Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

P aige held her breath as Henry sliced at Devon. The vampire danced backward away from the blade before he crouched, trying to anticipate Henry's next move.

The crowd oohed and aahed as the battle raged inside the realm.

Devon somersaulted away from Henry as he made another move. He leapt to his feet, his teeth clenched. "You're a coward! Give me a sword, and let's fight like real men."

"You're not a real man. You're a vile beast who doesn't deserve to live," Henry taunted.

"But I'm the beast who's going to kick your ass and then marry Paige."

"Kick it, Devon!" Dewey shouted through his cupped paws.

"Over my dead body," Henry growled.

"My pleasure." Devon morphed into beast mode and stamped a foot at Henry.

Henry sliced his blade at Devon's dark form. Devon flapped his wings, rising in the air away from Henry .

The prince's gaze raised into the air before he backed his way toward the portal to defend it. "You won't get away, beast!"

Devon snarled at him as he slashed his sword through the air. Devon bobbed and weaved above him, searching for an opening to strike.

"Why aren't they doing anything?" Paige asked. "Where is that reverse blocker?"

"Probably locked in a safe somewhere," Dewey said before he raised his voice. "Get him, Devon!"

"This is insane." Paige shook her head and pushed through the crowd toward the realm portal. "Henry? Henry! Stop this nonsense."

"Sorry, Kitten, but I must avenge you."

"I don't want you to avenge me. I'm marrying Devon of my own free will. I agreed to it."

"He forced you. You're under his sick vampire spell."

"I'm not," Paige said with a shake of her head. She bit her lower lip as she wondered how true the statement was. What if she was under his spell? With a shake of her head, she dismissed the idea.

"You can't know that. Actually, you can. Once I slay this foul creature, you will return to your normal self. Then you shall see the light!"

"There is no light. I'm not going to marry you. I didn't marry you in the fracture fairy tale or when you came to the real world. I'm sorry, Henry. But I don't love you."

"What's love got to do with it?" Henry asked as he thrust the sword again, driving Devon back.

"What's love but a secondhand emotion?" Dewey sang.

Paige shot him an unimpressed stare. "Shut up, Dewey, this is serious."

"Sorry."

"Henry, stop it. You'll find someone else. Someone…way be tter than me. Who actually loves you for you. And you won't have to fight a duel to win them. They'll just…like you back."

Henry frowned as he let the tip of his sword fall to the ground. "But…"

"But nothing. This is a waste. I…appreciate your efforts. I really do, and I'm very touched. But we're not in love. And we're not getting married."

Henry let his gaze fall to the ground as his shoulders slumped. "But, Kitten–"

"No, Henry." She shook her head. "Look, just come out and…after the wedding, I'll…set you up on a few dating apps. And you'll see that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Some of them will love that you'd battle a beast for them."

Henry's forehead creased. "Do you think?"

"Oh, I know it. We can totally find you a new girlfriend. Just…put the sword down and come out of there."

Henry's lower lip jutted out in a pout. "Okay."

He turned off his portal blocker and stepped from the realm. He tugged a corner of his lips back as he approached Paige. "Beautiful Paige. A light in my life. I shall allow you your choice, but shall always regret the day you slipped from my fingers."

Paige offered him a tight-lipped smile as she clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, tough day, but… you'll find someone else."

Henry sucked in a deep breath as Devon stalked from the realm in his human form, glaring at him.

Henry lifted his chin and sheathed his sword before he stuck his hand out. "You won her, fair and square. Good luck. Treat her right."

Devon hesitated a moment before he took his hand, slowly pumping it up and down. "Thanks. You were a good competitor. "

Drucinda approached him, patting Devon on the back. "Great job, Dev, really awesome work."

Henry flicked his gaze to her, an eyebrow arching. "Hello."

Drucinda wrinkled her nose at him. "Don't start."

"Oh, I plan to start. And once I do, you won't be able to resist me."

"I'm leaving," Drucinda responded. "I need to get ready for the wedding."

"Perhaps I could be your plus one," Henry said as he followed her from the room.

"Well, that's that, I guess. He's already moved on," Paige said as she dusted her hands.

"And you are now my bride," Devon said with a grin.

"Yep. We did it. We did–"

He dipped her toward the floor and planted a kiss on her, delighting the crowd around them who broke out into applause. He stood her up again, and she shook her head. "Please stop doing that."

Devon shot her a cocky grin. "Crowd seemed to like it."

"Whatever. I'm going to get ready for the wedding. See you at the altar."

"Hey, Paige," he shouted as she strode away from him.

She twisted to glance over her shoulder. "I can't wait to marry you."

The coos from the crowd filled the room as she waved back at him. "Same."

"Wow, Paige, that was super nice to say," Dewey said as she left the room. "I think you're kind of into Devon. Although, I've always thought that."

"I'm not…we're not having this discussion. He's very nice. Nicer than I expected. Where things go from here, we'll see. But right now, we need to focus on getting that soul compass and finding my mom. "

"First, we need to focus on getting you ready for your wedding. I hired the best hair and makeup people around. You are going to look stunning, Paige."

Paige shot him a smile. "Wow, Dewey, you really are a good maid of honor."

"I told you Patrick Dempsey had nothing on me," Dewey said with a raise of his chin. "Now, let's go and get you hitched!"

She climbed the stairs and snaked through the halls to her room, finding it wedding-central. A red-haired woman plopped her into the stool at the vanity and helpers descended on her to create bridal perfection.

As she stared at herself in the mirror after the transformation, she marveled at the look. "Wow, thanks. I love it."

"You look beautiful, Paige!" Dewey said with a smile.

Drucinda flitted into the room in her gown.

"Doesn't she look great?" Dewey asked.

Drucinda arched an eyebrow. "She does. Now, for the dress."

As the fabric swirled around her, her heart rate ramped up. Drucinda fastened the back before Dewey settled the veil on her head. He landed on her shoulder and straightened his bowtie.

"You're getting married, Paige! I'm going to be royalty."

She stared at herself, her head bobbing up and down before she stopped and crinkled her nose. "Wait, what? You're not going to be royalty. I'm going to be royalty."

"Well, close enough. I mean, I'm your bestie. So, I'll be de facto royalty. All the perks, none of the downsides. While the paparazzi hound you, I'll be undetected, just living the high life with none of the issues."

"Very funny, Dewey," Paige said with a shake of her head before she flicked her gaze back to her white-clad form.

"We'd better get going so we aren't late," Drucinda said .

Paige's forehead pinched as she stared ahead at her reflection. "Uhhhh–"

"Something wrong?" Dewey asked.

Paige's knees wobbled as she clenched her fingers. "Yeah."

"What is it? You look great. Oh, I see…makeup…can we get a touch-up on the lipstick? It's smudged."

The makeup woman hurried over to handle the situation.

"Thanks," Paige said. "But that wasn't it."

Dewey fluttered into the air to face her, his features squashed. "I don't see anything. The dress looks good. The make-up's good. The hair's good enough…for a ginger."

Paige pouted at him.

"Hey, that was just a joke," Dewey added.

She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "It's not that. I…I can't do this."

"Huh?" Dewey asked.

Drucinda rolled her eyes. "Don't cry, you'll ruin your make-up."

Paige fluttered her eyelashes as she glanced at the ceiling. "I can't do this. I can't marry him."

"What?" Dewey shouted. "Paige! Are you crazy? You've battled for this. And won!"

"But…I'm… this is wrong. Devon deserves so much better than this."

Dewey clapped his paws on her shoulders. "Paige, Devon sort of loves you. So, it's all good. He's getting you. You're getting the soul compass to find your mom. And a hot husband. It's win-win-win."

He pulled back and dusted his hands. "There, that's settled. Let's go."

"No, it's not settled." Paige flopped onto the stool with a deep sigh. "I can't. I'm…it's not right."

Drucinda heaved a sigh. "Oh, for heaven's sake. You must be joking. "

"I'm not. I can't be Devon's wife."

"Get over yourself, Paige. We need the soul compass to find Reed. Now, get down there and marry Devon so we can get it." Drucinda thrust a finger toward the door.

"Paige, it's no big deal. Devon agreed to it. It's fine." Dewey shrugged.

Paige puffed out her cheeks as she blew out a breath. "Right. This…is just a plan. I can't get cold feet now. We all agreed to this, right?"

"That's right," Dewey said.

Drucinda nodded. "Correct. Now, let's go. Enough with this nonsense. Just…marry the man so we can find your mother."

"Right, you're right. I can do this. It's a few simple words. And a kiss, maybe. And then the soul compass." She slid her eyes closed as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Are you finished being theatrical?" Drucinda asked when she snapped her eyes open.

"I'm not being…never mind."

"You are. I feel like I'm living in a romantic comedy. And I hate romantic comedies. There is nothing more pointless to watch than a wonderfully confident, self-assured woman who is living her best life only to run into a rugged, unkempt man and decide that he is the missing piece of her life."

"And they always happen in like a weekend," Paige added. "I mean, they meet, run into each other twice, and then they get married. That's insane."

"Okay, it's insane." Dewey bobbed his hand as he zipped over to Paige and tugged on her arm. "Let's go before you're not a princess. We can't lose this opportunity."

Paige heaved another sigh before she rose and smoothed her dress. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Good," Dewey said as he shoved a bouquet at her. "These are yours. That's everything. Let's go. "

He flew to the door and flung it open. They made their way through the castle's halls down to the chapel. Guests murmured inside as they approached.

"We're ready," Drucinda said. "See you at the altar." She strode inside to take her place next to Devon as Dewey readied to fly down the aisle in front of the bride.

"Ohh, okay, now I'm nervous," he said as he flew back and forth. "Whew. Oh…I hope I don't fall or…embarrass myself."

"Are you kidding me? Dewey, you just insisted I get my butt down here and marry Devon, and now you're freezing up?"

"I'm sorry, Paige. I've never done this before. What if people laugh at me? What if I pass out and roll down the aisle?"

"You'll be fine. Just…fly slowly and smile a lot. We want nice wedding photos."

"Right. Fly slow. Smile."

Paige fixed his bowtie before she spun him toward the chapel. "Okay, go. You're good."

He puffed out a breath before he lifted his chin, plastering a smile onto his features, and slowly fluttered down the aisle.

Alone, Paige tightened her grip on the bouquet, a similar set of thoughts racing through her mind as she waited to walk down the aisle. "I can do this. No big deal. I've walked plenty of times before."

She bit her lower lip. "And fallen down the stairs more than once."

She shook her head, rolling her neck around. "No, I'm good. I can do this."

The music inside the chapel changed, and the doors opened. Everyone rose from their seats as she stepped to the door. Her knees wobbled again, and her eyes went wide. Photographers snapped photos of her as she stood, frozen.

Her eyes found Dewey, Devon, and Drucinda at the end of the aisle. Dewey grinned at her and shot her a thumbs up. She smiled at him, flashbulbs going wild before she took her first step.

She managed to make it all the way down the aisle without stumbling. Devon grinned at her. "You look beautiful, Paige."

Heat rose in her cheeks at the words, and guilt swirled through her. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

The guests took their seats, and the minister began his spiel. Paige's heart pounded as her mind whirled. She hoped she could choke out her "I do" without too much trouble.

The minister lifted his head as he said, "If anyone should have any reason why these two cannot marry, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Behind her, the doors burst open to the chapel. Paige whipped around to glance at the person responsible, finding Ivy and her mother in the doorway.

Ivy curled her red lips into a smirk. "I have something to say about it."

Paige's stomach clenched at the words. They'd come so close. Would Ivy ruin her chances of finding her mother?