“Of course it was,” Saffra teased, nudging her shoulder. “We’ve all seen the way you two look at each other. Even back at the Arcalon. You never stood a chance.”
“I regret inviting every single one of you,” Kara grumbled.
“Too late,” Rowan said smugly. “We’re your family now.”
“I’m doomed,” Kara muttered, though her voice was warm with laughter.
Eliyana clapped her hands once, her smile bright with amusement. “Enough teasing, girls. The dress! It’s nearly time.”
Alys and Sienna exchanged a quick, excited glance, already reaching for the gown hung in the window. Rowan and Saffra swooped in to help, laughter and orders cutting over each other as they eased Kara into the ivory lace, fastening buttons and smoothing layers. The whole room buzzed around her. At last, Sienna pressed the bouquet into her hands. Crimson blooms spilled over her fingers, the colour vivid and beautiful. Kara turned towards the mirror for a final glance – and hardly recognised herself.
Not the Healer, or a warrior, not the Council’s prisoner, or the girl who had stumbled, broken, through grief.
A bride.
Sebastian Thorne’s bride.
The woman she had always meant to be.
Arcanth, thank you. Thank you for giving him back to me. I will be forever grateful.
The answer came, unexpected and ancient, resonating through her bones.
The Arcanth stands witness.
The Healer. The Warrior.
Kara gasped, gripping the bouquet tighter as the warmth of the blessing flooded her. The Arcanth had spoken. To her. On her wedding day. To bless their union. She bowed her head in awe, in respect. And then it was gone, so quickly it was like she’d imagined it. But she knew she hadn’t – the warmth still lingered. She didn’t say anything to the others. That message had been for her. She would tell Sebastian later, but for now, she held it close.
The bells tolled. It was time.
They walked together towards the great hall, where the guests and her husband-to-be waited. Saffra peeked in to make sure Sebastian was safely sequestered behind the doors before allowing Kara to continue down the corridor. She and Rowan slipped into the hall to take their seats, leaving Kara with her mother and her witnesses. Sienna and Alys were radiant in their matching crimson gowns, faces alight with love and joy. Kara’s chest ached with gratitude. She’d chosen well.
Her mother gathered her into a final embrace. “I know you’ll be happy, Kara. And I’m so happy for you.”
Kara’s smile faltered as she pulled away. “I wish Father agreed.”
Her mother’s mouth thinned. “Yes, so do I. I’ve told him – argued, pleaded, but your father... once he decides, he is stone. I fear nothing will move him now.”
The hurt must have shown on her face because her mother said hurriedly, “But I am not him. I will never turn my back on you, Kara. Whatever comes, you’ll always have me.”
“And me,” Alys said, touching her arm lightly.
“I know,” Kara said softly, then asked her mother, “You’ll walk with me?”
Eliyana’s eyes filled with tears as she took her arm. “It would be my very great honour, Karalynna.”
Kara steadied herself with a deep breath. The carved oak doors loomed before her. Beyond them, her future waited. Her stomach filled with butterflies. Hands trembled with nerves. It was madness; she was more nervous now than she had been at their Soulbonding.
That wasn’t in front of hundreds of people though.
His voice came, steady and sure.I’m waiting.
She smiled, despite the nerves.I’m here.
And then the doors opened.
Sebastian had faced armies, the Council, stood knee-deep in blood, and not flinched. But standing at the front of a very full Thorne great hall, waiting for Kara Hale, even with his father at his side, he almost couldn’t breathe. He wore the ceremonial garb of his House – a formal black court coat and trousers with silver detail, a crimson cape clasped at his shoulder. No sword. Weapons were forbidden at weddings. He didn’t like that part. He felt naked without steel at his hip. His hand kept twitching towards the hilt of a blade that wasn’t there.
