Before Beauty (27 page)

The morning of the coronation, Isa
snuck out of her new chambers, which had once belonged to King
Rodrigue. She’d discovered quickly that her new powers allowed her
to slip past people unseen if she so wished. Silently, she made her
way down to the rose garden. The last time she’d sat on the stone
bench had been when Ever had sat beside her, just eight days
before. The memory seemed like a different lifetime.

Everything he had told her about
the strength had begun to make sense to her. Although there was
certainly much he had hidden, Isa was beginning to understand the
cryptic words and strange riddles he had used when discussing his
elusive power.

When Launce had asked her about it
the day before, she had been able to tell him little. There just
weren’t words for what now bonded with her lifeblood and made her
heart beat.

She also understood why she hadn’t
been ready when Ever had asked her to marry him. She had been
trying so hard to be strong that she’d missed the point of the
strength completely. It hadn’t ever been hers to be begin with. The
Fortress’s power was too great to ever truly belong to a human. It
was something completely other. The moment Marko had whispered that
Ever was going to die, her heart had cried out. Without thinking,
she’d run to the Fortress, the presence that had become her
greatest comforter whenever she felt alone. Despite not being
physically at the Fortress, she had somehow known it would follow
her. And her cry had been answered. It was only the realization
that she had belonged all along which had opened her eyes, and it
seemed, her strength.

“
I took too long,” Isa said
without looking up as Garin sat down beside her. “I should have
known sooner that all I had to do was ask. I could have healed
him!”

“
Whether you knew or not wasn’t
the point.” For the first time in a week, Garin had shed his black
garments for those more fitting of a steward welcoming his new
queen. Not that Isa cared what he wore. “You might have made a
mistake, but it would not have mattered in the end. Our missteps
aren’t powerful enough to thwart the carefully laid plans of this
strange place. Ever had been searching for peace for a long time,
and this end was the only way he could find it.”

“
I wish that made it easier,” Isa
whispered.

Garin put a hand gently on her
shoulder. “Ever would want you to rejoice for his end. He gave all
that was left of him so you could have a life worth living. He
wanted you to find joy, Isabelle.” Garin looked up at the rising
sun and tried to give her a teasing smile. “Now, if you desire to
keep that life, I suggest we return you to the seamstress. She
might have both our heads if your gown isn’t perfect in time for
the ceremony.”

And before she knew it, Isa was
standing outside the massive throne room doors. She attempted to
stand as she had been instructed, chin high, shoulders back, taking
small steps when the horns sounded so as not to step on her flowing
white and blue dress. The pearls that dangled from her ears were
cold against her neck, reminders that this wasn’t a dream. She had
expected to feel jittery and afraid during this ceremony, but
oddly, she felt calm. This was where she was supposed to
be.

If only she had not been left to
do it by herself.

“
Presenting Her Majesty Elect,
Isabelle Marchand, Chosen of the Fortress!”

The throne room was brighter than
she had ever seen it, full of light and even more full of people.
The draperies and chandeliers glittered with hanging diamonds that
caught the light and threw it everywhere that the sun didn’t
directly reach. As she walked slowly down the red velvet aisle, the
people bowed, falling row by row. Isa didn’t understand the strange
look on their faces until she glanced down. As she walked,
spiraling blue flame swirled around her faster and faster. It made
her so dizzy, in fact, that she had to look away to keep from
stumbling.

Finally, Isa reached, the holy
man. He smiled kindly down at her, but she couldn’t bring herself
to smile back. In a low voice, he began to recite the ceremonial
ordinances before taking the ring from its pillow on the short
pedestal that stood between them. She had given it back the day
before so that it could be properly accepted in front of the
people. Garin said it was all for appearance’s sake though, since
her true coronation had taken place when Ever had placed the ring
on her finger.

The holy man began by asking the
people if they accepted her as their queen. The choral answer was
loud and sure. Though Isa struggled to pay full attention to the
holy man’s words, she had the charges memorized. He was now asking
her if she was willing to accept the life of sacrifice this ring
required of her.

“
I am willing.”

None of them would be sitting here
now if she wasn’t. How could the holy man or anyone else in the
crowd truly know about the sacrifice that had already taken place
for her to have this position?

“
Do you bond yourself forever to
the Fortress and what it demands of you, relinquishing your own
ambitions and designs?”

“
Yes.” Isa felt a tear slip down
her cheek. She was glad her back was to the crowd. Before the
priest could ask the next question, however, he was interrupted by
the sound of the enormous doors opening once more. When Isa turned
to see who had interrupted the ceremony, she nearly fell to her
knees.

A man stood in the doorway. His
posture was straight, and his bearing was regal.

Isa began to tremble.

The man’s hands were not
misshapen, nor was his face gaunt or pale. Strong limbs were
clothed in deep blue, but Isa could not bring herself to look at
them for long. She stood still, frozen by the fear that she had
truly lost her mind.

The crowd gasped as they
recognized him, and quickly fell into an uncomfortable silence,
looking back and forth between the ruler they had just accepted,
and the one that should have been.

Their discomfort was nothing to
Isa, however. All she cared about was working up the courage to
meet his eyes. And and when she did, she let out a cry of joy. Even
from across the great room, they burned a fierce blue. She couldn’t
pull her own eyes away from them as he began to stride down the
aisle. Before she knew what she was doing, she was sobbing, running
to meet him.

He caught her in his arms and held
her close. There were so many questions Isa had, but he allowed
none of them. Bending down, he took her face in his hands and
kissed her with a resolve that shot heat through her lips and all
the way down to her fingertips and toes, and she clung to him for
fear of collapsing on the floor in a heap.

Isa had never been so afraid in
her life. This must be a dream. And yet, when he finally released
her enough to look into her eyes once again, she didn’t wake up.
Her heart stumbled as she reached up to touch his face. The bridge
of his nose, the shape of his chin, even the angle of his jaw line
was completely familiar, and yet, he was a stranger to her. He, in
turn, seemed to be memorizing her features as well, a hungry look
in his eyes.

“
You Highness…Prince Everard…” the
holy man mumbled as he tried to take back control of the ceremony.
“I am sorry, but the people have already accepted…” At a loss for
words, he finally looked at Isa desperately. “Your Majesty! You are
now the rightful heir to the throne, and you alone. Unless, of
course, you choose to marry this man?” His anxiety in questioning
Ever’s claim to the throne was evident as he looked at the powerful
man who stood before him. The crowd leaned forward, both uneasy and
fascinated by the predicament. But Ever simply gave her a gentle
smile and touched her face with the back of his rough fingertips
before dropping to one knee.

“
I was going to ask you the same
question,” he whispered, his voice husky. “Will you marry me, Your
Majesty?”

Isa fought to answer with an even
voice. “With all my heart.”

With a smile that put the sun to
shame, Ever led her back to the front of the throne room, where
they finished the coronation vows side by side, just the way Isa
had mourned the loss of less than an hour before.

The rest of the wedding vows were
said along with the vows of coronation, something Isa was immensely
glad for, as she wished immediately to simply be alone in the quiet
of dusk with him once more. At least they wouldn’t have to have
another ceremony a well.

The servants scurried to turn the
coronation ceremony into a wedding celebration, with Gigi leading
the fuss all the way, but Isa couldn’t have cared less if they had
all worn sackcloths and feasted on bread and water. Her mind was
full of nothing but questions. How had he come back? Where had he
been all this time? How had he been healed? She didn’t get to ask
him, however, until it was time for the dance.

Isa’s heart leapt in her chest as
everyone watched her walk away from her family to meet Ever on the
crystal floor, just as the tradition demanded. Funny, she thought
as she went, that her captivity in the Fortress should teach her
the origins of the dance she had wanted so badly with Raoul. As
they met in the middle of the crystal floor of the balcony, she
curtsied.

“
My lord,” she murmured. “May my
life strength be bound to yours.”

“
My lady,” he took her hand and
kissed it softly. “Never will I let them part.”

As the familiar music began to
play, Isa realized that just how different this dance would be from
all the others. Tonight, Isa was wearing the silken slippers
without fear of going lame. She laughed as her groom swept her
across the floor in a dance that felt more like flying than
anything she had ever felt in her life. Glancing at the ground, she
gasped as blue flames rose around them, encircling them as they
moved. She looked up at Ever in wonder.

“
Blue is a lovely color on you, my
lady,” he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“
Why didn’t it do this before? All
those times we were dancing, and I never saw it at all!”

“
It was always there. You just had
to see that you were the one the Fortress had chosen.”

Suddenly, the Fortress wasn’t the
only one that wanted her, Isa sensed. That hungry look returned to
his eyes, and Isa couldn’t deny that she felt the same desire
rushing through her.

“
Can we go somewhere alone, just
for a few minutes?” she pleaded.

A mischievous, boyish look came to
Ever’s face. “With pleasure.”

A few minutes more and the dance
was over. The priest announced that the marriage ceremony was
complete, and the crowd stood to cheer for its new king and queen.
Isa knew she should be thrilled and thankful, but she suddenly
wanted nothing more than to simply be alone with her
husband.

True to his word, once they exited
the dance floor, dozens of other couples flooded it, and he led
them quietly down a dark set of stairs. A few minutes later, they
were seated in the rose garden.

Isa opened her mouth to begin
asking her questions, but before she could utter a word, his lips
were pressed firmly against hers. The evening spring air was still
chilly, but his strong hands, now ungloved, kept her warm as they
gently explored her face, then her neck. Her breathing hitched as
they found their way to her waist and the small of her back. She
could feel his desire as he drew her even closer. Isa fought to get
control of her thoughts, knowing that if she gave him just half a
minute more, her chance to ask would be gone for the rest of the
evening.

She had to push his shoulders back
with quite a bit of force before he realized she wanted to stop,
and she had to laugh a bit at his confused expression.

“
I just need to know…How are you
here?” she gazed at him in wonder, tracing the contour of his brow
with her finger. “You gave me all your strength. How did you
survive?” Suddenly, she felt ridiculously as if she might begin to
cry, although she wasn’t sure why.

Understanding lit his face as he
took her left hand. Before answering, he gently explored her wrist
where it had once been broken. “When I was little, I never wondered
at the wisdom this place exuded. It brought me peace, and that was
enough. As I grew, however, and followed in my father’s footsteps,
I forgot the truth I had known since I since birth. I deluded
myself into believing that the strength was mine, and that I was
responsible for it all. I failed to realize that such a
responsibility is a burden far too great for any man to bear.” His
face now solemn, he looked into Isa’s eyes, and for a moment, she
saw the sadness in them that had haunted him for so
long.

“
And you. What I did to you as a
boy was more than I knew how to endure. Garin told me that I could
be forgiven, but my father made it very clear that I was never to
go near you again. I could have done the right thing at any time,
but my pride was too great. I simply couldn’t stand to look at what
I had done, and as a result, you haunted both my dreams and my
waking moments. By the time you returned to me, I was so desperate
to hold on to my dwindling power that I was too much of a selfish
coward to give it up to you.” He paused and took a deep
breath.