “I assume you know about the car parked out front. Does Jane have company?” Bruiser chuckled and tilted his eyes my way. “Eli wanted to make certain that neither of you would try to kill the other, so he made Ayatas sit in his car until you arrived.”
