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57
Three Days Later
The first day of spring broke with the clearest skies and a kaleidoscope of color falling over the trees in the valley surrounding Radence. Liliana burst into our room at the crack of dawn, shooing a very naked Ruslan out and throwing clothes at him as he protested her early arrival. I fell into giggles as they argued back and forth, Ruslan’s bulk in no way intimidating my best friend. Eventually he stormed out with a growl, leaving me and Liliana with the day to prepare for the wedding and coronation.
“I kept your dress hidden from those dumb males all this time,” Liliana squealed as she dragged in a white bag that I assumed held the dress I’d had made during Béke. “It will probably work out better that it’s warmer today than it would have been in the winter. Pretty sure you might have frozen in it.”
“Beauty is pain, is it not?” I quipped, opening the bag to reveal the beautiful gown and glittering gemstones that accompanied it.
“That’s right,” she laughed, flicking her long chocolate brown hair over her shoulder. “Will you braid my hair before we get started? Mine are never as good as yours.”
“Throw the bag on the bed and we’ll set up in the bathroom,” I said, slipping into a robe that wouldn’t mess up the intricate braids I planned on weaving into my waist-length locks.
The early morning light was perfect, and Liliana perched on a plush stool pulled from beneath the luxurious marble countertop. In the mirror, her eyes gleamed with excitement, nearly matching my own. Using my fingers to shake out her locks, I teased out several sections, securing them away from each other as I began to twist and braid. “Up or down?”
“Down if you’re planning on wearing yours up,” she replied, and I altered my course slightly so that her hair would tumble down her back.
Soon, small braids dotted her hair, mixing with the straight pieces, and others were woven into a single thick braid down the back, giving her a free spirit vibe that perfectly suited her. A knock sounded on the outer door, and I jogged through the suite to answer it. Cedomir, Roc Palace’s chef, stood there with a cart laden with food, and I opened the door wider to allow him entry.
“My Empress, you look stunning already. I am so pleased this day has finally arrived for you and Emperor Ruslan.” He smiled warmly, arranging the feast on the dining table. I snatched a bottle of bubbly wine and some glasses for Liliana and myself, since my friend was never one to turn it down, no matter the hour. Especially if there was a reason to celebrate, and today definitely deserved it. If there was one thing I had learned from her, it was that no victory was too small for cheers. That attitude was one I desperately needed after everything that had happened over the past year.
“Thank you, Cedomir. I hope to see you in the temple later.”
“It would be my honor to gain admittance, though I have a feeling those seats will be hard won.” With a bow, he swept from the room, and I returned to the bathroom to find Liliana spilling colorful creams and fluffy brushes all over the counter.
“Oh! You brought wine,” she said, leaving her mess and snatching the bottle from me. In true Liliana fashion, she popped the cork, making me both jump and laugh because I knew it was coming and still startled. I held out the glasses to her, and she poured enough wine in both to fill them to the brim.
“To finally marrying my mate and becoming empress,” I toasted, a giddy feeling bubbling in my chest. I hadn’t even tasted the wine yet and I was already drunk on pure, unbridled joy.
“Took you two long enough. I thought with the list of requirements stacking up, it would never happen,” Liliana teased, clinking her glass with mine.
I smiled around the chilled liquid that ghosted over my tongue, leaving tingles in its wake. If there was even the slightest wisp of a thought that I didn’t deserve this happiness, it was banished as the wine loosened me.
Ruslan and I would be wed, and I would be crowned empress.
“And then I will fuck you senseless all night, mate.”Ruslan’s voice echoed in my mind, causing my smile to widen and my heart to flutter with excitement. I hadn’t realized I’d sent those thoughts wide enough for him to hear, though I suppose there was really no secrecy when we were constantly in each other’s heads.
“My dress is really so pretty. It would be a shame to destroy it.”
“I don’t give a fuck. It will be in the way of me ravishing you.”
“You guys are talking down the bond again aren’t you?” Liliana sighed wistfully.
Sheepishly, I sipped from my drink and nodded. “Being mated is the best.”
“You two disgust me with how sweet you are. But also he literally kills people for hurting you and doesn’t lose sleep over it. So I’m pretty sure he’s crazy,” she pronounced, cocking her head in a teasing way.
“I wouldn’t want him any other way,” I laughed. I thought he was insane in our first conversations, but then, I discovered that underneath his ruthless, crazed exterior was a male as desperate to be loved as I was, who would shoulder responsibility that was not his own simply because he cared for me. Guilt still clung to him over his lack of awareness of my circumstances, and he hadn’t forgiven himself for being unable to stop the harm befalling me. Fucking him while we were covered in blood, then accepting the mating bond after, was perfectly on track for us. Not to mention all the sex we’d had over the last week and a half while we relived our battles in our joined minds.
We were light and dark, but when we came together, we were the most brilliant shade of gray, like the moment just before breaking dawn where the stars still lived and the first rays of sun flitted through the sky. Ruslan understood me, empowered me, and allowed me to explore all the sides of me I never got to discover while I was chained. And yet he was ruthlessly protective of me in a way that made my toes curl and my core throb. No one laid a harmful hand on me and lived. He was my dark God, my fierce Dragon, the male who lived in the darkness and laughed in its face when it tried to consume him.
Together we were invincible, and in a few hours, we’d be joined in every way possible.
While Liliana painted her face, making her already feminine features even more striking, I plaited my hair, ensuring it was offmy neck to accommodate the jewels I would wear, then pulled a few strands loose around my face. Finally I fluffed up the thick braids until I looked ethereal in the mirror. Scanning my face from side to side until I was satisfied, I adjusted pieces here and there until my heart-shaped face was framed perfectly by the loose tendrils.
“How does it look?” I asked Liliana, who was in the process of swiping a thick coating of black across her already dark lashes.
“Absolutely perfect.” Her eyes glittered as they roamed over my hair. “Okay, let me at your face.”
