Page 142 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Finally, I speak up. “As the futureTherya’kai, it is my desire to represent both who I am today as well as who I intend to be tomorrow.” Glancing down at my gown’s train, I decide, “The roses should be both pink and purple.”
Rowan and Glorana stare at each other for the span of a single heartbeat before they nod in unison and turn their attentions toward my attire. With joined weaves of Earth, they expertly transform my accessories into a shimmering display of otherworldly jewels that dance between shades of rose, lavender, and plum.
Even the flowers stitched upon my gown now gleam with iridescent threads, rendering them either pink or purple depending upon the way the light falls against them.
“Perfect,” Papa whispers, tears in his eyes.
My father agrees with a quiet,“Vaei,”and presses a gentle kiss to my cheek.
Brisa sniffs and dabs at her eyes before she opens the door for us with a weave of Air.
With Giles Weaver on my right arm and Rowan val’Anasi on my left, I step out of the sitting room and pass through the glittering open-air ballroom where the reception is to be held later, and then further still, to the yawning stone archway that leads out to my favorite place in all the Aerie—
The Sky Garden.
Thunderous cheers echo through the windcourt when my fathers and I finally appear in the archway and gaze across the multitude of floating islands hanging suspended there, each coated in lush flowers and verdant greenery.
Upon the one furthest away, standing beneath a bower of pink roses, is my dragon king, resplendent in a suit of purple with a single pink rose adorning the lapel—the very rose I gifted him the day we met. The Corona Ignis flares bright on his brow, wreathing him in arcs of kaleidoscopic power as beautiful as the depths of the Living Waters themselves.
Mama stands in a place of honor at his side, where Bene’s own mother should be, beaming as she plays the role of the late Queen Serenity in a sparkling gown of rich purple and a crown of amethysts to match my groom.
Bene’s eyes burn in their fixation upon me. Even from that great distance, his gaze is for me and me alone.“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,Na’therya,”he teases me across the bond.
As he speaks, he unfurls a weave of Air toward me—a lavender bridge across which I am meant to walk to signify my leaving behind my old life and making the journey toward my new.
Toward him. Toward Bene. My oldest friend. Mybestfriend.
My future.
“Never,”I vow to him as my fathers each kiss my cheeks and then let me go, leaving me stepping out into the open skyalone, with nothing to support me but the swirl of Bene’s magic beneath my feet.
Dragons roar when I take that first step.
Pixies clap and fling multi-hued sparkles into the air.
Elves weave flowers into being and toss them at my feet as I float past, step by step, like a woman caught in the most wonderful dream.
Lord Reginald Lockhart—the only human beyond my adopted parents invited to the wedding—cheers loudest of them all.
“I have made a vow ofAlwaysto my future husband,”I remind Bene, luring a brilliant smile to his lips.“And I do not intend to break it now.”
The hint of mischief that sparks to life within mydrakir’s heart is all the warning I receive before the bridge of Air beneath me shifts into motion, bearing me swiftly the rest of the way toward the final island where Bene waits to receive me.
Our wedding guests cheer again, clearly approving of their king’s impatience. But then again, I suppose they are impatient, too. They have been waiting for this moment a long time—for my mother’s prophecy to finally come to fruition.
For Drakara to know an era of peace and prosperity once more.
“Na’therya,” Bene greets me as the Air beneath my feet gently deposits me on the soft turf before him. His eyes crinkle at the corners with his cheeky smile. Under his breath, he adds, “Have I ever told you that you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen?”
My glow flares brighter, no doubt blinding all. But I cannot help it. My happiness is beyond containment now.
Her cheeks already agleam with tears, Mama takes a single step forward and calls out, as we rehearsed, “I see one before me who is worthy of joining my son in marriage.” Another Air weavefrom Bene sends her voice winging into the heavens so that all may hear.
I call back on a weave of my own making, “I see one before me who has forged mydrakirinto a greatTheryn’kai.”
Fingers trembling, Mama removes the crown she wears and waits for me to sink into a curtsy before she places it atop my head instead. “I love you, sweetheart,” she whispers for my ears alone while leaning in to kiss my cheek.
“I love you, too,” I mouth back, my gaze following her as she steps aside, letting the ceremony continue.
