"Sweetheart," she said softly.
"Yes, Maman."
"Don't look at the guests. Don't look at the chairs. Don't look at the Clan Mother. Just look at Ruvon. Look into his eyes and let your feet guide you to him."
Arezoo took a long breath.
She thought of Ruvon's face on their first date, of the poetry book in his hands, of his hand in hers at the lookout point under the stars. She thought of the small, folded square of paper with the blue ribbon, and she hoped, with the whole of her heart, that he had liked it.
She nodded at Anandur. "I'm ready."
He lifted his hand and tapped his earpiece. "Cue the march."
The instrumental loop ended, there was a brief beat of silence, and then the first notes of the wedding march began to sound across the village green, and all heads turned her way.
12
ANNANI
Annani stood at the center of the dais and watched Arezoo walk across the village green toward her groom, and as always, the moment moved her despite the many weddings she had presided over since the first and most memorable one of all—Kian and Syssi's.
The bride was beautiful, the way all brides were on their wedding day. There was something about a woman walking toward the male she had chosen that lit her from within, and Arezoo, who was normally a quiet and reserved girl, shone like a star as she walked toward Ruvon. Her shoulders were back, her chin was lifted, and her eyes were locked on Ruvon with focused certainty.
Soraya walked beside her with her hand on her daughter's elbow and her face composed, but only because she was exercising tremendous will not to let the tears fall.
Below the dais, Ruvon was practically vibrating in anticipation.
Grooms came in all types. There were the calm ones, who did not see the wedding as a significant step in their relationship because matehood was strong and permanent, and a ceremonywas just a way to allow others to share in their joy. There were the overwhelmed ones, who looked as if they had been struck by lightning and were not sure whether they would find their voice when the time came to recite their vows. There were the goofy ones, like Anandur, who had turned his and Wonder's wedding into a show, but who had been nonetheless deeply moved beneath the goofiness.
And then there were the ones like Ruvon.
The ones who could not believe their luck.
He was standing very straight, his hands folded in front of him, his eyes fixed on Arezoo, and he was breathing as if he had to remind himself to do so. He looked like a male who had, against all expectations, been chosen, and who was waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under him.
He was a good male, kind, attentive, and worthy of the girl who was walking toward him.
His past did not concern Annani. The circumstances of a person's birth did not always determine their character, and some of the brightest souls came out of the darkest beginnings. Ruvon had clawed his way out of Mortdh's legacy and had built himself into the kind of man any mother would be proud of. Hopefully, his mother was watching him from beyond the veil and was proud of who he had become.
Annani's gaze drifted briefly to her family's table.
Kian and Syssi sat together with Allegra between them, the toddler swinging her feet under her chair and watching the procession with wide-eyed solemnity. Amanda was leaning into Dalhu's shoulder, and Evie was sitting in his lap, her small hand resting on her father's enormous forearm. Alena and Orion satwith E.T. between them, the boy dozing off and leaning against his mother's side, oblivious to the music and the procession and his grandmother, who was about to officiate the union of two dear souls.
Lokan and Carol sat with Jacki and little Darius, while Kalugal was below the dais with the groomsmen, his hands clasped behind his back, his posture seemingly casual, but he was more invested in this wedding than he had let on.
Ruvon was one of his, and to see one of the men he had rescued from his father's tyranny about to join with his truelove mate must mean a great deal to Kalugal.
Annani would have loved for Areana to be there, to see her son being proud of one of his men starting the journey of never-ending love, and she would have loved her sister to see her preside over a wedding.
The last time the two of them had been together at a wedding ceremony had been over five thousand years ago, the night Annani had married Khiann, and Areana had begged to stay for her sister's wedding before heading up north to join Mortdh. She had taken Annani's place as Mortdh's intended, and with her sacrifice had made Annani's marriage to Khiann possible.
It was a debt Annani could never repay, no matter how things had turned out down the road, with Areana ending up as Navuh's mate, and Annani losing her Khiann mere months after their wedding.
Once Lokan and Carol were ready to make their matehood official, they would come to her, and they would have a proper ceremony, and Areana would be there.
The question was whether Annani would allow Navuh to witness his son's wedding. The thought of him attending the ceremony was almost amusing. An image from a movie she had seen a long time ago popped into her head, with the antagonist bound, muzzled, and wheeled about on a hand truck. If she allowed Navuh to attend a clan wedding, it would have to be in something approximating that configuration. A muzzle. A restraint. Several Guardians on either side. Annani smiled at the picture and then pulled her attention back to the present, where Arezoo had reached the foot of the dais.
The music ended on a soft note.
