I could not deny it. I wanted my bride to be happy when she saw me at our wedding.

Cursed stars. What a fool I have become.

Still keeping the ring safely tucked in one hand, I ran the fingers of my other hand along the fabric. It was all soft, smooth wool, dyed pure black, a suit comprised of a long-sleeved coat of sorts paired with matching trousers. Inside the coat was a crisp white shirt, and a long bit of blue fabric I did not recognize.

“What in the snows of Sionnach is that?” I asked, quirking a brow at the floppy blue silk running down the front of the shirt. A quick tug told me it was not attached to the shirt.

“I hope I got it right,” Aiko said, furrowing her brow. “Torrance said there’s something called a tie that men often wear to their weddings to signify formality.”

“What do you do with it?” I asked, lifting the oddly shaped, long silk piece. It got wider and then pointed at one end, like a sword.

“Apparently it is meant to hang around your neck, with the wide, pointed part aiming downwards.”

“Hmm,” I said, letting the pale blue tie fall back into place. “Thank you, Aiko.”

I draped the entire outfit over my arm. I considered going back to my room to dress – it was my chamber after all, and she was my bride, blast anyone who’d say I shouldn’t go there, shouldn’t see her.

But even while that thought churned in my head, I went back to the workshop, where I dressed alone and in silence.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE Torrance

I didn’t sleep well the night before my wedding. Probably a pretty universal experience for a human woman, when I thought about it, but likely not for the reasons that kept me up. I tossed and turned, thinking about the day to come, and what it meant for both of us. And, the thing that kept me awake most, even though I tried to push it away, was the fact that I missed Wylfrael. I’d wanted him to leave, and I’d wanted even more for him to come back. To sleep beside me as had become our custom. Wylfrael always got up before I did in the morning, but sometimes I woke in the night and found him curled around me, his face buried in my hair, sleeping soundly. I often wondered if the reason he got out of bed before me every day was so that I wouldn’t wake and find him like that.

Aiko brought me breakfast, excitement for the day making her chatty. She talked endlessly about the wedding, how much food they’d prepared, even though no one would be in attendance besides her, Shoshen, and Ashken. She told me that the ceremony would happen late this afternoon and that the feast would be directly afterwards.

She brought my gown in along with my lunch. I poked at the food, my eyes going to the flowing white fabric on the bed until I finally gave up on eating altogether. At least I wasn’t getting drunk on champagne on an empty stomach, like I probably would have on Earth. But champagne is something you celebrate with...

I didn’t feel like celebrating now.

I took my time getting ready, even though there wasn’t much to do. I didn’t have makeup, or styling tools, or hairspray. I knew my eyes were probably puffy and red, so I splashed my face with cold water. I’d had a bath last night and slept with my hair in a braid, and it cascaded around my shoulders in shiny waves. I could tell Aiko was bursting to help me with something, so I beckoned her over with a weak smile. Beaming, she helped me braid two narrow strips at the front of my hair and then tied them at the back, creating a sort of half-up, half-down style I wouldn’t have been able to achieve myself without a mirror.

After that, there was nothing else to do but actually get into the dress. My heart fluttered, batting around like a bird, when I walked towards it on the bed.

It was stunning. Truly, truly stunning. Something I knew would have cost thousands of dollars on Earth. Aiko had obviously listened closely to my first comments about the design and had made endless improvements over our various fitting sessions.

It was strapless, with a sweetheart bodice that flowed outwards into a luxuriously curved skirt, somewhere between an A-line and a ballgown. Aiko was a bit of a perfectionist, I’d learned, as well as an artist. She hadn’t stopped there, with the mere construction of the gown, but had also hand-embroidered the bodice with white silk thread in ethereally curling, twining shapes.

“Aiko, it’s perfect,” I breathed, knowing that she was standing there, practically holding her breath in anticipation of what I’d say. “I can’t believe how beautiful this is. You’re amazing.”

Her tail fluffed up in obvious, anxious pleasure.

“Let’s get it on and see how it fits,” she said, shying away from acknowledging the compliment.

She swept the gown off the bed and held it open for me. I shed the red silk robe I’d been wearing – the one I’d worn the first night Wylfrael had touched me, made me come – and stepped into it. As I did so, I noticed a few tiny stitches and beads sewn carefully inside the bodice. I’d learned enough from Ashken to recognize Sionnachan writing when I saw it, but couldn’t read the words.

“What’s that?” I asked Aiko.

“Oh... I hope you do not mind,” she said as she pulled the dress up around me. She moved in behind my back, doing up laces. “I added that. The words mean, ‘Blessed be the bride.’ I hope it is alright! I know it is not your custom. It is Sionnachan. I just wanted to give something to you, something that was just from me.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

You will not cry. Not today, not now.

Instead, I turned, making Aiko yip with surprise. The half-done-up gown sagged downwards as I threw my arms around Aiko’s waist.

“Oh, Torrance, the gown! The gown!”

I wanted to tell her not to worry about the gown, that it didn’t matter. But it did matter, because she had made it. Had poured endless hours into the garment, just so that I’d like it. She’d hand-sewn a blessing on the inside.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling back and laughing shakily. “I definitely don’t want to wrinkle your beautiful work. I just wanted to say thank you. For everything.” For the gown. For caring. For being kind when I had no one else.

Aiko smiled and finished doing up the laces at my back. As she worked, I noticed there was still something white on the bed.

“Is that...”

“A veil? Yes! I am not sure if it’s quite right, though. I did my best based on your description.”

A veil. I’d mentioned it in passing to Aiko as a bit of human wedding trivia, not because I’d actually thought about wearing one.

When Aiko was finished doing up the dress, I went over to the bed, the lush, heavy skirt rustling with every step. I picked up the veil, a sheer, weightless rectangle of white silk. It was thin enough that I could see my fingers through it. There was a curving crystal headpiece attached that I could nestle among the two braids Aiko had helped me tie.

Instantly, I knew I’d wear it. It would be a barrier, blurring the world around me. Something to hide me, to protect me, to save me from reality.

“I must go finish preparing the feast for after the ceremony,” Aiko said. “Would you let me see the front of the dress, so I can make sure it is alright?”

“Of course,” I said softly, letting the veil fall back onto the bed. I lifted the skirt, being careful not to step on it, and faced her.

“Oh, Torrance, you are lovely. I’ve never been to a wedding, but I’m sure that you must be the most beautiful bride there ever was!”

“I agree.”

Both Aiko and I jumped and looked towards the door. Wylfrael was draped there, leaning with one arm up against the doorframe, the other down at his side with his fist clenched, as if holding something tightly.