The words bubbled on the tip of my tongue.
The words I ached to say, even if they wouldn’t change anything.
“Thorne, I?—”
“Clarissa,” Galen’s voice rumbled behind us.
I quickly released my hold on Thorne and Marigold and spun to face him, wiping the tears from my dirt-covered cheeks. His lips were set into a thin line.
“Clarissa, this—this is all because of me. Everything that’s happened to these people, thatcouldhave happened to Marigold…it’s my fault.” He choked on his words as he swallowed hard. “There’s only one way to stop it.” His eyes flitted between Thorne and me. “You know what we have to do. And we have to do it as soon as possible.”
A dead weight settled in my stomach.
He was right. I always knew it was coming, but a part of me never let myself dwell on it. Never let myself peel back the curtains that separated dreams from reality.
Galen let out a breath. “We have to get married. Tomorrow.”
The Wedding
56
Clarissa
Istared at the reflection in the gold-plated mirror. The delicate blonde curls, the deep brown eyes, the pink-stained lips and kohl liner.
The dark circles hiding an anxious mind.
The pale cheeks, the down-turned mouth.
The white dress.
It was a beautiful dress. Handmade by Katrine, of course. I had to admit it was something I would’ve picked for myself, had it ever been my choice. It had a delicate lace bodice and a deep V-neckline, with floral embroidery in the lace and along the sheer, lightweight sleeves that extended to my wrists. It cinched at the waist before cascading into a long train that billowed around my feet as I sat at the vanity in my suite back at Palace Grimaldi.
I couldn’t care less about having it all—the dress, the flowers, the false grandeur. But Galen said we had to keep up appearances for the kingdom. The rest of them didn’t know the only reason we were doing this was to break the curse that had taken an entire island captive in a single day.
Nox stayed behind to make sure we had gotten everybody off the island, while the rest of us organized travel routes and passage. It was about a full day’s trip to the nearest ports in each of thethree territories on the mainland, so we split the ships up so as not to overwhelm them. We docked on the eastern side of the North Territory in the middle of the night and spent the next ten hours waiting for the others, unloading and finding refuge for the displaced islanders.
It was an absolute mess. I hadn’t slept since…I didn’t know how long anymore.
We wouldn’t have an accurate count of survivors until the other territories were settled and got an idea of numbers, but I was hopeful we’d done all we could to get as many of them to safety as possible.
It was evening now, and I’d barely had a minute to myself since we made port.
Despite everything that had gone wrong, every obstacle in the road, every nightmare that had come to life…it all still came down to this moment.
I was about to marry Galen Grimaldi.
And I was in love with his best friend.
Tap tapcame a small knock on my door. “Come in,” I called out.
My mother, Rose, and Leo entered the suite. Mother held up a hand to her lips when she saw me, letting out a soft, “You look beautiful, my dear.”
I gave her a half-smile as I stood. “Thank you, Mother.”
Rose enveloped me in a hug. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” I swallowed. “Just ready to get it over with.”
