Page 68 of Queen of Fire

“I look…” My voice trailed off; my throat thick as I realised, I had never looked this beautiful in my life.

“Beautiful?” Gracie offered, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

“Beautiful isn’t enough!” Caliara’s small voice came from next to me, her hand sliding into mine and pulling my attention away from the mirror. “You look like a painting!”

“A painting?” I laughed, fighting the tears that threatened to overflow.

“Yes. One of those beautiful ones that they hang in the library.” She nodded matter of factually and grinned up at me. I squeezed her small hand in mine, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

“Thank you, sweet girl.” I whispered, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead, “Now, how about you go get ready?”

Caliara nodded, her grin melting my heart as she pushed past Calliope and jumped up onto the stool I had just occupied, demanding she go next as she was the second most important person in the room.

Our laughter echoed through the space, and Yvaine dropped into a low curtsy with a chuckled “Right away, Your Highness.”

~~~

My heart thrummed in my chest as I stepped from mybedroom into the living space.

It had taken longer than I thought to get into my wedding dress, and now we were officially running late. It did not sit well with me, being late on my wedding day, but Rosa had reassured me that the bride being late was one of the most loved traditions.

Calliope and Gracie gasped as I entered the room, their hands coming up to cover their mouths, and Caliara grinned so wide that I was amazed her cheeks did not split in two. I could feel the heavy blush rising from my neck and was thankful for the number of cosmetics that had been put on my skin for hiding it.

My dress was unlike anything I had ever seen. It fit me so perfectly that it felt like I was wearing a second skin, and while it was tight around the bodice, it was not suffocating. The skirt flowed out behind me several feet, the white lace intertwined with emerald, green tulle, and several hundred diamonds sparkled in the light. The bodice was wrapped in the same mix of lace and emerald, leading up to a sweetheart neckline that was lined with delicate, orange flowers.

A sheer fabric came up over my chest, covering my skin without looking like it was there at all, but was capped around my neck with a sparkling green choker. Long sleeves of lace worked their way down to my wrists, where they tapered off into a point, held in place by fabric rings around my middle fingers.

Rosa had really worked a miracle when she made thisdress.

I stopped just short of the middle of the living area, wringing my hands together as I looked at the three girls standing in front of me. Gracie had teared up, so much so that she was having to dab at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief to stop her tears messing up the hard work that Yvaine had put into her makeup.

“Is it that bad?” I joked, eyeing Gracie carefully and trying to hide the wobble in my own voice.

She shook her head, a breathy laugh leaving her as she waved her hand in front of her face and let out a breath. She stepped forward, reaching out and taking my hands in hers and grinning at me.

“You look amazing,” She half laughed, half sobbed. “That doesn’t feel like enough, but there aren’t any better words.”

Letting go of her hands, I wrapped my arms around her tightly, squeezing her until neither of us could breathe properly. Calliope cleared her throat behind us, and we broke apart, both of us fighting back tears as we turned to look at the eldest of Cyrus’s two sisters.

She grinned, spinning on the spot with her arms spread wide. The dress that Gracie and Caliara were wearing had been transformed into an all-in-one trousers suit for her. The chiffon fabric of the skirt turned into a pair of flowing trousers, and the tight bodice kept the same. The shoulder straps were laced in the style of leaves falling,and her short hair had been pinned back on one side to show the diamond earrings she had chosen.

“Rosa, you are a genius.” I smiled at the elder woman behind me as she fussed with the buttons on the back of my dress, but she dismissed me with a wave of her hand. I saw the way her cheeks flushed at the compliment though, a small smile gracing her face as she stood back, admiring her work.

A heavy knock at my door caught all of our attention, and Gracie clapped her hands as she broke away from the rest of the small group. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to work out in my head who was missing, but everyone who was supposed to be there, was.

Gracie pulled the door open with a flourish, and Leo stepped into the room, looking smarter than I had ever seen him. His hair was slicked back and tied in a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing the same emerald, green suit that I had picked out for Cyrus and Cirro, and he was smiling sheepishly as the group of women around me all wolf-whistled and cat-called at his entrance.

“You scrub up well, Leo.” Gracie smirked, nudging him with her hip. He rolled his eyes at her, smoothing out the front of his shirt with his hands as he searched the room.

His eyes landed on me, and a smile broke out on his face.

“My word,” He gasped, one of his hands coming up to his chest dramatically, “You look absolutely radiant,Your Majesty.”

I laughed at his theatrics, grateful for the welcome distraction in the moment of chaos and dipped into a low curtsy.

“Am I acceptable enough for your new king?” I smirked, and everyone in the room laughed. Leo crossed over to me, a small, orange flower tucked into the breast pocket of his jacket, and took my hand, squeezing it in his own.

“I think we should be questioning if he is acceptable enough for you, Your Majesty.” Leo said, his voice low as he dipped to press a kiss to my forehead.

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