“Be careful of the royal jewels there, pal, the man’s gonna need them on his wedding night,” Chancey slurred, giving a childish giggle. As he staggered, he stepped on my hand.
“I’m going to kill you guys,” I seethed. I half meant it.
“Would you allpleasestop beating up my husband?” Ava’s sharp voice cut in, and I felt her hand on my arm as she helped me up. “The purpose of this wedding was to keep him in one piece, thanks.”
Something changed within me when she called me her husband. It was a warm feeling, like one of possession and want. It was like I belonged to her. I neverbelongedto anyone before. Who wanted to claim me, anyhow?
Ava did. Maybe this marriage of convenience was more permanent than I thought. As she led me away from my tormentors, the upbeat music changed to a slow song.
“Ooh,” Eddie sang. “I know what this means.”
I sighed. If they were going to put on another show— or beat me up again— I might just walk out. “What does it mean?”
“A slow dance, of course!” Alistair said.
“Yeah,” Marcus piped up. “The bride and groom haven’t had their first dance yet.”
Someone shoved me, and I stumbled into Ava.
She groaned. “Guys, no. This isn’t—”
“Comeon,” Kallie begged. “It’s your wedding reception. You have to dance.”
Ava and I both hesitated.Of courseI wanted to dance with her. All I wanted to do since the moment we broke up was hold her close. I hadn’t had the chance until now.
But Ava didn’t want this, and I wasn’t going to push her. “If she doesn’t want to, it’s fine,” I said.
“Mom and Dad will be disappointed if I don’t get it on tape,” Ez pressed.
Ava sighed, and my heartbeat skipped as she took a step closer. “Okay. One dance.”
She took my hand and pulled me onto the dancefloor. I wrapped my arms around her waist, but I was more shocked than anything to be this close to her again. Her raspberry scent was intoxicating. My body was stiff as I guided her around in circles.
“Our friends are ridiculous,” I said, to break the odd silence stretching between us.
Ava scoffed. “No kidding. We didn’taskfor a reception.”
I chuckled lightly. “We didn’t ask for a marriage, either. Yet here we are.”
“I know,” she said, like she couldn’t believe it. “I mean… you’re myhusband.”
My heart fluttered when she called me her husband again. It still didn’t feel real. I wasn’t sure it ever would. As we spun around the dancefloor, the weight of everything that happened earlier finally hit me. Ava and I weremarried. I was standing here with her in my arms, instead of being experimented on by the Warden in the Infernal Underground. It was a miracle.
Without thinking about it, I pulled Ava closer, until her body was pressed against mine. Her head rested on my chest, and I couldn’t help but think that was perfect. Emotions welled inside of me so strong that tears pricked at my eyes.
“I can’t believe you did this for me,” I whispered.
“Of course, Charlie. There was no question.”
That warmed my heart more than she could ever know. Ava and I didn’t say anything else as we danced. We spun past Oberi, who sat on the edge of the room with Rishi, Pig, andAlette. I swore I heard Oberi sniffling.
Our dance ended far too soon. I didn’t want to let her go, but she dropped my hands the moment the long was over.
It nearly felt like another rejection. My heart was put back together only to fall apart all over again.
“I think it’s time to wrap things up,” Opal suggested. “We’ve been gone a long time, and people are going to start suspecting something if they can’t find us.”
Everyone around me groaned, but I spoke up. “Opal’s right,” I agreed. I didn’t think Ava wanted to drag this out any longer, anyway. “It’s time to go.”
