The table hushes. Every eye swings to Zomas.
He looks sad, almost. “So soon?”
“Afraid so,” Ashton says. “The goddess does not forgive late arrivals.”
Zomas thinks about it, then shrugs. “Very well! But before you go, one last toast.”
He stands, and the room rises with him. He grabs his goblet and raises it high. “To the Chosen One! To her beauty, her courage, and her future with us.”
With us?The table drinks, and the sound is deafening.
Then he lowers his cup and fixes me with that amber stare.
“One more thing,” he says, and the world seems to hush. Even the lanterns flicker out for a second. “I have made a decision. Alette will be my bride, and tonight we shall wed!”
There’s a split second where no one moves, and then the whole room erupts in applause and hoots and animal shrieks. The nymphs crowd around me, kissing my cheeks, stroking my hair, already weaving flowers into a crown. The satyrs stomp and clap, chanting my name.
I stand there, dumbstruck.Bride? What?
Ashton is at my side, tense as a bowstring. “Thank you, but?—”
Zomas cuts him off with a laugh. “Don’t worry, Wind Prince! You will be the best man, or perhaps the flower girl. Whatever pleases you.”
He winks at me, so pleased with himself that my stomach churns. No matter what happens tonight, I’m not marrying this frightening creature. Even if I have to fight him myself.
The nymphs grab my hands, pulling me away from Ashton. For a second I think he’ll fight them, but he hesitates. Something in his eyes says to play along, for now.
I let the nymphs lead me, their hands cold and soft. They spin me in a circle, drape me with petals and pearls, all the while singing a song in a language I don’t know.
Zomas watches, eyes glittering. “Tonight, we make history,” he says. “A human and a satyr will be joined by the will of the goddess herself. What could be more beautiful?”
I try to pull away, but the nymphs are strong. They spin and twirl, and the world becomes a blur of color and sound.
I catch Ashton’s eye across the room. He’s trying to get to me, but the crowd is too thick.
The lanterns spin, the faces stretch and melt. The music gets louder, faster, wilder. The nymphs lift me off my feet, passing me over their heads, laughing and chanting.
I see Zomas, arms wide, ready to catch me.
I brace for impact, for whatever comes next.
But in my chest, beneath the panic and the exhaustion and the haze, something else burns. Rage. Cold and clean.I have lived my whole life obeying others. I will not do that now. I will not be forced into a marriage with a monster.
I land in Zomas’s arms. He smells like wine and wildflowers and sweat. His grip is gentle, almost reverent.
He bows, then lifts my hand to his lips. “You are a miracle, Chosen One. Let us celebrate you.”
The room explodes in applause, but I don’t move. Strange and angry thoughts are filling my mind. Anger that I’ve spent my whole life pretending wasn’t there.
Let himtryto marry me.
6
Alette
My brain stops working.
The word “bride” rattles around my skull like a wasp in a bottle. It stings, then dies, then gets up and stings again.Bride?Of all the traps I expected, I never thought it’d be this. Not even in a nightmare.Didn’t I just escape another marriage for a little while?I keep waiting for the joke to land, for someone to shriek and point and say, “Ha! Fooled you, human!” But no one does.
