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As soon as she found her balance again, she pulled away from him.
A tiny hint of woundedness flashed in his eyes when she did. But it was gone in an instant.
"The wedding is tonight," Castor said. "Something tells me you're going to need all of that time to prepare adequately."
Chapter 10 - Castor
The next few hours flew by in a rush of activity, where Ianora was prepared for the ceremony outside of Castor's supervision. After leaving the coffin, she only exchanged a few necessary words with him, but he knew she would come around in time. She didn't have a choice, and why would she choose to be miserable and angry for the rest of her days?
The ceremony was in less than an hour, but Castor had decided he would provide Ianora with a gesture of goodwill. With his notable guests behind him, they stopped in front of Ianora's dressing room. The servants insisted on giving her at least five different baths before the ceremony, so they should be arriving at just the right time to catch her before she was prepared for the main event.
Castor knocked on the door of the dressing chamber, and a young female servant answered. "She's not yet ready," the woman said. "You should know better than to rush perfection."
"That's not why I'm here." He gestured to the four men behind him. "We need a few minutesbeforeshe's dressed."
The woman tutted but then moved aside to let them in. "Fine, but be quick. You already saved all this for the last minute. We need every moment we can spare."
Castor pushed forward into the room, a rich, felted space: filled with auburn light, velvet couches, countless carpets, and the candles pulsing and humming as though they were on a lithe, frantic heartbeat.
"Princess, you have visitors," the young woman said.
Moments later, Ianora poked her head from the adjoining room, her brows raised with curiosity. "Visitors?" The light in her eyes darkened when they landed on Castor. "Oh, it's just you."
He chuckled, and without a word, stepped aside.
"Just him? That's an insult if I've ever heard one," one of the visitors said.
Ianora's eyes lit up again, this time shimmering like the sun, when she heard her brother Elijah's voice. He came from behind Castor, Ianora's other brothers following close behind, and their bodies clashed in a desperate, emotional hug that Castor felt like was not for his eyes to watch. But he did anyway.
"Oh my God, Elijah! Xavier! Aleister ... Nikolas," she cried out each of their names as she hugged them, tears already brimming over her eyes and spilling down. "I thought I was never going to see you again."
Her makeup artist wasn't going to be pleased, and yet the smile on her face—no, it seemed like her whole body was smiling—was worth any potential delays.
Castor only wished Ianora would still light up like that for him.
"Don't be so dramatic, little sis," Aleister said with a laugh, squeezing her tightly again. "You might be on the other side of the world, but that's what magic is for. We weren't going to miss your wedding for anything, and Castor was generous enough to give us a few minutes with you beforehand."
Ianora was resting her chin on Aleister's shoulder as she embraced him, her eyes taking on a pointed look when she glanced at Castor. "Yes, I'm sure he thought that was a fantastic idea."
"If he'd tried to refuse, we would have had reason to rip his head off, wouldn't we?"
"Thankfully, it didn't seem like that was necessary." Xavier had taken a seat on one of the plush couches, and he was sharpening a dagger, not making eye contact with Castor. "Man knows what's good for him."
"I wouldn't have dreamed of denying you a few minutes with the bride before the wedding, not when you've come so far and can't stay for long," Castor said, and though he didn't appreciate the threats, they weren't unwarranted. He wanted Ianora completely to himself, even if that meant withholding her family, but as a show of goodwill for cooperating with him, it seemed best to give them time together.
Especially with the threat of violence on the table. He wasn't sure if the curse would prevent him from defending himself against the Eroch brothers, and he wasn't about to test that when all four of them were present.
Ianora finally let go of Aleister, and they all took seats except for Castor. He kept his distance, leaning against the wall to give them some space. Ianora would have to spend enough time faking being in love with Castor over the coming days. He wasn't going to force it on her in front of her brothers, who would see right through the act.
"What do you mean you're not going to be here for long?" Ianora asked when she sat down.
"Duty calls, sister. Back home, we must deal with a few things before we can come back to you," Elijah said, looking at Castor with clear disdain. "It was hard enough, making time to see you today...but we did what was necessary."
The light in Ianora's eyes threatened to dim and fade. "What's going on? What kind of problems are you facing?"
But the brothers shared a look between them and then seemed to collectively shrug.
"It's complicated," Xavier said, his voice low as he continued sharpening his dagger. "But it's nothing we can't handle, and nothing you need to worry about today. You'd better prepare yourself for the rest of the proceedings and what comes after."
