Kindling Flames: Burning Nights (The Ancient Fire Series Book 6) (5 page)

“She said you would understand.” Josh shrugged.

A tear formed at the corner of Vicky’s eye and she pulled the confused man in for a hug. “Thank you.” She sniffed, trying not to cry again.

Josh wrapped his arm around her and patted her on the back, careful not to touch her wings. “Anytime.”

Releasing him, Vicky turned to Vanessa. “Could you?” She held the cross out for her friend.

“Of course.” Vanessa took the new necklace and hooked it around Vicky’s neck. Pulling off the emerald and diamond necklace Vicky had been wearing, she tucked it away in the box it had come in. “There.” She turned to look at Vicky. “It’s beautiful.”

“And it will keep a lot of people from hugging you tonight.” Josh grinned as he stood back, eyeing the cross. “That thing has quite a punch to it.”

Vicky reached up and touched the cool metal. “Then I should probably keep this.” She tucked the blue cloth into the top of her bodice where she could get at it easily. “I needed something blue anyway.”

Laughing, Josh picked up the box of flowers and headed towards the part in the curtain. “Shall we, then?” He pulled the curtain back so the ladies could step through. The girls muttered their agreement and headed out.

Following the narrow hall, they came to the staging area just outside the main room. The noise from the excited guests filtered through the thick curtain. As soon as Vicky came in, Zak—dressed in Josh’s borrowed tuxedo—popped up from where he’d been sitting on the floor.

“Oh, Zak.” Vicky grinned at the excited hellhound as he caught her up in a warm hug. She petted him soothingly.

“At least I know my tux was put to good use,” Josh smirked as he sat the box of flowers on the floor. Pulling out the bouquets, he passed them out to the waiting ladies. “Is that really Zak?” he asked, eyeing the man Vicky was disentangling herself from.

“Yes.” Vicky pushed Zak back so she could look at him. “Stand up straight,” she chided the fay.

Zak stopped trying to snuggle against her and stood up. Josh’s tux was just about the right size for the changed fay.

“You look very nice.” Vicky complemented the hellhound as she reached out and buttoned his dark green vest. “Just this and you’ll be perfect.” She straightened his tie and glanced at the mop of hair on Zak’s head. Lacking a comb, Vicky ran her hands through it, attempting to straighten the mess into something more acceptable. The ends of the hair bent around her fingers as she passed. “Oh, Zak.” She shook her head at the way the hair curled back up into a mess again. Letting out a resigned breath, she left it alone.

Josh sorted the women into order and made sure they had everything they needed. When the first chords of music wafted in, he pulled the curtain back so the bridesmaids could lead the way out. “Good luck, My Lady.” He straightened the edge of Vicky’s veil as she awaited her turn.

Zak growled at him lightly.

Vicky grinned at the pair. “Thank you, Josh.” She touched his arm, showing her gratitude.

Josh smiled and bowed to her. “Anytime, My Lady.”

As the main theme boomed out, she turned and let Zak escort her out to her future.

***

Darien paced in front of the crowd gathered for his wedding. There was an amazing turnout, and the room was filled with all kinds of creatures. Since Vicky had informed her friends of the paranormal world, he had allowed Elliot and Vanessa to open the guest list to anyone that wanted to come. With an open invitation, the massive warehouse was packed.

Scanning the room, Darien’s eyes caught Beth and Ann stealing flowers from the banquet tables. Worry shot through him. He reached out to check on Vicky, but came up against the block Elliot had put on him. A simple push would have torn through the thin veil of magic, but Darien had promised, on this one occasion, to leave Vicky alone.

Elliot reached out and touched Darien’s arm, drawing his attention away from the bridesmaid and mother of the bride. “She’s fine.” He reassured Darien.

Darien let out a deep sigh and turned so he wasn’t watching the people milling around. “Are you sure?” he asked, worried. Darien’s mind turned over the last few weeks. The stress of the upcoming wedding had taken its toll on Vicky. Her stomach had been troubling her, and she seemed to be a bit more on edge than normal. She had gotten to the point where she was snapping at everything lately. Hopefully, a nice vacation would soothe her frayed nerves.

“I’m sure,” Elliot reassured him. “Josh and Jakob are keeping an eye on her.”

Throwing his hand out behind him, Darien pointed to the crowd that the twin vampires were moving through. “How can they be watching her if they’re in here?” The boys were two of many ushers that Elliot and Vanessa had picked.

Elliot held his hands out, trying to calm Darien down. “They know how to multitask.” He soothed the nervous man. “And she has Zak and her bridesmaids. That’s what they’re there for.”

Darien growled at his best man and took another turn of the front of the crowd. “I don’t see why you won’t let me reach her,” he complained.

“We had this discussion.” Elliot’s voice held a pacifying note. “She needs a little time to herself before the wedding and you were too wrapped up in her thoughts last night.” The younger vampire has stepped in at Darien’s bachelor party when the groom had spent too much time fretting over Vicky spending the night alone and not enough time enjoying the fay strippers Patrick had managed to procure. Elliot had put a block on their link so the two wouldn’t feed off each other’s anxiety over the day. It hadn’t really done Darien any good, but he was sure that Vicky appreciated not having the added stress rolling off Darien running through her system.

“What if she needs me?” Darien snapped as he stormed past Elliot.

Elliot just shook his head. “She’s only in the other room. If she needs you, she’ll find you. Just relax; this is supposed to be a happy day.”

“I’ll be happy when this is over,” Darien growled. He silently cursed himself for not making Vicky elope.

“A little worked up, are we?” Rupert grinned as he watched Darien’s pacing.

Darien glared at the werewolf as he passed.

“Just a bit.” Elliot returned the wolf’s grin. “But he’ll get over it.”

Darien glared at Elliot as he headed the other way.

Elliot reached out and took Rupert’s hand for a shake. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Who else would you get to marry this one off?” Rupert jabbed his thumb at Darien and smirked. “It’s not like you could get a real priest up here in front of this crowd.” He looked out over the collection of werewolves, vampires, and fay.

“Thank you anyway,” Elliot said. He knew that Rupert had been having some issues with his pack, so the fact that the alpha had taken time out to officiate meant a lot to both him and Darien, even if the older vampire was too worked up to appreciate it at the moment.

“Is it time yet?” Darien snapped as he walked past them again.

Elliot reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Sit!” He maneuvered Darien into a chair and forced the man down. “You are going to wear out the floor.”

Darien grumbled but sat in the chair. Both of his feet tapped out an uneven rhythm.

“Maybe we can ask Dakine for something to help him relax,” Rupert whispered to Elliot as he watched Darien fidget in the chair.

“It would take knocking him out to get him to calm down,” Elliot replied.

“So… a bat?” Rupert grinned.

“I can hear you,” Darien growled making the two men laugh.

“Just relax,” Elliot said. “It’s almost time.”

Darien let out a suffering sigh and tilted his head back to watch the lesser fay flying around the ceiling. Drawing in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and forced his muscles to go limp. He needed to find a way to relax before his nerves and emotions shorted out his system. Goodness knows he didn’t need to pass out at his own wedding. It was an unlikely chance, but not impossible.

Drawing in deep breaths, Darien slowed his heart. He focused on the noise of the people filling the room. Slowly, a smile slipped across his face. They were here to celebrate his union with Vicky. This had to be the best day of his life. Sure, he shared a mark with her, and they had been forced into a handfasting at Halloween, but this was their choice. A declaration to everyone that they would share their lives, and for a vampire, that could be a long time.

A frown creased Darien’s brow. He would have to turn her if they wanted to spend more than just her short life together. That worried him. Even though he had raised many fledglings, he had only turned a handful of them. The last time he’d tried had ended in the death of the woman he loved. His jaw clenched as he came to a decision. He would put off Vicky’s turning as long as he could. Maybe he would just live out her life and end his existence when she passed away. The thought of Vicky dying hurt his heart and Darien pushed the idea away. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. This was a time of new beginnings; endings were not things he should be thinking about.

Elliot patted Darien on the leg. “It’s time.”

Darien opened his eyes and glanced around. All but a few of the guests had taken their seats, and the ones who were still standing were making their way to empty chairs.

“Right.” He stood up and considered the four men at the front of the room. Rupert stood, dressed in a nice suit. It was the best that Darien had ever seen on him. The alpha had even managed to comb and style his normally windblown hair. Next to him stood Elliot, Phalen, and Allen. All three men were dressed in tuxedos with dark green vests and bowties. Each man had a white rose with a gold ribbon pinned to his lapel. Together, they made a handsome bunch. Darien stood up to join them. Giving his jacket a tug, he pulled it into its proper place and checked his own boutonnière to make sure his fretting hadn’t damaged the delicate flower.

“You look fine,” Elliot reassured him. “Get up here and relax.” He pulled on Darien’s arm. “Jakob is bringing Ann in now.”

Darien turned to see the younger vampire settling Vicky’s mother down in the front row. She looked up, gave him the most unusual smile, and mouthed a word, almost giddy.

“Twins?” Darien mouthed the word back to her, not understanding what she meant by it. His eyes jumped to the twin walking back down the aisle. What had the boys been up to? He looked back to her for an explanation, but Ann just shook her head and lowered her eyes.

The first chords of the wedding music sang across the crowd and everyone turned to the divide in the curtain. Jakob drew it back and Maggie stepped out in her long gown. The white roses with their trailing gold ribbons looked amazing against the dark green of the silk gown. Darien suspected that Zak was the reason Vicky had picked green as one of her bridal colors, but he really couldn’t complain. The dresses she and Vanessa had chosen were beautiful.

Beth stepped out next and followed Maggie down the aisle. Shortly behind her, Vanessa stepped out. All three girls were staring at Darien, giving him a smug look.

Darien glanced down at himself to make sure he hadn’t left his fly open or something more embarrassing. Everything seemed okay to him. He looked back up as the first of the girls reached him. The grin that rode her face confused him. Sure, they should be happy for their friend, but that wasn’t what was showing on their faces. Darien looked over his shoulder and gave Elliot a confused look. The younger vampire just shrugged and turned back to watch the women.

“You’re in for it now,” Beth whispered as she made the turn to take up her place next to Maggie.

“In for what?” Darien asked concerned. Had something happened with Vicky? Had he done something to make her upset?

Beth just shook her head and turned to face the crowd.

Anxiety grew in Darien as Vanessa stepped up to the dais. “What is it?” he asked, wanting to know what the issue was so he could fix it.

Vanessa grinned at him. “You’ll find out soon.” She turned into her place, leaving Darien confused.

He looked back over his shoulder at Elliot, concerned.

Elliot nodded towards the opening at the far end of the room as the music changed. “Don’t worry about it now.”

Darien turned to face the curtain where his bride would be entering. A swarm of lesser fay flew over the crowd, raining red rose petals down as the first notes of the wedding song rang out. Vicky had picked a soft Irish ballad for the wedding march and the sound of uilleann pipes soothed the worry from his mind. Darien’s breath caught as the music peaked and Vicky stepped through the split in the curtain. The spider-silk dress Arachne had given her on their handfasting looked just as amazing on her now as it did when he had first seen it, but this time he had a chance to appreciate the clinging silk as she strolled down the aisle on the arm of a man Darien didn’t know. Even the wings, quivering on her back, couldn’t dent the joy making his heart soar.

After a moment of enjoying Vicky’s beauty, Darien cast a glance at the man escorting her. From the flowers pinned at his breast, Darien could tell he was wearing an usher’s tux, but this man hadn’t been with them at the fitting. He was tall and trim, with dark messy hair that appeared to have a greenish cast to it, but it was the eyes that grabbed Darien’s attention and held it. The man’s eyes were pitch black, and even at a distance, Darien could tell they held no whites.