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He played the last notes of the song, and the spell was broken. He caught her chin in his fingers and then kissed her forehead while she tried to wriggle away. “Little sister, it seems that the will of the one true light has brought us together this night. Congratulations on your position of Music Master of Singsong City. They are honored to have you.”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “You’re a nutcase.”
“Blood-related to you? Undeniably. Would you rather dance or play with me?”
She squinted and then her shoulders slumped. “You know that I can’t resist playing with you.”
“I do. It would take a far less brilliantly observant person than me to miss you following me around as soon as you could walk, dragging that ugly harp and begging for hours until I gave in. You’re pestering everyone here, aren’t you? You’re thinner. You could use some fattening up. Is there a possible beau that might be compelled to take responsibility for your recklessness?”
She sniffed. “Enough! Play with me or fly away on your ridiculous Pegasus.”
“But he’s having such a nice time eating all the snacks.”
Mirabel gasped in shock and outrage, but then the angel, apparently her brother, played a chord, and she couldn’t resist. She summoned her harp, and then there was nothing to do but sit down in the clearing next to the falls with all the other guests and watch them play.
The Scholar pulled me onto his lap and fiddled with my hair until he’d taken off the veil, undone the pins, and then started stroking the strands with his long, slender fingers. I relaxed against him, caught in the spell of love, music, and magic, and forgot about everything else.
After the magical concert that felt like a dream, the angel whistled for his ridiculous Pegasus, who was absolutely stunning without the slightest ridiculous thing about him, and then they flew away while Mirabel watched him go, gripping her harp and staring up at the dark ceiling of Song long after he was gone.
The Scholar stood up with me, arms wrapped around me firmly. “Guests, thank you for coming with your support and your wishes. Please enjoy the remainder of the evening. I must take my bride, who is recently recovering from her ordeals in the infernal realm and is quite near collapse.” He subtly bumped the back of my knees and I folded.
He swooped me up dramatically, then strode off with the long train of my gown trailing behind us. Cameras flashed, and there was the nice reporter, watching the scene with a sentimental tear in her eye while I gripped the Scholar’s neck.
“Don’t we have to stay until the end? I’m not sure that it’s safe to leave all of my friends alone with yours.”
“Your Cross will manage them. He’s a serpent.” He made it sound like a compliment. I guess, coming from a dragon, it was. He strode off briskly, and we were halfway down the walk when a dark shadow stepped out to block the way. The Scholar pulled up abruptly while my heart stopped beating as I took in the broad hat, the wide brim covering the face of our doom.
She looked up slowly, as dramatic in her face reveal as a proper villain. Mother Mercy wasn’t gaunt exactly, not when she was corded with wiry lean muscle that had only thickened and hardened in age. Her cheeks were high, harsh, her eyes dark and brimming with death.
“Child. It is good to see you so well.”
I swallowed hard. “Mother Mercy. Michael, this is the head of the order that raised me.”
He nodded to her. “I welcome the head of an order that has my wife’s gratitude, but she is no one’s child.” There was a growl beneath those words, and my heart restarted and I could breathe again.
She nodded regally at him. “I must agree. Anyone who returned from the Infernal realm after defeating a greater demon is no child.” She straightened slightly and gave me a look I’d never seen from her before. “Can you protect the book?” She wasn’t giving me orders but asking me what I really thought.
Could I protect the book? I nodded decisively. “I’m the Librarian of the Library of Antiquities. If I do not have the necessary resources, I will turn to my associates in the Laboratory of Song for assistance. My book will be protected and the world will be protected from the book. If there is danger, I will destroy it.”
She winced. “It could bring heaven to…” She trailed off as she shifted her gaze to my husband. “I don’t suppose that appeals to you any longer. We honor you for your service.” She bowed low, then became a solid featureless shadow. The other shadows around her took form, and the entire Order bowed to me, including Cross, who had joined his fellow associates to offer me honor.
My heart burned, and the world made a rotation I’d never thought I’d see. The shadows melted away, and the Scholar started walking again.
“This was the weirdest wedding ever,” he said, then kissed me.
I drank up his kiss like a flower soaking in a soft spring rain, a kiss that fed my heart and soul. When he pulled away, his eyes were dark, so dark, with a red glow around the pupil.
“Wife, promise me your blood.”
I gasped and then nodded. “As long as you don’t drink too much and hurt yourself.”
He bumped my forehead with his. “You put the accent on the wrong person’s health. I’m very difficult to kill, and will live a very long time, but if you give me your blood, I can probably prolong your life.”
“You’re going to experiment on me?”
He shrugged, kissed my forehead, and kept walking more briskly. “I offered you all my books to experiment on. Why wouldn’t you offer me your blood?”
“How can I argue with such logic? Are we really married, and you’re carrying me back to your bed?”
“I want you in my bed. I’ve always wanted you in my bed. I will always want you in my bed.”
“Your conjugation skills are breathtaking.”
“Thank you. You should hear it in ancient Persian. Would you like to? What a question, considering that’s why you married me.” He spoke the ancient words, breaking to kiss me softly between every other word.
When we finally reached his bed, there was sushi waiting for me on an ice boat on the side table. For the first time in my life, I ignored the sushi and devoured my husband instead. It was the right choice. Some things in life really were better than sushi.
The End.
