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Mordred smoldered, but I detected a hint of relief in his sweat. He didn’t want anybody in line to take over from him.
Delilah shook her head. “No. We can’t accept. But we’re here to honor you and the others and to celebrate the unfolding of a new era.”
Morgaine stared at us darkly, then turned. “Never forget what I offered you. The offer stands for a time, but if you choose to take it after tonight, the price will go up. Think it over before saying no. You have until sunrise.”
As she swept away, followed by Mordred, we looked at one another.
“Wherever that damned woman goes, trouble follows,” I said. “We’ll have to watch her carefully.”
“I think the Supe Community will find itself splitting as the Earthside Fae join the Courts of the Three Queens, leaving the Weres and vamps to themselves.” Delilah let out a long sigh. “All we can do is watch and wait and hope to hell Morgaine never gets her hands on one of the spirit seals, because you know she’d be up to no good with it.”
“I think . . . I think I finally agree with you,” Camille said sadly. “The coronation is about to begin. Shall we watch?”
Delilah shrugged. “Might as well. Let’s go join Father and Queen Asteria. I feel safer around them.”
I swung in beside her and wrapped my arm around her waist. “What’s that?” I asked, feeling a hard bottle pressing against me from the pocket of her tunic.
She shook her head, grinning. “Nothing you need to know about.” I stepped to the side and waited until she’d gone on ahead, then quietly looked at the bottle I’d fished out of her pocket. I stifled a shout. The nectar of life: the elixir that would grant a mortal extended life. One bottle of this down the hatch, and Chase would live almost as long as a full-blooded Fae.
As half-Fae, we’d be offered the nectar at some point to extend our lives, providing the Court and Crown was willing to allow us the privilege. But Delilah had to have stolen this. Nobody in their right mind would just give it to her. I stared at her, wondering whether to say anything, when Camille gave a little cry as she opened a scroll one of Father’s messengers handed her.
“What is it?” I said. “Are you okay?”
She nodded as her eyes teared up and a smile broke out across her face. “It’s a message from Trillian. He’s alive, he’s okay, and he’ll meet me in Otherworld in the autumn, to come back home with me. There’s a truth spell cast on this parchment, so I know it’s not a lie.”
In the bustle as Morio and Smoky joined us, I slid the bottle back in Delilah’s pocket. Whatever happened with Chase would happen regardless of what I said or did. We’d sort it out later.
As the trumpets sounded again, and the Queens of Morning, Dusk, and Night knelt before Queen Asteria to receive their crowns, I tried to block out worries about demon lords, Fae politics, and human hate groups.
The world overflowed with beauty in life, in death, in all stages in between. There was so much beauty around us—hideous beauty and beauty so brilliant it made my eyes water.
>“Good.” She smiled, arching her back lightly. “Now we’re even. I can’t even look at you without wanting to tear off your clothes. Come on, let’s get to our seats before they start the ceremony.”
As we headed up the aisle, looking for the others, I said, “I’m thinking of changing my hairstyle. At least for special occasions.”
I didn’t mention that the thought made me nervous. I’d braided my hair the day after I returned home from the OIA therapy center, one year after I’d been turned. The locks had never been out of the their braids since then.
“I’d love to see your hair down,” Nerissa said. “A cloud of burnished copper . . . yes, it would be lovely.”
We scooted in beside Delilah and Chase. Delilah grinned at us. She was done up in a rose-colored silk tank top, a pair of pale pink linen trousers, and she’d traded her clodhopper boots for a pair of ivory flats. Chase gave me a little wave, still looking subdued. He was dressed in Armani. Camille, Smoky, and Morio were one row up, along with Iris and Maggie.
The rest of the seats were filled with FBHs, although I saw Sassy and Erin sitting on the other side. A niggle of guilt washed over me. I should be over there with them, but then again, the less Erin depended on me over the coming months, the sooner she’d be able to function on her own. Learning the life from another vampire was one thing. Living with your sire could create an unhealthy bond if it went on too long.
A buzz ran through the audience as Jason took his place at the altar. He was dressed in an exquisite tux with a pink vest, and he looked stunning. To his right stood another man, as dark as Jason but a few years younger, and I guessed it might be his brother.
The officiate took her place at the podium. As the music started, Jim Croce belted out “Time in a Bottle,” and Tim began to walk down the aisle. He wore a black tux, and his shirt was as blue as his eyes. He was followed by three brides-maids—it was hard to tell whether they were women or men in drag—but they wore tasteful silver dresses and carried bouquets of red roses and white carnations.
As Tim joined Jason at the altar, I thought about love. I thought about the possible pairings in the world and how rare and wonderful it was to find someone you could share your innermost self with. While I didn’t know if I’d ever have that, for now Nerissa was my companion. And for now, what we had was enough.
I turned my attention back to the ceremony. The officiate was speaking.
“. . . love—it’s all about love. We come together, we create our families, we choose our mates out of the desire to form a life together. Love takes many forms, wears many faces, but when it’s real, when it touches your heart, you will know it and—with hope—embrace it. Love is stronger than hate, love is stronger than anger. Love is stronger than all artificial divisions that exist in our world. But love must be nurtured and carefully tended . . .”
My thoughts turned inward again. Harish had loved Sabele, and she’d been stripped away from him. I’d held his hand when we told him we found her remains and he cried. Rozurial had loved and seen that love tragically ripped out of his life. Mother had crossed to another world for love. Camille’s love encompassed three men—her heart was so open and embracing. Delilah was caught between lovers.
Was love permanent? Perhaps. Love could be killed, love could be torn asunder. But the one thing that couldn’t happen to love was for the essential will to love to be destroyed. And no matter what evils lurked in the world, that would forever be true.
As Jason kissed Tim, we rose to our feet cheering, and I felt bloody tears well up in my eyes. I dashed them away using the crimson handkerchief that Sassy had loaned me and turned to Nerissa. She leaned down and kissed me.
