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Kira placed her hand on my arm and guided me into the right spot, and then pointed upwards towards the garlands hanging from the ceiling. I frowned, tilting my head as I took in the orange flowers decorating the green leaves.
“There is one right there,” I pointed, leaning down slightly to take Kira’s hand and pull her in front of me. I dipped my head, so it was almost resting on her shoulder, her breathing hitching in her throat as I did so. Hiding my smirk, I ran my hand down the bare skin of her arm and wrapped my fingers around her wrist, lifting it so I could use it to point at the one wilted flower that clung to the leaves of the garland. “Do you see it now?”
Kira hesitated but nodded her head after a few seconds.
Kyanne cursed beside us and hurried her way along the decorated aisle. She grabbed a small stepladder from by the chapel doors and, with a speed unlike any I had ever seen when dealing with flowers, she climbed her way up to rip the flower from the otherwise perfect display. Kira’s breathing had barely returned to normal, and her cheeks flushed a bright red underneath her freckles.
I placed a quick kiss to her cheek, squeezing her wrist asI did so.
“Perfect,” I said, smirking as I let Kira go and stepped back. She turned on the spot, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at me, bewilderment on her features. I winked at her as Kyanne came back to stand beside us, her voice carrying through the room as she continued talking about flower arrangements and bouquets.
Looking over my shoulder, I finally laid eyes on my crown, and could not stop the grin from finding its way onto my features.
The heavy, golden frame was twisting and deadly. Dark, black Onyx stones stood proudly in cushioned stems, and blood red rubies decorated the sides. It was everything I had expected, and more. It was powerful and strong, enough so that no one would ever question my rule as king.
It was deadly.
Kira cleared her throat, and I spun my head back around, my eyes meeting the sets of the three women beside me.
“Sorry, what?” I chuckled. Kira rolled her eyes, swatting my arm, though it had a bit too much force to be considered playful.
“Kyanne was asking about the flowers for the reception next week.” Kira smiled tightly, looking up at me. I nodded my head, turning my attention back to the florist, even though my brain could focus on nothing more thangetting thatcrown on my head.
33
Kira
The rain came on the morning of our wedding.
They had started as a light sprinkling during the night, barely enough to wet the pavement, but as I rose from my bed at dawn, they were battering the windows hard enough to echo through the room. I had stood at my window, the curtains pulled wide, and the frames thrown open, relishing the crisp breeze that was coming alongside the pouring rain.
As the sun made its way over the horizon, the castle woke into a flurry of activity. My breakfast was delivered on three separate silver trolleys, each of them absolutely filled with my favourites. Toast and warm butter, chocolate muffins and jam tarts, and a trolley just for tea. I guided them over to the wall at the back of my living area, knowing I would not have much time to enjoy it all before preparations would have to start.
Wrapping my robe around myself tightly, I wandered through from my bedroom into the living area, picking myself up a slice of toast and filling a mug with hot tea, and made my way over to the couches by the fire. I shivered slightly at the cold breeze coming through the open windows and made a mental note to ask the magic casters to take the cooling enchantment off my room.
I had always assumed that my wedding day would be a source of great joy, that I would be unable to sit still or eat, but as I sat on the couch, sipping at my tea and taking small, absentminded bites of my toast, I felt nothing but fear. Dread settling its way into my bloodstream.
Today was the day that I would become a part of history for a Kingdom that was not rightfully mine. It was the day my future would turn on its head forever. It was the day I would start my descent into the person I never wanted to be.
It was essential, yes. It was the only way I knew to save my Kingdom, my home, from a ruler that did not want the best for them. As much as they questioned my motives and my loyalty to them right now, they would know soon why it was necessary.
I never thought, as a child, that my wedding day would be the day I would be plotting my husband’s murder.
Sipping my tea, my eyes stared out of the window at the heavily falling rain. I could not see the castle walls through the thick, heavy drops and a small smile worked its way onto my face. If I did not think about it too much,if I did not look at my surroundings, it almost looked like I was back in mine and Emily’s cottage.
A knock at my door pulled me from my far away thoughts, and I sighed as I placed my now empty mug down on the small table in front of me. A weariness settled into my bones as I stood, and I wondered how I would make it through the day if I was already feeling this tired.
Gracie’s smiling face greeted me once I pulled open the door, and she flew through it, her arms locking themselves around my neck as she squealed happily in my ear. I laughed lightly, letting go of the door handle and hugging her back as tightly as I could manage.
“Can you believe you’re getting married?!” She grinned, pulling back, and placing her hands on my shoulders, her happy face taking up all of my vision, “How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t.”
It was the truth, I had tossed and turned until the covers around me started to itch my skin, and that was when I had given up the first time. I had wandered around my room until tiredness made my eyes sting, but when I climbed back under the heavy duvet of my bed, my brain would not relent. It threw every bad situation at me, every possible thing that could go wrong, from the minuscule of someone spilling their wine on the tablecloth, to the outright disastrous of Cyrus revealing he knew about our plan all along and slicing my throat in front of everyonegathered.
I swallowed uncomfortably at the memory of that one and took a breath through my nose as Gracie tutted, her hands squeezing my shoulders before she moved past me into the room. Her noise of approval at the breakfast spread at the back of the room enough to pull me from my thoughts and make me laugh as I closed the door.
The two of us spent the next hour gorging on different pastries and cups of tea — so much so that when Rosa and Kyanne showed up with our dresses and flowers, we had to help each other off the couches.
