Hyacinth (26 page)

“Hugh thinks
your unconscious little friend might be waking up.”

“Oh, well,
that’s good news.”

Lila stood aside
and let Selene precede her into the room. The girl still slept, tubes and contraptions
attached to her. Hugh stood beside the bed. His hands were extended out over
the girl’s prone form, lights glowing from his palms. He glanced up.

“How’s it look?”
Selene asked him.

“She seems to
have at least come out of that stasis, or hibernation, or whatever it was.
She’s still in a coma. But I think she might be close to waking.”

“When?”

Hugh shrugged.
“Days. Weeks. Months even. It’s hard to tell.”

Selene reached
out and gave the girl’s hand a squeeze. She wondered if yet another mystery would
ever be solved. She patted Hugh on the shoulder.

“Thank you. Keep
doing what you can for her.”

Hugh nodded and
continued his work. Selene and Lila headed out.

“Let’s go find
Ellie,” Selene suggested. “I could use some wedding planning time after the day
I’ve had.”

Lila grinned.
“Now you’re talking.”

Two weeks later,
Selene stood outside the castle’s chapel doors. She listened to the ancient
bells chime, calling the congregants to assemble. She smiled at her friends.
Lila and Adelaide stood beside her, also dressed in violet blue gowns designed
to mimic the style of the bride’s, only without the train. The color of their
dresses had been chosen specifically for the way it mirrored the bride’s
stunning eyes. The three girls carried bouquets of pure white flowers decorated
with sparkling crystals.

Ellie stood next
to them in her wedding dress that Lucy had sewn for her, a replica of the party
dress Audrey Hepburn had worn in the film Sabrina. Diamond white, it was a
strapless satin sheath decorated in velvet embroidery in an elegant, flowery
design. It hugged her body and accentuated her delicate curves. The dress was
pure Ellie. It was complemented by her bouquet of a tumbling mass of deep blue
and purple flowers.

Radiant
happiness glowed from her as though she were lit from within. The sun itself
couldn’t compete with the stunning young bride today.

The organ music started
to play inside.

“Ready?” Selene
asked Ellie. A smile of pure joy lit Ellie’s face.

“Absolutely.”
She leaned forward and kissed Selene’s cheek and then did the same to Lila and
Adelaide.

The girls lined
up in front of the door. Griffin moved to stand beside his sister, offering her
his arm. One of the servants opened the heavy doors, and Adelaide and Lila went
first. Then it was Selene’s turn to slowly, gracefully walk the long aisle that
led to the front of the church. She’d been so touched when Ellie had asked her
to be her maid of honor that she’d actually cried.

As she walked
down the aisle, Selene looked at the faces in the crowd and was pleased by how
far her people had come in such a short time. Vyusher stood peacefully side-by-side
with
Svatura
, as well as with their new Louisiana allies and friends. Out
there, somewhere, Maddox continued to be a threat, but today was a day to
celebrate.

Desmond gave her
a wink as she passed, and she held back a small grin. He really was
incorrigible. Selene reached the front of the church and sent a sweet smile to
Alex, who stood next to Nate and Ramsey.

Now it was
Ellie’s turn.

But rather than
watching the bride, Selene watched Alex. As soon as the first strains of the
bridal march started playing, he took a deep breath and his face lit up as he
saw his bride for the first time. Tears blurred Selene’s vision at the look he
gave his
te’sorthene
… love, devotion, adoration, partnership, respect,
wonder… She’d never seen a man look at a woman like that before. As if she were
perfect. As if she were the center of his entire world.

Selene moved her
gaze to Ellie, who was gliding down the aisle on Griffin’s arm, and saw the
same look on her face reflected back at Alex.

Selene kept her focus
fixed on Alex and Ellie throughout the service, never once giving in to the
almost overwhelming temptation to glance at Griffin, no matter how handsome he
looked as he stood across from her. She had declared her love to him, but in
the weeks following the battles, he still had not said one word to her about
it. She’d often caught his gaze on her. But he didn’t approach her.

So Selene kept
her eyes on Ellie.

Oren performed
the ceremony, and it was beautiful in its simplicity. Ellie and Alex both said
their vows in clear, confident voices, their eyes never wavering from the
other. Many guests wept silent tears of joy when the groom escorted the bride
back down the aisle.

The reception
was held in the Great Hall, which blazed with thousands of bright, white
candles and was covered with flowers of white, purple, and blue. Wine flowed,
music played, and laughter filled the air as all celebrated the union. In honor
of Ellie’s gypsy heritage, the bride and groom exchanged and ate salted bread,
representing taking each other into themselves. To honor Alex’s history, they
also incorporated a beautiful Cajun tradition of a wedding march.

The dance floor
was cleared. Alex offered Ellie his arm. “Ready, Wife?”

Ellie grinned at
her
te’sorthene
. “Lead away, Husband.”

Alex and Ellie
held hands and walked slowly around the room while the band played a special
song just for the occasion. After a few laps, Griffin approached Selene.

“May I?” He
offered her a hand.

Selene merely
nodded, placing her hand lightly in his and praying it wasn’t too sweaty. They
joined Ellie and Alex in the dance. Gradually, everyone else in the room
partnered off and joined in, following the bride and groom around the room
until the song ended.

After it was
over, the floor cleared again, and Griffin led Selene to where Adelaide and
Nate were standing. And then, without a word, he disappeared into the crowd.
Selene’s shoulders stiffened, but otherwise she kept a smile on her face and
watched as Alex led Ellie through a floating waltz across the floor.
Afterwards, the dance floor was opened to everyone, the band alternating
between lively tunes and sweet love songs, keeping the party going most of the
night.

Several hours into
it, Selene was exhausted. She was so happy for Ellie and Alex, but her broken
heart threatened to swallow her in a haze of misery. She plastered a smile on
her face and kept it there through sheer force of will. Aware of her duties as
the maid of honor, Selene stayed close to Ellie all night, making sure the
bride’s needs were all taken care of. She really didn’t pay all that much
attention to anyone or anything else. Consequently, she was slightly surprised
when a strong male hand wrapped gently around her arm and tugged her out of the
room via a side door. Desmond led her to the conservatory, which sparkled with
strung-up twinkle lights.

“Desmond? What’s
this about?” she asked as he turned to face her.

He shook his
head. “When will you call me Dez, I wonder?” She said nothing, so he continued.
“I wanted to talk to you alone. Tonight felt like the best night to ask you
something. Fitting somehow.” He flashed his charming smile and confidence shone
from his eyes.

“What are you
doing?” Selene whispered to him, as he took her left hand in his and knelt to
one knee before her. She gasped and covered her mouth in shock as she realized
what was happening.

“Selene, my Queen
and my friend…. A union of our two powerful families would unite the Vyusher
people in such a way as to bring prosperity for centuries to come. I know in my
heart that love would follow in time for both of us if you gave this union a
chance. Would you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?”

Selene looked
deep into his sea-green eyes and saw his sincerity. Despite how her heart
protested against anyone who wasn’t Griffin, a future with Dez flashed though
her mind… a future of happiness, for he did make her smile and laugh at times…
a future of grace and peace, for he was one of the finest and most honorable
men she knew… a future of prosperity for herself and for her people, for the
Vyusher would, indeed, band together behind them.

Selene lowered a
shaky hand from her lips. Just as she was about to speak, a heart-wrenching cry
sounded from the back of the room.

“NO!”

Griffin rushed
toward Selene. He fixed his intense gaze on her. “You can’t marry him,” he
insisted in a low undertone.

“Why not?” Selene
demanded.

Dez rose to his
feet and moved behind her. “Maybe I should leave,” he murmured.

Selene glanced
over her shoulder. “Dez, wait—”

He stepped
forward and placed a hand on her cheek and gave her a lopsided smile. “Now she
calls me Dez.” He paused. “He wasn’t claiming you. Not until this moment.” He
glanced over her shoulder at Griffin, giving him a hard look. Dez leaned forward
and whispered, “I won’t come between
te’sorthene
. Not when there’s a
chance for you. Be happy.”

He kissed her
cheek and turned to walk away, only to pause and glance back. “As your friend,
I should warn you…. The Council will never accept him. And likely neither will
the Vyusher.”

“I know,” she
said quietly.

Dez stared at
her solemnly for a second and then nodded at Griffin.

“Gunther,” he
acknowledged. With a curt grin, he walked out of the room.

Slowly, Selene
turned back to Griffin. “You just stopped something that could’ve been
beneficial for my people… and for me. Why? Why can’t I marry him?” She poked
him in the middle of the chest.

Griffin’s mouth
tightened and he just looked at her, a battle still raging in his eyes. She
placed her hand over his heart.

“Please. Tell me,”
she whispered.

Griffin covered
her hand with this own, and she felt the thundering of his heart beneath her
fingers. “You can’t marry him… because you are my bonded heart, my
te’sorthene
.”

Selene’s eyes
narrowed. “But I told you I loved you weeks ago. And you’ve said nothing since
then. You walked away from me.
Again.
” She turned away so he wouldn’t
see the small tear slide down her cheek.

“I was waiting
for the right moment to talk to you,” he whispered. “Somehow, with all this going
on, there never seemed to be a good time.” He placed his hands on her shoulders
and pulled her back so that he could look her in her eyes. “I could never walk
away from you.”

She shook her
head. “But you did. You –”

He put a single
finger to her lips, halting her speech. “I thought that you needed the time and
space to deal with your people and establish this peace.”

Selene stood
silently for so long that Griffin gave her a little shake. “Please say
something,” he pleaded.

It was the look
of uncharacteristic vulnerability in his eyes that broke Selene’s silence,
while at the same time healing the gaping hole in her heart.

“So you believe
me? About all the stuff that happened before?” her voice wobbled.

Griffin understood
the cryptic question. He tenderly wiped a tear from her cheek. “I knew that
none of that was your fault the day we killed your brother. I just wouldn’t
admit it to myself. You were tied too closely to the worst moment of my life,
and I wouldn’t let myself get past that. Forgive me?”

“Do you forgive
me?”

Griffin rested
his forehead against hers and looked deeply into her eyes. “I know there’s
nothing to forgive. How about we start over?”

Selene gave him
the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. “If we started over, we wouldn’t know each
other at all.” She touched his mouth with her fingertips. “And I wouldn’t know
how these lips feel against mine.”

“Hmmm … I guess
I would be sad to forget that. So – not starting over?”

Selene shook her
head. “Just… moving forward.”

“I like that.
But only if it’s together.”

“Together…”
Selene rolled the word around in her mouth, testing it out. She had been so
alone for so long that
together
had become a strange concept to her.

Griffin captured
her chin between his thumb and fingers. “I won’t ever leave you again. I
promise you.”

Selene could
sense the strength of his intent, his conviction, and felt some small part of
her give way. Not a dam bursting inside her. More like a chunk of ice falling
away from the glacier she’d buried her heart in so long ago.

“You’ll have to
teach me how to trust.” She looked up at him with such faith in her eyes that
Griffin pulled her into a tight embrace.

“You humble me,”
he murmured gruffly into her hair. “Despite everything that has been done to
you in your life, the fact that you can still look at me and ask that of me…”