47. Cecilia

47

CECILIA

C ecilia couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh at how emotional Rainer was or cry along with him. In all their years side by side, she'd never seen him so undone. His verdant eyes scanned her face as he swallowed thickly, trying to push the emotion aside to speak. It was real and raw and so adorable. Her heart clenched in her chest.

She sent a gentle, soothing calm through their bond. Rainer's face softened and he smiled. His hands still shook in hers but he sucked in a shuddering breath and pulled it together finally.

"Cecilia Juliette Reznik. I'm sorry I'm late. Very late. I used to think you were the least patient person in Olney, but now I know better. You are the most maddening, beautiful, kind, brave, reckless person I have ever met. I fell in love with you a thousand times over the past few years. In little ways—like when I watched you shoot your bow for the first time, or when you told off a bully—and in big ways, like when you saved my life or the lives of our friends."

He squeezed her hands for dear life as if she was the only thing anchoring him to reality. He took a wobbly breath, barely containing his emotions until she sent another jolt of love through their connection .

Anyone who hadn't watched the way they silently communicated over the years might have missed it. It was the briefest of moments where Rainer's eyes fluttered closed and then a brilliant smile broke across his face.

"It's easy, much too easy today, in fact, to look at you and think the gods could never have made anyone more beautiful, but I know your heart is the real masterpiece. To be so compassionate, kind, loving, and so fiercely protective of the people you let in. I am so lucky to be the person with a direct connection to that heart, to know it like my own, to feel the ebbs and flows of your emotions like a language that's just for us."

Rainer squeezed her hands tighter still. "I have fallen for you over and over, all while trying to convince myself that it wasn't true. I am sorry it took me so long to get here. I should have given up on following the rules long ago and saved us a lot of heartache and trouble, but I don't regret it. I can't regret anything that brought us here to this day. I can't regret anything that let me see you as you really are: strong beyond any warrior I've ever known. Brave on instinct. And wise enough to stay hopeful and soft even with mountains of evidence to suggest otherwise. You make me hopeful in even the direst situations, just like you do for so many other people. You are truly the greatest gift of my life. I love you much more than I could ever put into these clumsy words, especially being this much of a mess."

Everyone laughed. Cecilia blinked rapidly, trying to keep tears at bay.

"I promise to be brave with my hand and brave with my heart. I promise that I will keep listening to you and encouraging you to tell your stories, to keep dreaming of big, impossible things. I promise to try to relax a little bit with the worrying and enjoy life more. I promise to cook so that you don't burn the cottage down. I promise to never wake you up before ten in the morning. I promise to love you as much when you are old and gray as I do right now…as I always have. I love you brave and exuberant, soft and tender, angry and raging, fi erce and wild. I love all parts of you. I was made to love you, and I will never stop."

It was her turn to fall apart. Tears streamed down her cheeks as he spoke and she didn't care who saw. She didn't brush them away in anger or frustration. She just let them fall. She'd never again be afraid to bare her whole self to him.

Rainer was hers and she was his. It had always been that way. The ceremony only made it official to everyone else, but still, she felt as if something had shifted. She looked at him and saw a complete person. Someone with guilt and grief and longing. He saw her as someone who didn't need his protection as much as his love.

When Marcos bound their hands together and then untied them, handing each of them an end of the cord, she knew that neither of them would ever let go again.

After the dinner on the beach, musicians played so everyone could dance and celebrate the happy couple. Cecilia leaned against Rainer, swaying to the music more than formally dancing. She just liked the chance to be held and watch their friends drink and carry on after so much heartache.

Sylvie, Evan, and Cal sat huddled around the bonfire, drinks in hand. Reese and Christopher stood on the other side of the circle, regaling Aunt Clara with stories from their journey to Olney.

Cecilia smiled seeing them all there together safe and sound.

Samson stumbled across the sand with Cecilia's half-sister Desiree on his arm.

"Lady Cece, you sure know how to throw a party," Samson slurred.

Cecilia laughed at the exasperated look on Desiree's face. "Is he drunk?"

Desiree nodded, pursing her full lips. "Every party must be the best party and that lust for life and everything else makes him prone to overindulgence. "

Samson grinned and winked at Rainer. "McKay, I told you stars would fall. You just needed a push."

"I did," Rainer said, kissing the top of Cecilia's head.

"Good thing I made you kiss her," Samson said, waggling his eyebrows. "Happy to watch you do more. Offer still stands."

Rainer's hands gripped Cecilia a bit tighter. "No, thank you."

"Come now, love. Let's get you home," Desiree said.

"But I haven't said good night to Evan," Samson whined.

Desiree smothered a smile. "Yes, darling, but you're already going fuzzy around the edges."

Samson grumbled something too low for them to hear as he and Desiree faded into smoke that smelled like tobacco, vanilla, and crushed rose petals.

"Will they be at every family party?" Rainer asked.

Cecilia burst out laughing. "As if I could control the gods."

She looked out over the godly guests who remained. Sayla, Devlin, and Aelish had left after the dinner. Clastor had stayed to dance with Cecilia and look gruffly at Rainer for a while, but he'd left shortly after the dancing started in earnest.

Grimon remained, flirting with Aurelia over plates piled with desserts. The goddess of the harvest did not look impressed—or was doing a convincing job of seeming such.

"What do you think, Lady McKay? Was the day up to your standards?" Rainer whispered into her hair.

She craned her neck to meet his gaze. "It was perfect. My only goal was for us to get married and for the only surprises to be good ones for once and I think we are safe on all fronts there."

Rainer's eyes lit with mischief. "Good, because I am more than ready to have some alone time with my wife."

A throat cleared, drawing their attention.

Xander and Jessamin stood beside them. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid to say that we should head out. My lovely queen has had more than enough partying for one evening."

Cecilia grinned at Jessamin, whose stomach was already swollen. She'd spent most of the evening dancing anyway, despite both Xander and Maren's attempts to get her to relax.

"Before we go, we do have a wedding gift for you," Jessamin said, grinning at Xander. "Xander told me how much the two of you have always wanted to visit Estrellas during the summer auroras. I coordinated with my sister Karina, the princess and heir apparent, to organize a honeymoon for you. You'll get to go to the storytelling festival, at which you will, of course, be expected to share your story as it is quickly becoming a favorite among romantic story lovers. She'll show you around and act as tour guide and make sure you can stay at our family estate in the north to get the best view of the auroras."

Cecilia was jumping up and down by the time she finished, unable to hide her absolute delight. She threw herself into Xander's arms.

"Love, my wife is right there," Xander said, jerking his head toward Jessamin.

"Xander, I swear to the gods, if you hit on my wife at our wedding reception, I am going to have you thrown in the sea and drowned by my goddess sister-in-law. I don't care what you're king of," Rainer said, shaking his head.

"Relax, I won't flirt with your wife." Xander grinned and winked at Cecilia. "No matter how beautiful she looks."

Cecilia giggled and pulled away to lean back into Rainer. He wrapped his arms around her and it felt like coming home.

She gazed up at him. "We're going to the Moonrise City."

Rainer kissed her forehead. "I know. I am just as excited, though less eager to hug Xander."

"You'll leave just before Cece's birthday and be back by early September when Evan and Sylvie will be in Olney for their second wedding," Xander said.

"Congratulations to you both. We are very happy we could be here to see it made official," Jessamin said, kissing both of their cheeks. She reluctantly allowed Xander, Maren, and Isla to guide her up the cliff trail .

Cecilia turned and looked up at Rainer, bouncing from foot to foot with newfound excitement. "I'm your wife."

"You are. Finally."

"What do you say we go make it really official?" she asked with a wink.

Rainer didn't need to be asked twice. Before Cecilia could take another breath, he'd swept her into his arms and started toward their cottage and the rest of their lives together.