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“Oh, what is it, love?” Essos asks, angling himself so that his mother is blocked from seeing me. He’s catching my tears again, and I’m cursing all these blasted hormones that are flooding my system to the point that I am crying over fucking pasta.
It feels childish, but my lower lip quivers from my suppressing my tears. “I just wanted to enjoy my pasta, and now she’s crying, and I don’t want her to cry, because it’s awful how unloved she is by her own children, but it’s her own doing. And Essos, what if I’m just like her? A terrible mother? What do I know about parenting? I was born from a flower. Growing up as a goddess, I wasn’t raised by anyone. What business do I have raising a child?”
“My love, having that concern, being worried about how good of a mother you are going to be, puts you leaps and bounds ahead of my mother. You can’t listen to her. You’re also going to have something that my mother never had—a husband who will be involved. There are moments that are going to be ugly, and we’re going to fight, and we’re going to doubt ourselves at every turn, but we have waited many,manyyears for. Your fears are normal, and we will survive becoming parents. I’m less certain of surviving my mother.”
I laugh through my tears, and he draws me against him, still protecting me from the curious faces of our friends and family. I let myself cry for a moment longer, just to try to work out the emotions.
“It’s okay. Take all the time you need,” he murmurs, still rubbing my back. There is an odd, muffled sound to his voice, and when I look up, the world around us looks distorted, as if we’re looking through an old pane of glass that’s warped.
“What did you do?” I ask. No one is trying to look at us, their conversations dampened by whatever is happening to us now.
“I used some of my abilities for good, to shield my wife so she can have a moment to break down in peace without worrying about her mother-in-law or her mortal birth mother crying about it. I’ll do anything in my power to protect you, even if it’s just from your own hormones.” He kisses the tip of my nose, then below each eye, catching more errant tears.
A wave of exhaustion threatens to topple me. There has been so much to do, so much stress and so many emotional waves that I could sleep till tomorrow. “Do we have to stay?”
The thought of tomorrow makes me even more exhausted, and I may have been doing a lot of it lately, but I just want to lie in bed with Essos. Not even for sex, just for his nearness. After spending centuries apart, even having him away for just one week felt like another century of absence.
“I do have one last surprise, so if you can hold out, then I’ll have some cake brought up to our room. Estelle made it special for you.”
I give him a small nod and sit up. The sounds come back to us all at once. My mom grins from across the table, and I know I need to have a conversation with Essos about what he’s going to do with them and how to keep them far away from Octavia.
“Xavier,” Essos prompts with a nod. Xavier gets to his feet, and Essos pulls me to mine and leads us to his brother, where everyone has a clear view of the three of us.
“Please kneel before me,” Xavier commands, using a deeper tone than usual.
My eyebrows rise. “I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but I am not about to give you a blow job in front of everyone we know on my wedding day.”
Essos chokes on a laugh, covering his mouth with his hands.
“It sounds like that’s not entirely out of the question, though, just not today,” Xavier points out with a smirk. He’s waiting for my volley back when thorns burst out of his skin. He yelps, and I quickly retract them.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize, rushing forward to grab his arms. He’s wearing a suit, but I can see the rips along the sleeves and blood dotted there too. I swallow hard. I was annoyed, not mad enough at him to hurt him.
“It’s okay,” he says, but when I don’t stop fussing, he grabs my hands, stopping me. “I’ve got thicker skin than that. I’m fine.”
“Evidently not, if I just made you break out in thorns.” I’m brought to the brink of tears again.
“Just, be a good girl and get on your knees,” Xavier orders again, with a halfhearted smile.
“Still doesn’t sound any better,” I mutter, but comply with Essos’s help.
“If it’s any consolation, I sanctioned the whole thing,” Essos whispers, stepping away once I am kneeling tall in front of Xavier and looking up at his face to be sure I do not look directly at his crotch.
“It’s not, although it’s nice to know who to blame when these photos go viral.”
“Would you quit being a wiseass? I swear, this is the last nice thing I do for you,” Xavier bemoans.
“If you think having a girl suck your dick is a nice thing forthem, then you really need to have your priorities checked.” Sometimes I can’t help myself.
“Daphne!” Essos and Xavier scold at the same time.
I hold my hands up in surrender, waiting for Xavier to go on.
“It has been too long since the Underworld has had a queen to sit beside its king. There are many things that a king can do alone, but all realms are better ruled when the power is shared, the burden divided, and the decisions made together. This is a much shorter version of the speech usually given, but I’m afraid my dear sister-in-law might burst into tears or giggles if I take much longer.” This earns an undignified snort from me. “By the power vested in me by the Fates, and as King of all Gods, I am pleased to crown you Queen of the Underworld…again.”
I feel the weight of a crown settle on me, and I have to lower my head so it doesn’t tumble off. Both Essos and Xavier help me rise to my feet.
I don’t much care what the crown looks like or what everyone thinks of this shotgun wedding, but as the world shifts back into its rightful place, I know this is where I am meant to be.
