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“Nyana,” Skaja said, breaking the tether between her and Calle. Instead of hostility in the hunch of her wings, she exuded concern. “You can still live with the valkyries. They will take you and your daughters, no questions asked.”
But they would never let us leave the island again.
She attempted to hide her trembling fingers as she stepped closer to Joel and sought the comfort his presence offered. By the concern in the former valkyrie’s eyes, she knew she must not appear to be a woman about to marry the man she loved.
Therefore, she braved her fears and threaded her fingers through Joel’s. He inhaled sharply before squeezing her hand and offering her a smile of complete adoration. Oh, he was good at pretending. She couldn’t even muster a smile herself.
Calle frowned. Skaja pursed her lips.
“I thank you for your offer,” Nyana murmured. “But I am settling down with Joel.”
Calle opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again. The smile he offered looked forced. “Congratulations. If you ever need anything, we’re just a short distance away. Perhaps you might come by soon to visit.”
Joel nodded. “Thanks, Calle.”
With one last dip of his head, Calle began to lead Skaja by the hand toward the exit. But not before casting one last glance toward Maisy before they disappeared outside.
The air whooshed out of Nyana’s lungs, panic carried on her breath. She held her hand over her mouth as the door closed with a bang that echoed across the high-vaulted ceiling. “He suspects. Joel, he suspects.”
Joel’s eyes hardened. “He doesn’t. He wouldn’t leave this church otherwise.”
Icy dread consumed her when she spotted a flash of white feathers out the window beside the door. For several long, terrifying moments, she clutched Joel’s fingers while expecting Calle to storm back inside and demand answers.
The cathedral remained silent other than Maisy’s playful giggling and the muffled voices of monks singing somewhere within the building.
Calle didn’t return.
“I’m sorry.” She grimaced as she released Joel’s hand, his knuckles white from her grip. “If he figured it out…” When Eva glanced over with inquisitive green eyes, her words trailed off. “I’m thinking too much into this.”
Joel shrugged and began walking across the shiny marble floors, speaking quietly to her where she followed beside him. “I admire your concern. You are looking out for his marriage. Will you eventually tell him?”
Biting her lip, she stared ahead at the white marble statue of Saint Theodore with his arms held out on either side of him, his head bowed. “I know I should. But I’m scared.”
He set Eva down on the front pew before lowering his voice, so even the saints couldn’t hear his words. “Of what?”
“It will make him sad. He will be devastated.” The cane in her hand chilled against her skin at the thought. “He has suffered so much already. How can I cause him more suffering?”
“For having a daughter?”
She shook her head, recalling Calle’s constant smile and the deep goodness of his soul. “For not having her. He will be devastated for missing out on so much. For not being there.”
As if knowing she was right, he didn’t argue, and he didn’t press the issue. She would consider it for another day, but today, she was getting married.
They joined the priest at the altar, standing across from one another as the holy man created a rope with his fingers made of golden threads of magic. Taking a deep breath, she took Joel’s hand in hers and gazed at him in the small space between them.
Her friend.
And in a few minutes, her husband.
His green eyes held so much kindness. Happiness. Fervor. Dedication. Loyalty. All without him speaking a single word.
As the priest wrapped the rope of magic around their wrists to bind them as husband and wife, she did the one thing she swore she would never do again.
She allowed a man to make her cry.
Chapter 5
Act normal. Act normal.
