by Sarah Noffke
He glanced at her jeans and t-shirt. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I’ll summon my clothes,” she explained.
“I’ll be at the wedding in spirit,” he stated, remorse in his voice.
Sophia’s mouth fell open. “You’re not going to be there? But it’s Liv.”
He nodded. “You and I both know that I would be there, but being present around that many people? It’s not my thing.”
“Will it rob you of magic?” she questioned.
“Only if they witness me do magic,” he answered, not telling her anything she didn’t already know about him.
“Will it hurt you?”
“Liv understands,” Plato said with conviction. “I prefer not to be seen by most. It’s the way of the lynx.”
“It’s also the way of the lynx to live alone and not be helpful, yet you’ve abandoned those ways.” She indicated the house where she suspected her sister was getting ready. “You did it for her. Maybe you’ll show up for her.”
He shook his head. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”
Sophia swallowed, feeling sorry for her sister, who had the most stubborn sidekick in the world.
“I just wanted to stop you for a moment to ask…” Plato’s voice trailed away as he looked her over.
Sophia knew what he was wondering, but she was so mad at him she had to pull her gaze away. “I found it. No thanks to your lack of clues.”
“I told you to look,” he argued.
She sighed, trying to breathe through the anger. Sophia reasoned she was just protective. “Yeah, I have the necklace, and if you let me go, I’ll give it to my sister.”
He nodded, his face remorseful.
Still so mad she could hardly handle it, Sophia set off for the porch. She instantly felt bad and turned back around to thank the lynx for telling her to look for their mother’s necklace, but it was too late.
Plato, as he tended to do, had disappeared.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Paper rings sat on the dresser when Sophia entered the room where Liv was supposed to be getting ready. She eyed them with curiosity before her sister turned to face her.
“You’re not ready,” Liv remarked, looking her sister over.
She smirked. “Give me a second and I will be. I wanted to stop by and help you first, but it doesn’t appear you need it.”
Liv was wearing black leather pants, a white satin top with a little bit of lace, and, as promised, her knee-high boots. Her long blonde hair hung in ringlets, and her makeup was perfectly tasteful.
“You look beautiful,” Sophia said, admiring how her sister could take someone’s breath away both with her looks and her right hook if she wanted to.
Liv shrugged. “I’m comfortable, and if I get a call for a mission, I’m ready.”
Sophia laughed. “It’s your wedding day. I hope you have it off.”
Her sister gave her a sneaky grin. “I sort of hope not.”
Worry constricted Sophia’s throat for a moment. “Wait, are you having second thoughts? Do you not want to marry Stefan? Because you don’t have to.”
Liv’s laughter was pure. “Of course I want to. I don’t have a single nervous feeling in my whole body.” She nodded to the paper rings on the dresser. “I’d marry that man with paper rings.”
Sophia laughed. “I never took you two as Taylor Swift fans.”
“Don’t be so judgmental,” she teased. “Those were an anniversary present from Stefan, but I think we have real ones for the ceremony.”
“You think?” Sophia questioned, suddenly nervous again.
Waving her off, Liv said, “Stop freaking out. Everything is fine. Rory is forging the rings.”
“I thought you didn’t want a wedding band?” Sophia argued.
Liv shrugged. “I’ll wear it on a chain around my neck.”
“Wedding bands forged by a giant.” Sophia shook her head. “This might be the wedding of the century.”
Liv’s eyes widened with delight. “Oh, just you wait. I think it might be the wedding of the millennium. Wait until you see the wedding party.”
Sophia could only imagine who the greatest Warrior for the House of Fourteen had at her wedding. It suddenly made Sophia, the maid of honor, feel very small. That was fine. She didn’t want the spotlight. All she wanted was for her sister to finally want it since she usually saved the day and then disappeared in the shadows before she could be given credit.
“So, if you’re not nervous about the wedding or getting married, why are you okay with getting called away on a mission today of all days?” Sophia questioned.
Liv gave her a knowing smile. “When you love what you do and you do it with the one you love, you never work a day in your life. That’s always been the dream, I think.”
Sophia wanted to cry but stopped herself. Today would be full of many happy tears, but they should wait until later. “Just like you told me about Mom and Dad. They loved each other more than anything, and they loved their roles for the House of Fourteen.”
Liv nodded. “Many times, Mom would say a loving relationship works because there is no work.”
There it was. As strong as Liv was trying to be, an expression of hurt and regret crossed her face. Only briefly, but it was enough that Sophia spied it.
“Hey,” she began, looking her outfit over, “you look beautiful, but you already know that.”
Liv shrugged, pushing away the building tears.
“I think you’re missing something, though,” Sophia said, pretending to look her sister over as if trying to decide what she needed.
“Like a sword?” Liv asked. She threw up her hand. “I told Stefan we should have weapons, but he was adamant we should have everyone check them at the door.”
Sophia laughed. “No, I was thinking about something more traditional. The blouse you’re wearing; is it new?”
“And the pants and boots,” Liv said in a bragging voice. “I went all-out.”
Sophia giggled again. “So, you need something blue and something old.”
Waving her off, Liv shook her head. “Not that superstition. I don’t have time to round something like that up.”
Sophia reached into her pocket and retrieved their mother’s necklace, which still had her note attached to it. “Thankfully for you, you don’t have to. Your friend Plato helped me find this in our old residence. I know it’s not Father’s ring for Stefan, but one made by Rory is better, I think. Yours will match.” Then she held up the necklace filled with sapphires, and it caught the light, twinkling. “This was our mother’s, and I know she wanted for you to have it on this day.”
A gasp fell out of Liv’s mouth as her shaking hands reached for the necklace. She ran her fingers over the gems before turning over the note attached to the chain.
“For my daughters on their wedding days,” Liv read the note, tears streaming down her cheeks. They made her eyes look like glowing sapphires in a pool of light.
She pulled the necklace to her and then her sister, wrapping Sophia in her arms and pressing her tightly. “Thank you, Soph. This means the world to me.”
She hugged Liv back fiercely, glad she returned to her life not that long ago and so grateful she was here to watch her get married. “There would be no world if it wasn’t for you. So anything for you. But also…” Sophia peeled back a bit, looking at her sister. “Anything for you, just because you’re my sister. Familia est sempiternum.”
Chapter Seventy
Starlight streamed through the trees in Rory’s backyard. Sophia had spent a lot of time in that space since it was where Lunis had been while in his egg. It was unrecognizable for the night wedding.
It seemed fitting that two Warriors for the House of Fourteen would get married at night. Liv had joked it was because there would be many vampires, werewolves, and recovered demons in attendance. Sophia secretly didn’t think she was joking. Liv had also warned her not to ask any of the party guests what they did professionally u
nless she wanted to hear things she couldn’t unhear.
The large oak trees sparkled with hundreds of lights that were really fairies buzzing around. Bermuda Laurens could also be found buzzing around the garden, telling gnomes to take their places as statues or instructing centaurs they needed to hold the ice statues straighter. Sophia had gone to Rudolf’s wedding, which had been the most spectacular thing she’d ever seen—until that moment.
King Rudolf’s wedding had been epic, with thousands of guests and the finest quality everything. Even so, this somewhat understated garden wedding was the most incredible sight to Sophia. It just went to show that less was more. Simple was perfect when seen in the right light. For as beautiful as the decorations were in the mostly empty backyard, Sophia knew it would be the people who soon filled it that made it more elegant than anything she’d ever seen.
“Simply perfect,” a voice said at Sophia’s back.
She turned, knowing she’d find Wilder standing behind her on the portico. She’d sensed him approaching, like she always did.
Sophia expected to find him staring at the garlands of orchids draped between the chairs for the small audience or the arbor made for the event. Instead, his eyes were on her.
Nervously, she glanced down the satin blue dress done to match her eyes—Liv’s eyes. Their mother’s. Their father’s. Every Beaufont’s. Her hair was done up in a simple twist and from her ears hung soft pearls. She smiled at the man wearing a tasteful suit and an irresistible smile.
“You made it,” she said, but there was a question in her voice. They’d both known his mission might take longer and he wouldn’t be back in time.
He closed the distance between them, his hand finding hers. His other caressed her bare back. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It’s important to you.”
Sophia laid her head on his shoulder, realizing she hadn’t relaxed until that moment. There was something about Wilder that put her at ease and told her she could restwhile he looked after the world. That’s what good couples did for each other. It was what Liv and Stefan did for one another. They watched each other’s backs and took care of one another.
She pulled away. “Your mission? You are done and made it back in time?”
He gave her a sideways smile. “I told the council of elves that if they didn’t figure out their two-hundred-year-old squabble in the next twenty minutes, I was cutting off their supply of soy products.”
Sophia laughed. “Oh, you know how to put those hippies in check.”
“Well, there’s something to be said for having plans,” he agreed. “I think I could have been refereeing that mess for another two hundred years, but leave it to you to give me the proper motivation to end things swiftly.”
Sophia ran her hand down his suit jacket, appreciating how polished he looked. “You clean up well.”
“Why, thank you,” he said, holding her hand but taking a step back, looking her up and down. “I really only hoped to look good enough to be by your side.”
She yanked him back. “I think you look more than good enough. You look like you belong by my side.”
Wilder brought her hand up and kissed it softly, magnetism in his eyes. “Then you’ll find me there for a very, very long time.”
Chapter Seventy-One
The best day of anyone’s life is supposed to be their wedding. As Sophia stood inside Rory’s kitchen, she didn’t know why Liv’s wedding wasn’t going to be everyone’s best day.
Maddy, Rory’s girlfriend, was smiling broadly as she admired her man wearing a tuxedo, something the giant never did.
“You look more handsome than I thought possible,” the blonde giantess said, giggling as she pushed back a rogue curl that had broken out of the gel, which was never going to be strong enough to subdue his locks.
Bermuda’s eyes slid to the couple like she was about to say something disapproving. However, she glanced at Liv and smiled. “Dear, you…”
Liv looked up, as though waiting for the insult. “Yeah, I need to brush my hair, don’t I?”
Bermuda shook her head. “You are missing something, though.”
Letting out a sigh, Liv said, “What’s that? A dress? Manners?”
“No,” the giantess disagreed, producing a bouquet of stargazer lilies. “Every bride should carry flowers, even if you don’t toss them. Throw daggers if you like. I just want you to have the best day.”
“Thanks,” Liv said, restraining her emotions.
Bermuda nodded, stifling hers as well. “Well, I’ll take my place. The rest of you, I suspect you know yours.”
“I’ll show them,” Mama Jamba offered, holding a basket of flower petals. She’d elected herself to be the flower girl, and how could Liv object? The old woman was wearing a dress for once, like she was dressed in her Sunday best.
“I think we’re about ready,” Clark said, poking his head through the screen door as Bermuda slipped into her seat, obstructing the view of many gnomes seated behind her. It was by design since they’d been real jerks to Liv recently but demanded they be at the wedding.
Sophia had worried Clark would feel left out since Rudolf was walking Liv down the aisle, but Stefan had asked him to be his best man, so everyone had a place.
“We’re ready,” Liv said, sounding like the most excited bride in the world.
She turned and faced Rory and Maddy, who would go down the aisle first. “Thanks for letting me use your place for this.”
The giant shook his head, always conservative with his emotions. “It’s fine, Liv. Not a big deal.”
“Well, it’s a big deal to me,” she disagreed. “More than that, it’s a big deal that you were a friend even when I wasn’t popular.”
He laughed. “You’re still not popular. Just ask the gnomes.”
She laughed too. “Yeah, but you were my friend when your race turned on me. You’ve always been my friend, even when giving me scolding looks and pretending you didn’t like my jokes.”
“I don’t like your jokes,” he fired back, but under the surface, there was a smile.
Liv nodded, and Rory and Maddy set off as the music began, played by a band that was Liv’s favorite—Moldy Oranges.
The bride turned her attention to Sophia and John. “The two people who saved my life and never even knew it,” Liv began, tears making her voice sound different.
Sophia stiffened, not having expected the tender moment and never wanting to forget it.
“John,” Liv began, looking at the owner of the electronics repair store with great fondness. “If it wasn’t for you, I would not have survived the mortal world after my parents’ death.” She looked at Sophia. “If it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have returned to the magical world when I was called upon. You two are why I’m here.”
Although she usually didn’t show much emotion, Liv grabbed both John and Sophia’s hands and held them tightly. “I love you both. Thanks for being here.”
“I love you,” Sophia said at the same time as John, and they kissed her on opposite cheeks.
Sophia turned for the porch, feeling strangely nervous as John held out his arm for her.
“My lady,” he said.
She wrapped her arm around his, remembering when he had been old and she young. How things had changed.
With a grace to impress, the first of the mortal seven led Sophia down the aisle through a crowd of magical creatures brought together for an event like no other. Sophia didn’t think she could be any happier until she noticed a black and white cat appear beside Stefan at the front of the ceremony.
Sitting in front of Plato was a small pillow with the wedding bands Rory had forged on it. On his face was a serene smile. When Sophia’s eyes connected with him, he mouthed two simple words: “Thank you.”
For Sophia, the wedding couldn’t have gotten better. Not only was Mother Nature throwing flower petals behind them as the flower girl and King Rudolf of the fae leading Liv down the aisle behind her, but the officiant of the
wedding was none other than Papa Creola—Father Time. Now Plato was here, risking his ego to be by the side of the girl who had saved his life and pretty much everyone else’s on this planet.
This wasn’t the wedding of the century. It was the event of the millennium, unmatched by any other.
Chapter Seventy-Two
“The moment I knew I loved you,” Stefan began when he was asked to recite his vows. Like Liv, he was dressed mostly in black. “It was when you tumbled into the Chamber of the Tree on your first day, screaming wildly, followed by breaking every single rule in the House of Fourteen. Liv Beaufont, there isn’t anyone in the world like you, and as a man who never thought he’d find his match, I can’t imagine not having you. For the rest of my life, I will be at your side. That is my promise, and I hold that more dearly than the vow I made to the House of Fourteen. Than the one I made to the gnomes when I sold our first child to—”
“Stefan!” Liv exclaimed, smiling, her hands in his.
His blue eyes sparkled when he grinned back at her. “There is no promise other than the one I make to you now. I am yours. Always.”
Papa Creola, dressed in linen and looking typically hippie-ish, gave Liv a tired expression. “Now it is time for your vows, Liv.”
For the first time all night, Liv looked nervous. Sophia worried for her, but then she let out a breath and appeared stronger. “It’s funny because for me, Stefan,” she began, her voice growing in volume, “you took a place beside me from the beginning that I had no idea was vacant. I now realize the place was always reserved for you. You will always fill the place beside me, and I’ll be with you for as long as this world tolerates us.”
Before she could say much more, Papa Creola cut in. “Then by the power vested in me, as the…well, father of time and pretty much the most powerful entity on Earth…”
Mama Jamba coughed discreetly from the sidelines.
Papa Creola’s eyes slid to the woman with gray hair. “Present company excluded. Anyway, as the one who dictates how long you both live, I deem that you’ll annoy the rest of us, together, for a very long time. With that, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
