Page 96 of Solstice

The few moments right before we went on were the worst, and even if this was just rehearsal, there were still going to be people standing around watching us with their judgmental eyes. Even if I’d gotten over the stage fright, the anxious anticipation was so deeply ingrained that it showed up by habit.

The music started, and Abigail took her place at the head of the bridal party, waiting for Marcia’s cue before starting her walk. A few moments went by before Kit went.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

My stomach churned and saliva pooled at the back of my mouth, and maybe it was all the stress leading up to this, but I was definitely going to puke. I didn’t care that it was just a rehearsal; there were too many people looking at me. The music changed to a string version of the bridal chorus. I waited until Marcia gave me the go-ahead before I took a deep breath and prayed for the best. I couldn’t stop now.

The show must go on.

“Ivy,” my father said, gesturing to the front.

I looked up to where my fiancé stood next to the minister. Never in my life had I been so relieved to see Alexei Fairfax, to make eye contact with him and know he had my back. We were doing this together. A weight lifted off my chest and I sighed, keeping his stare as I walked forward. The knowing look in his gaze sent a shiver down my spine. For twenty-six years, we’d lived our lives together, all of it leading up to this.

Sure, this was pretend for tomorrow, but I imagined him standing in his tux with his hair done and that snarky twist to his lips. A flush went through me, headed straight down my body.

For years, I’d bucked against this marriage. I’d fought it and reviled it and begged to be released from it. But after all we’d been through together, after the last few weeks in particular, I found myself grateful to be meetinghimat the end of this aisle.

It wasn’t the life I would have chosen for myself. It wasn’t the most ideal circumstance. But if I couldn’t have what I wanted, then…well, to quote Lex, there were worse people I could marry.

Of course, now that I’d come to accept it, we were preparing to tear the whole thing apart.

“Hello, X.” Lex smiled when I finally reached him.

“Hello, Lucifer.”

“Who presents this woman for marriage?” the minister said.

“I do, on behalf of her family.” My father placed my hand in Lex’s before turning to take his seat next to my mother. The minister carried on with the practice run, but my eyes locked with Lex’s hazel counterparts, and for the first time in months, I let him inside my mind.

He sighed out a small laugh and shook his head, glancing down to the ground. “Careful. You almost look like you want to marry me.”

“Don’t get it twisted,”I said, raising an eyebrow.“I couldn’t stand the thought of being up here in front of all these people by myself. You know I do better with a co-star.”

He pulled his lips into the devil’s grin I once hated. Now, it wasn’t so bad.

“How’s the queen?”

He took a deep breath. “Still asleep. The guards said she didn’t wake up this morning, but she’s breathing. Any word from Carter?”

“I tried to call him. No answer.”

Lex sighed.

“And now a reading from the Book of Corinthians,” the minister said, gesturing to my younger brother, Henry.

He stood and cleared his throat, brushing the dark hair off his eyes. “Love is patient. Love is kind.”

“How about Poppy?”I asked Lex.

“No luck. She’s avoiding us.”

“Do you think she knows we have the queen?”

He shrugged. If she did, she could be plotting her own method of destroying us. Either that, or she’d already been taken by the king. If that was the case, I’d go for her. I’d throw myself at the mercy of Alberich to guarantee her safety.

“Do you have the rings?” The minister gave us both a smile before turning to Jon with his hand out.

Jon reached into his pocket to pull out the wedding rings my mother had chosen for us. Mine contained stones that once belonged to a great-grandmother Washington, and Lex’s had been inherited by his mother through the men on her side.

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