Page 162 of A War of Three Kings

His procession is a quick one. He walks with the queen mother at his side, her gloved hand tucked into his elbow. She is much diminished from grief for her oldest son, seeming to have aged decades since I last saw her.

Niall rests a gentle hand over his mother’s and leads her to a golden stool beside the thrones, easing her into it before taking his place beside the altar. For the hundredth time, the contrast between the brothers astounds me—the instinctual care Niall shows toward others that would never have occurred to Finan.

Morgana fusses in Caitlin’s arms beside me, making the soft mewing sounds of a newborn. Her little limbs are curled up against her middle and Caitlin discreetly arranges the folds of her specialized nursing gown to latch Morgana to the nipple.I thank the gods that her milk didn’t dry up completely when she joined the rescue mission for me.

My niece’s pale skin has a blue tinge. I struggle with jolts of panic each time I see her again, momentarily forgetting who her fae parent was and fearing she must have stopped breathing. There are hints of iridescent scales across her face where another may have freckles, and her small wisps of hair are white.Caitlin is adamant that her daughter will never have to hide who she is or feel a moment of shame over it.

I am glad that she banished Gwyneth from our lives. A child cannot love and accept who they are when a parent holds those same attributes against them.

An orchestra starts playing the song that frequents my nightmares. The one that is played at every wedding in Strathia. It turns my stomach and makes my skin prickle with dread. Aldrin’s body goes rigid beside me, and I release I am casting my emotions at him.

When we get married, we are not playing this damned song at the ceremony,he growls in my head.

I glance at him and raise an eyebrow.Do you have other thoughts for our wedding?I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips.

Many,he replies.Mostly about the end of the night when I get you to myself.He sends a series of erotic images flashing so fast through my mind that I suck in a sharp breath, and he chuckles darkly.

The grand doors far behind us glide open and the entire crowd turns as a collective. Brianna steps through the doorway, looking utterly regal.

The white skirts of her dress billow out around her, taking up the entire width of the aisle in a puff of silk decorated with gold embroidery and seed pearls. They part at the front to expose layers upon layers of sheer chiffon that glitter with tiny, colorful jewels sewn into them. The bodice of the gown has a distinctive V shape scattered with more precious stones, and her long white sleeves end in subtle frills.

Half of her long, blond hair is pulled into a soft updo, and the rest falls down her shoulders to her waist in ringlets. Brianna’s blue eyes sparkle and her lips keep curling into a smile that she tries to hide. My heart swells at the sight of her devastatingbeauty, even as it breaks at the fact that she is here at such a young age.

My father wipes tears from his eyes. “She’s only just turned eighteen,” he mutters repeatedly, while my mother pats his shoulder. His emotional display of tenderness is at such odds with the man who hunted down Lord Desmond after the riot that won us the city and put his head on a spike on the palace wall.

I glance at King Niall. He stares at Brianna with wide eyes glazed with awe. His lips part, as though his breath has been stolen away. He doesn’t move a single part of his body, like he is afraid of waking from a dream.

I wonder if he was harboring a secret love for Brianna. I can see how a man who was in his precarious position when Finan was alive might have been too afraid to take a wife and start a family.

Brianna moves steadily down the aisle, gliding in that weighty dress, not noticing the crowd gawking on either side of her. My sister’s eyes are trained on Niall. As she approaches him at the altar, he rushes forward with an outstretched hand. She takes it, allowing him to lead her those last few steps. They continue to hold hands as they stare at each other before the altar with such vulnerability in their eyes.

The moment is so intimate I feel like I am intruding.

The druid Murdoc begins the formalities of the ceremony and we nobility take our seats on the pews once more. I struggle to follow his words with so many emotions roaring within me. Aldrin’s thigh pressed beside mine is reassuring, and he takes my hand again, squeezing and placing it on our legs.

When we get married, I am not wearing white. I never want to wear white again.I send the thought to him and feel the vibration of his chest as a suppressed huff of laughter leaves him. Then he shoots me a deadly serious look.

I want to marry in the spring,he says.This coming spring. When the trees are full of apple blossoms and the air smells of pollen. When the weather is crisp in the morning and just the right side of warm in the evening. I want the air filled with butterflies and the songs of birds, and the whole world to be erupting with life and love on the day we marry.

Pure happiness radiates through me. It is like I have been lost in a snowstorm for months and the sun has just made an appearance, kissing my skin with its warmth.

That is very poetic, Aldrin.We should marry in the wild orchard groves just outside the castle grounds. They are overtaken by wildflowers in spring. There is a shallow stream that gurgles over smooth rocks and an old temple that can be restored. I don’t want hundreds of people I hardly know there, just the essentials.

Aldrin presses the side of his head to mine for a few moments.It sounds perfect.

We are drawn back to the ceremony as Brianna and Niall are about to exchange their vows, clasping hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Murdoc takes a long ribbon and binds their hands together, looping the silk around and around in a handfasting ritual.

King Niall’s voice is just loud enough for those of us in the front row to hear. “I promise to protect you from harm and safeguard you from evil. That each day I will feel honored to be your husband. I vow to pursue happiness and harmony with you, and pledge to treat you with respect that will never waver. I will stand at your side through whatever may come.” There is so much emotion in those words that he clearly wrote himself.

My sister’s lips tremble as he speaks, but she doesn’t pull her gaze away from his once. When she says her vows, it is with a voice so quiet I do not catch them. Tears roll down my father’sface and he doesn’t bother to wipe them away. My grandmother whispers in his ear, but I think he ignores her completely.

Murdoc stands behind the pair and raises his hands in the air. “I pronounce you husband and wife!”

Cheers ring out from the amassed people and both Niall and Brianna turn slowly to their audience, wearing matching expressions of surprise, as though they both just remembered we are here with them.

Niall’s lips kick up in the corners as he turns back to Brianna, places his hands on either side of her face and kisses her gently. Her eyebrows shoot up, but she relaxes into him, her hands traveling up his arms and around his neck.

The kiss lasts for longer than what is proper, but all I can do is laugh.

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