It was sometimes easy to forget that Drova's alien looks were driven by her biology. She didn't eat regular food. She drank blood and therefore didn't need a long digestive tract like a human. That was why her waist was so shockingly narrow.
She looked beautiful in the red bridesmaid dress Arezoo had picked for her, and even her black combat boots didn't detract from her appearance. Somehow, it all worked.
The other bridesmaids climbed up one by one. Donya and Laleh took one bench. Azadeh and Jasmine took the bench across from them. Wonder folded her tall frame onto the back seat next to Aliya.
Yasmin lifted Cyra onto the bench next to Drova, and Drova immediately wrapped her arm around the little girl. The chemistry between the badass warrior and the tiny human child was surprising.
Cyra was picky about the people she trusted, but Drova had a way with kids, and she'd won Cyra over in five minutes flat.
"I have a job," Cyra announced with the seriousness of a small ambassador on official business.
Her white dress had a wide skirt that puffed up when she sat down, and she was clutching the small basket of flower petals in her lap.
"It's a very important job," Arezoo agreed.
"I throw the petals." Cyra scrunched her little nose. "I practiced on the carpet."
"The grass will be the same as the carpet," Drova reassured her. "You just walk and throw."
Soraya smoothed down the front of her dress. It was a deep wine red, simple in cut but flattering, and Angelica had done an amazing job on her hair and makeup. She looked twenty years younger.
Anandur turned around in the driver's seat. "All passengers seated? No one falling out the back? Bride still in the cart and not running off?"
"Why would I run?" Arezoo asked.
Hopefully, he wouldn't say something disparaging about Ruvon.
He shrugged. "Jitters."
"I'm fine." She smiled. "More than fine. I'm ready to marry Ruvon and have the goddess bless our union."
He nodded. "Good for you."
Anandur started the cart, and it crept forward at barely a walking pace.
"Anandur," Drova said, "a human grandmother with a walker could get there faster."
"I'm following Amanda's orders, and she said to take it slow."
As the cart rolled along the path toward the village green, the breeze carried the scent of flowers and food, and Arezoo could hear faint music in the distance. It was some soft instrumental that was playing while the guests were mingling.
Ruvon was probably already there, waiting with his groomsmen for her and her bridesmaids to arrive. He was going to look so handsome in his tuxedo, with his hair styled, his shoulders back, and an expectant expression on his face.
He would look tall and proud, standing at the foot of the dais next to Kalugal and the others, and his eyes would be on the path, watching for her.
She hoped he liked the poem she'd sent him.
When she'd thought of the present, she'd been sure it was the perfect thing. She'd imagined him opening it, recognizing the verse, smiling that quiet smile he had when something touched him. But now she wondered if she had put him in an awkward position. He hadn't sent her anything, and now he might think that he'd been supposed to come up with something special for her as well. Ruvon was sensitive about things like that. He worried about whether he was getting things right.
"What is it?" her mother asked.
"I'm worried about the poem."
"What poem?"
"The one I sent Ruvon earlier."
Her mother sighed. "I told you not to send him anything. Why didn't you listen to me?"
