Page 92 of Death Dance

“You are truly the best wife a man could even dream of.”

“Honestly, in your shoes, I’d be more worried about having to deal with three of me at the same time.”

“I’ll admit, I’m a little worried about if I’m man enough to handle that, but I figure I’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride. One of you is a marvel. Three of you? Well, just try to leave the world mostly intact.”

“I’ll try, but no promises.”

When I had agreed to marry Emerick, making use of lax preternatural laws to legally make him mine, part of me had assumed the ceremony would fail to manifest. In the early days, I’d been uncertain, but with each passing week into our marriage, we’d both settled into our new lives together, claiming happiness at every opportunity.

Even before understanding the truth about my childhood, we’d made the choice to defy circumstance and create our happily ever after together.

Change had come, sweeping in its scope, and unraveled the illusions of my youth all so I could chase after dreams I’d once believed far out of reach. Rather than the sleek evening dress I’d worn to lay siege on my father’s ivory tower, I’d gotten a ridiculously elaborate wedding gown, one with a train requiring several people to manage lest I fall on my face.

The mistresses of five brides broods handled the work, and they’d also claimed spots as my handmaidens for the ceremony alongside Breanna and Salania. I’d accepted it, understanding the why of their determination to play such a role in the ceremony.

Because of our actions, because of my very life, they had hope for the future. The news of our twin girls had only elevated me in their eyes.

Our unborn represented far more than our family growing.

They were a promise of better days for vampires.

Our women would still struggle to have children, and there would be nothing accidental about having them, but much of the darkness and uncertainty would be held at bay. Difficult decisions would still need to be made, but they would be made with the knowledge babies who rose into their second life could grow and have childhoods filled with wonder, love, and light—even sunlight.

With luck, our little girls would grow as humans predisposed for vampirism, choosing to become vampires. And if they were born vampires, we would do what was necessary in the kindest ways possible.

While we waited for the music to play so we could make the journey across the ship’s largest ballroom, the space best able to hold the number of bodies crammed into it, my father patted my hand. “Remember, unlike human wedding ceremonies, Clarke will be handing him off to you the same way I am handing you off to him. The hissing and posturing is our pleasure, so try to mask your annoyance over it. It is expected.”

During the one rehearsal I had allowed, as we had needed the practice to deal with the train from hell and the many layers of my bejeweled dress, Emerick and I had attempted to scold the men for their posturing while the mistresses of the broods had laughed at our reaction.

“This is the dress with the fake gems, right?” I asked in a whisper.

My father refused to answer me, nor did he look me in the eyes.

I sighed. “I promised Emerick he could destroy this one, Dad.”

“He can still destroy it, just don’t lose the gemstones. I’ll make certain the cleaning staff knows to search the floors for rogue jewels when you emerge from your statehouse. Ideally, you will remove the train properly, and if you acquire his help, you can remove the upper layer of silk, which is where all the jewels are secured. Everything underneath we have numerous copies of. It’ll take five minutes, and you can delight in your husband’s impatience.”

“I can handle that much. It’s one layer of silk. We can handle one layer of silk.”

Judging from the giggles behind me, we would have many difficulties handling said layer of silk.

The music spared me from having to defend what remained of my dignity, and I took care with my steps, as the five women behind me needed to make certain my train, using fishing line attached to fancy walking sticks, all painted to be white and also bejeweled, did what they wanted rather than attempt to make a grand escape.

The one practice session paid off, and we made it to the front of the ballroom without me disgracing myself. My father offered my hands to Emerick, and Clarke did the same with him, and only when we stood with our hands clasped together did the pair of ancient vampires settle into posturing, hissing, and making it clear the other would pay if either one of us brought any harm to the other.

Vampires were truly remarkable yet ridiculous creatures.

Once they finished, my father stood to the side with both Clarke and my mother, as I’d protested heartily over the thought of my father being alone for the ceremony—and I liked the idea of my parents not bickering and showing some solidarity despite my mother’s position as Clarke’s new wife.

Like us, the pair had opted for civil forms being filed, and in time, they would have a ceremony as well, although it would be in a few years.

Clarke wanted every bell and whistle while Emerick and I had gone with the flow, making certain Edgar could carry the rings while the younger children of the brood and Robert’s twins threw flowers with wild abandon.

As I appreciated children being children, I’d refused to subject them to a rehearsal, resulting in a great deal of bouncing, flowers flung every which way, and only Edgar having any idea what he was supposed to be doing as Edgar lived for ceremonies. If I had my way, Edgar would be able to fill the role of ring bearer in the brood until he no longer wanted to or he was the one slated to be the groom.

The gathered crowd of vampires and preternaturals, along with their more mundane counterparts and our friends who hadn’t been blessed or cursed with some form of power, laughed at the chaos. I smiled and gave Emerick’s hands a squeeze. “They’re adorable.”

“They really are. Just wait for our renewals in a hundred years and think about these same kids, no longer kids, doing the same shit and hamming it up as much as they can. That’s how most vow renewals work out. Whenever possible, they use the same people. And when they can’t, new kids are tossed into the fray, often the children of those pretending they’re closer to their shoe size rather than their actual age.”