I looked around at the waiting crowd. Ahead of me, on the surface of the lake, Victoria bent down to say something to Bastien. As she did, I caught my first sight of Tejus standing at the altar.
My head spun.
We had spent so much time together in the weeks that we’d returned from Nevertide, but no matter how many days I spent in his company, each morning when I saw him for the first time, my stomach would twist inside me, my throat constricting as I became breathless with desire and a sense of wholeness—a feeling that had never abated from the moment I realized how I felt about him.
I watched his profile for a moment, noticing his sharp cheekbones and the harsh line of his jaw, the shadows of his deep-set eyes that always looked so intense—and irresistible. He turned to look at me, his eyes widening as he took in my appearance. His eyes became almost black with longing—I recognized the hooded gaze, it was one I knew so well. I felt heat rising up in my cheeks, my body feeling almost weightless.
“Breathe, Hazel.” My father smiled as he came to stand next to me. He offered his arm, and I took it gratefully. I would need his strength to get down that aisle, to ground me when I thought I was going to float away. Everything just felt so unreal, and my happiness so total and complete that I thought it was just going to burst from my body in a brilliant light.
“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered back.
“You look beautiful.” His eyes were wet with unshed tears. He turned and glanced at my mom. A look passed between them that made my heart ache. I knew I was about to get married to the only being in all the dimensions with whom I could hope to experience a love as enduring and complete as my parents shared.
“We haven’t spoken much about your time in Nevertide,” he added in a hoarse voice, “and I know that some things are probably difficult to talk about—or don’t need to be said. Your grandpa, mother and I have pieced a lot of it together through the children, Jenney and Zerus. It’s not to interrogate you,” he added hastily as I turned to him in surprise, “I just wanted you to know that I’m in awe of you. Both your mother and I are. You have grown into a magnificent woman, capable of protecting and caring for your friends and your brother, persevering when everything was against you. I know that you arranged for them to be sent home in your deal with Tejus—that you were willing to remain without them, to put their safety above yours. It takes compassion and bravery to do what you did, levels of which I’m not sure I possess. More than that, you also—amidst all the danger and uncertainty—learned to follow your heart. To love Tejus, to see the man behind your captor, to witness his flaws and love him anyway… I couldn’t be prouder of you if I tried.”
I nodded, unable to speak for a few moments as I tried to compose myself. His words meant so much. I’d always wanted to make my parents proud and to be a sister Benedict could look up to. To hear that I’d surpassed his expectations made me practically glow inside.
“You taught me to be this way.” I gulped. “You and Mom. Whenever it did get hard, I always found that I could keep going, even when I didn’t want to—and I know that came from the two of you. And I can only love because it’s been given unconditionally to me.”
I clasped his arm, wanting to remember this moment. Wanting to remember my dad’s quiet strength next to me, the words that he’d said, and how I felt, waiting to walk toward my future.
“Are you ready?” he asked, glancing over at Yuri and Ruby.
We were ready.
The band started up, a sole flutist witch playing soft notes of a song I didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. The soft murmurings of the crowd faded to total silence, and they all turned to stare at Ruby and me as we crossed the water.
I was so happy to see so many faces of those I loved. I thought how lucky I was to be surrounded by friends and family—to have a life that was so full in a community of supernaturals and humans who were so unbelievably special. We’d all faced such adversity to get here, not just from our recent Nevertide adventure, but from all that we had struggled and fought through ever since my grandfather Derek founded our beloved island. We deserved all the moments of joy that we could grab—we all deserved days like this.
My gaze turned from the crowd to Tejus. He watched me approach, a soft smile on his face that looked slightly disbelieving, as if he was as amazed as I was that this was really happening.
We reached the pagoda, and my dad loosened his grip.
“Take care of her,” he told Tejus, with a solemn expression.
“Always,” Tejus replied, taking my hand gently.