My mouth dropped open, and I looked up at him. He had been paying attention.
“I’ve been driving myself mad, wondering if this was a hint or not. I didn’t want to push you away by giving it to you too soon,” he said.
The vulnerability that I felt a moment before fell completely away as joy started to fill me.
“Itwasa hint. One I dropped over a month ago,” I laughed.
He smiled, looking relieved. “Well then, forgive me for not doing this a month ago.”
He dropped to one knee, and my heart thumped with giddy anticipation.
“Lorelei Maebry, I have grown to love you more in the past three months of courtship than I ever thought possible. Your kind heart and sweet spirit are unmatched. Would you do me the honor of—”
“Yes,” I blurted, shoving my ring finger in his face.
He was shocked for a moment but then bellowed with laughter. Slipping the ring onto my finger, he stood and pulled me into his arms.
“Now,” he said. “You just tell me exactly how long you want to be engaged.”
Three more months later …
“Will you braid my hair in a crown like you did last time for Octavia’s party?” Nellie asked as she sat in the chair before me.
“Of course,” I told her, running the brush through her thick red strands and smoothing it out. Peony and Potato sat at our feet, asleep, and I smiled at the name Nellie had given the boy dog. So much had happened in the last three months … I couldn’t believe I was going to be Zane’s wife today.
We’d decided to have the nuptials here in Spring Court. Fae had been traveling in from both realms all week. Dawn and Zander brought the babies, who were now healthy and out of their bubbles. Dawn was back to her strong and energetic self despite the late-night feedings. She told me that lack of sleep was nothing compared to the amount of energy that had been drained from her while the babies were still in their healing bubbles.
It was reassuring to hear because, after her mother’s death, Dawn had taken on the role of Summer queen. Balancing herresponsibilities as a new monarch, caring for her newborns, and being married to Zander—a lord of Ethereum with his own kingdom to manage—seemed almost impossible.
I believe the only way she managed it all was by having Zander steadfastly by her side. It was clear to anyone who came across the pair how supportive they were of each other. Zane had confessed to me that he thought Zander might eventually step down as an Ethereum lord to help Dawn rule the Summer Court. The lords had nephews who could step up to rule one of the Ethereum kingdoms, whereas Dawn was the last in her royal line.
Aribella and Stryker, and Isolde and Adrien had all come in for the wedding as well and were staying at Zane’s castle. When Aribella and Stryker arrived, they’d had some exciting news to share with us. Aribella was pregnant. Stryker had seemed both overjoyed and terrified at the prospect of being a father, but I knew in my soul that he was going to be the best daddy.
After hearing the news about Aribella, Isolde was very proud to announce that she wasnot, in fact, pregnant. But she was excited to tell us that after our wedding, she and Adrien were planning on taking an extended trip. They planned to sail around Ethereum to visit all the different seas. Besides being able to make up for the honeymoon they couldn’t take while the curse ravaged their lands, they wanted to check on the water unseelie around the realm to see how they were fairing.
“You shouldn’t have to do her hair on your wedding day, my lady. Allow me?” my lady’s maid said, but I shooed her off.
“No, thank you, Esmelie. I like doing her hair,” I told her while I smiled at Nellie in the mirror as she beamed up at me.
It was our thing now. Almost every day, we sat down, and she requested some elaborate braid. It usually took me almost an hour, and during that time, we talked, laughed, and bonded. It was a precious time that I wouldn’t have traded for the world, not even on my wedding day.
After I finished Nellie’s hair, I let Esmelie do my hair and makeup and I got into my pink gown made of tulle and satin. I was finally ready.
My sisters and Nellie walked down the aisle ahead of me, scattering pink and white flower petals as they went before standing off to the side. I caught the smile on my mother’s face and the tears in her eyes as I took my father’s arm and began my walk. But the moment I saw Zane, my gaze locked on him, and I couldn’t look away for the rest of the ceremony. His eyes never left mine either, until the moment when he wrapped me in his arms, sealing our bond with a kiss.
The Spring Palace ballroom wasn’t large enough to accommodate all the fae we wanted to invite to our wedding. So, after the ceremony, we took a carriage ride through the fields of grass and flowers surrounding the palace. Our subjects, both seelie and unseelie, gathered on the fields to wish us well.
The reception was a whirlwind. We barely had a chance to eat as we danced and mingled with our guests. Before I knew it, the hour had grown late. Zane caught my eye and tipped his head toward the exit, a playful gesture that made me grin.
I peered at Dawn, who was dancing with Zander and smiling as she gazed adoringly into his eyes. Then I sought out Aribella and found her sitting on Stryker’s lap as he rubbed circles on herback. Next, I spotted Isolde making out with Adrien in a dark corner, and I giggled.
I was overjoyed to see that what had started as a curse to divide and punish our people had ended up uniting us stronger than ever before.
Leaning into Zane’s ear, I whispered, “Take me to bed, husband.”
He swallowed hard. Grabbing my hand, he guided me off the dance floor.
I caught Dawn’s gaze as we were leaving, and she gave me a grin and a nod. Laughing, we ran through the palace and into my mother’s throne room toward the mirror portal, not even hesitating before stepping through to Zane’s castle.
