29

29

A fter Mira and Brecan left to guide their Houses into the ballroom, I waited in my room. And by waiting, I mean that I paced until I was sure I might wear a hole through the floor.

Tauren knocked gently and peeked inside. “Are you ready?” he asked, his words fading away as his eyes found me. “My god,” he breathed. “You are the most beautiful… I have no words.” His mouth hung slightly open. Mine must have matched, because I found I couldn’t speak. Dressed in a sleek black tuxedo, complete with a bowtie that matched the glittering bodice of my dress and heels, he extended his hand. “It’s time.”

“Brecan said that I would be crowned.”

“Of course,” he answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

“What if the people of Nautilus don’t approve?”

He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “How could they not?”

My lashes fluttered. I knew he loved me, but wearing a crown beside him would send such a strong message – a message I wasn’t sure the citizens were ready to hear. “Tauren –”

He took my hands in his and waited until I looked up at him. “It’s just me and you.”

But it wasn’t. The entire Kingdom was here, along with the highest-ranking military leaders, a smattering of celebrities, and all the other invitees. Not to mention those who weren’t present at the palace, but would watch from their homes as the coronation and ball was telecast throughout the Kingdom. The sectors would be filled with parties, public and private, so that people could gather to celebrate the occasion.

“Me and you,” I repeated.

“Just focus on me,” he assured. “Pretend I’m the only one in the room.”

“That won’t be difficult,” I told him. “When you’re near me, you’re the only thing I can concentrate on.”

Tauren smiled and brought my hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. Goose bumps spread over my skin as the moths took flight. “The feeling is very much mutual.”

Together, we walked to the ballroom where Queen Annalina waited outside. She walked in first and announced us. “I give you my son, Tauren Nathaniel Nautilus, and I give you my new daughter, Sable.”

The crowd cheered as two guards swept the double doors open and we entered the room. Tauren and I made our way to the stage, where I could see the colors of the witches blending with the finery of the citizens of the Lower Sectors.

Overhead, the chandeliers dripped light and crystals atop the crowd. The only empty space in the room, the scant trail we’d carved, quickly filled in once we passed by. Tauren squeezed my hand.

The Reverend who had said such kind things at Lucius’s funeral joined us. Surprisingly, he blessed the pair of us. I thought he might call our union false or warn us that we should marry in his church instead, but the man was kind, loving, and gracious.

He instructed Tauren on the traits of being a good and moral king, then instructed me on the same traits as they applied to a good and moral queen.

A young girl carried Tauren’s crown to the Reverend. He thanked her graciously and she skipped back to her mother with a beaming smile. When the Reverend asked Tauren to kneel, he took a knee.

As he placed the silver crown on Tauren’s head, I was mesmerized by its beauty; cut apatite stones and shiny black obsidian stones were inlaid around the metal ring. Tauren smiled up at me, and when the Reverend asked me to kneel beside him, Tauren took hold of my hand.

A matching, more feminine crown that somehow fit perfectly was placed atop my head. Tauren watched attentively, his eyes taking in every movement. When they combed over me, it felt like a caress instead of a perusal.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he whispered. “And I’m the luckiest man in the entire world. ”

My heart fluttered.

“I love you,” I told him.

He smiled. “I love you more.”

That night, among my peers and his, Tauren and I danced, toasted, and most of the time, though we were surrounded by an enormous room full of people, it felt like it was just him and me.

One king.

One queen.

One fate.