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I swallowed around a sudden lump in my throat, smiling up at Leo as he stepped away from me and cleared his throat.
“Now,” He grinned, clapping his hands, and rubbing them together excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Are you ready to go get married?”
I hesitated, but nodded my head quickly, nerves fluttering around the inside of my stomach as the girls started to file out of my chambers. Reaching out my hand, I grabbed Leo’s arm, squeezing my fingers around the fabric of his suit jacket and making him stop in his tracks, his eyebrows raised as he looked down at me.
Words got stuck in my throat, and I looked up at Leo with wide, panicked eyes. He smiled at me, his face a vision of calmness as he began to lead me out of myrooms.
“You can hold onto me,” He said quietly, so only I could hear him in the chaos that was happening around us. “Nice and tight, okay?”
The words sparked a memory in the back of my mind — me at four, clinging to Leo’s neck as he ran with Emily and I through underground tunnels, my parents probably already dead high above us. I let out a heavy breath, nodding my head as I fell into step beside Leo, letting him lead me through the heavily decorated castle towards the chapel, where Cyrus was already waiting, no doubtimpatiently.
34
Kira
The chapel doors opened to a flurry of bone shaking music.
My eyes widened as I took in the rows upon rows of pews, all of them full to bursting with people. For a small, intimate ceremony, there sure seemed to be a lot of people here. The flowers hanging from the ceiling had been enchanted, not only to keep them alive and in full bloom, but for their petals to fall as though they had been rustled by a strong wind. Orange petals scattered through the air, landing on the aisle runner and in people’s hair.
Rain belted against the stain glass window, heavy enough that it was almost overpowering the organ.
Cyrus stood at the bottom of the chapel, underneath the arch of flowers and greenery, his face caught in a stony expression. I thought briefly that he might be the image of if thunder was a human; beautiful to look at and deadlyto get caught in.
Leo patted my hand gently as Calliope and Gracie started their walks down the aisle to the loud music, the faces of the guests all lighting up at the sight of them, noises of approval coming from the pews.
“I must go and find my seat, Your Majesty.” Leo said into my ear, trying to release my hand from the vice grip I had on his suit jacket. I gripped it even tighter, pulling my eyes away from where Cyrus stood and looking up at Leo as panic surged its way through my body.
“No!” I gasped, my knuckles turning white around the green fabric, “No, please, don’t make me do this by myself.”
Leo’s eyes searched my face for a minute, shock on his features. I did not have the time to beg him to walk me down this aisle, but if I had to halt the whole wedding to convince him not to leave me by myself, then I would.
Eventually, he reached for my hand with his, and squeezed it gently, a small smile on his face.
“I would never.” He grinned, and I released a heavy breath, some of my anxiety leaving me as Caliara started her half walk, half skip down the aisle.
The crowd, of course, loved her. Their noises of admiration overpowering the organ music until I could not help but laugh lightly, shaking my head as I tried to steady myself. My dress, as beautiful as it was, washeavy and made it hard to stand up for too long. Leo cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders back and fixing the front of his suit jacket as he did so, and I could see some of the nerves showing through his features.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him as the music changed from the upbeat, chipper processional music to the slow, beautiful music I had picked to walk down to. Leo looked at me and grinned, nudging me with his shoulder lightly.
“Feels a little bit full circle, doesn’t it?” He winked, making me laugh as he started to walk forward, forcing me into step beside him.
Everybody in the room stood from their seats, and the flow of petals coming from the ceiling slowed but did not stop. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and took a breath through my nose, letting it out through pursed lips as I dropped my eyes to the floor, focusing on nothing but the place where my next step would fall, trying my hardest not to let myself catch the front of my dress and send myself flying, face first, into my future husband.
Even if it felt like everything up until this moment had been nothing but flying, face first into a future I had not envisioned for myself.
Quiet murmurs and noises of admiration came from the people in the pews, and I risked a small glance up through my lashes to the pew on my left, curiosity getting the better of me about if I recognised anyone here, or if it was all noblemen that came to the parties we threw but never bothered to get to know us as people.
Surprisingly, my eyes landed on Eoghan and Saoirse, the King and Queen of Water, sitting towards the middle of a pew. They were both smiling, but something on Saoirse’s face made me stall slightly, tripping over myself a little bit and having to grip onto Leo even tighter. She looked, almost, as though she felt sorry for me, as though she understood what it felt like to be me; to be in my position.
I ripped my eyes away from her before I got too caught up in the worry, and lifted my head enough to see Cyrus, his back to the stained-glass window and his hands clasped in front of him. It took everything in me not to gasp at how breathtakingly stunning he looked up close, his hair pristine and pushed back into a similar style as Leo’s, but instead of a small ponytail, his was left to hang loose around his neck. His suit fit him like a glove, to the point I could see every bump and curve of the muscles in his arms, and the colour complimented his skin tone exactly like I knew it would.
His sour expression from earlier had been replaced with his signature half smile, his eyes trailing over my dress as we drew closer.
Leo stepped up onto the small dais first, helping me step up in my dress and making sure I got myself situated exactly where I needed to be. Finally, I released his jacket, my fingers aching at the strain I had been holding him with. He smiled down at me, scooping up one of my hands and placing a kiss on the back of my knuckles.
“Good luck, Your Majesty.” He whispered, throwing me a wink before he turned to Cyrus, bowing his head low and disappearing back down the small stairs, taking his seat at the end of the front row of pews.
Cyrus’s hand slipped into mine, drawing my attention from the people in the crowd to him. His eyes were sharp, and his smile anything but reassuring.
