Page 66 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
She was doing this. She was really doing this. The one thing she said she would never do: care too much.
“Where’s Ivy?” Tyghan shouted when he reached the top of the grand staircase and got his first glimpse of Sun Court and the plazas around it. “What is all this?”
Quin whistled, his hand skimming the back of his freshly shaved head. “Looks like more than fifteen minutes to me.”
Sun Court was filled withchairs. Guests were already filling them.
“And get an eyeful of Jasper Court,” Dalagorn said, pointing in the other direction.
Their normally dark tucked-away court was now bright with silky ribbons and puffy purple flowers.
Tyghan shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ivy!” he yelled.
She promptly appeared, her wings beating with happiness. “Like it?” she asked. “Just what you ordered.”
“I said a specialthing or two.”
“That’s what this is. And food and drink. The celebration you asked for.”
“A celebration? This is a fucking coronation! I have meetings this afternoon—”
“No you don’t. I moved them for you. I knew that—”
“Youwhat?” It was one week until the Choosing Ceremony! He was about to throttle Ivy, or send her to the infirmary because she had certainly gone mad. “I told you—”
“Tyghan!”
He turned. It was Melizan, her eyes glassy, as she descended on them, half running, her blue gown billowing behind her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said. And then she hugged him. Or gripped him like she was about to fall off a ledge. He wasn’t sure. She spoke into his ear so the others couldn’t hear. “I didn’t expect this of you, brother. I didn’t even know how much it meant to me until I saw it. Ivy told me it was all your idea. Coming from you, this means everything. Thank you. Cosette and I will never forget it.” He looked at Ivy over Melizan’s shoulder, and she smiled.
Melizan stepped back. “I do have to warn you about one thing, though. There will be merkind at the ritual. A lot of them.”
Tyghan stood behind the short, draped pedestal that held the binding ribbon. A large part of him still fumed, but Melizan’s joy, and Ivy’s knowing smile, managed to keep his tongue in check. He tried to remind himself this was the break and celebration everyone needed, especially after yesterday.
His sister anxiously watched the grand staircase for Cosette. She was late. “Do you think she’s changed her mind?” Melizan whispered.
“She’ll be here,” he said, not to reassure her but because he knew Cosette was fully committed to Melizan. She had been proving that for months—it just took Tyghan a while to catch on.
His gaze jumped to the guests sitting in the front row.That, he still couldn’t quite accept. Their hair dripped with water from the river, and their damp clothes clung to their skin. Merkind. Since he had time to kill, he counted them.Fourteen. All one cousin away from being Fomorian. But Bristol’s words tempered him.There is only so much one person can control.
Sitting just behind them was Cael, today glamoured as elven, sleek red hair falling to his waist. He insisted on coming to witness his sister’s binding ritual, and Tyghan could hardly deny him that, so he consented, but that was before he knew the wedding would be turned into a spectacle. And, of course, lords, ladies, and council members were there too, still skittish about any violation of protocol. What could possibly go wrong? And then he noted the monarchs of Bleakwood and Silverwing being escorted to seats. He was about to throw his hands up in the air. As long as they were here for meetings, why not?Ivy. He hoped there were no more surprises. He searched for Bristol but hadn’t spotted her among the guests yet.Always the last to arrive, he thought.
Melizan gasped and Tyghan followed her gaze. Cosette stood at the top of the grand staircase, wearing a sleek pale pink gown that hugged her curves. Her emerald hair, which was usually tied back for her duties as a knight, flowed down her shoulders past her waist and was woven with pink flowers that matched her gown. A murmur rolled through the court. She was breathtaking. But then Tyghan flinched.Gods, she was trailed by still more merkind, like they were some kind of marriage committee following her down the stairs. He forced a smile so he wouldn’t groan.
Eris stood with Dahlia at the perimeter of Sun Court, witnessing the proceedings. He noted the fully outfitted knights with swords on their backs flooding the surrounding courts and overlooks, ready for battle, but more likely, ready to valiantly protect this celebration. Melizan was one of their own, as was Cosette. Fomoria would not steal this moment.
The décor and trimmings were excessive, as was the attendance, but Tyghan never missed a beat, rising to the occasion for his sister. When the binding began, he wound the ribbon around the couple’s hands as he recited the words that Eris had given him. Words he had written so long ago, for Tyghan’s parents.
“. . . and there is no greater gift that one can give to another than the gift of their heart, their love, their commitment, their promise to always be there for the other, to bring comfort to one another in the hardest of times, to understand the value of silence, but also, the grasping of hands and dancing in gardens when your partner needs to be lifted.”
Tyghan slowed with each word, and his gaze finally rose to meet Eris’s.Dancing in gardens?
Eris looked away. Had he really said those things back then? Had he been so blatantly transparent? Apparently so. He sighed. He should have at least changed the words for Tyghan.
“It’s all right,” Dahlia whispered.
