Epilogue 6
Cat
Nerves tangled up my stomach until I felt like I’d be sick.
“You are Judgement,” I told myself as Fuzzball slowly climbed the cliffside that overlooked the flower-strewn fields of the domain’s western lands.
The fields went on forever, as beautiful as anywhere I’d ever seen in the mortal realm.
Three villages peeked above the flowers like sprouts, their pointed rooftops a pale blue that reflected the rare colour in the sky.
I took that as a positive omen that this would go well.
“You are Judgement,” I repeated, guiding Fuzzball down the narrow path worn into the ground. “You vanquished Violence. You survived curses and gods who tried to kill you ten times a day. You can do this.”
Except I nearly leapt off Fuzzball’s back and fled when her hooves carried us through the flowers towards the nearest village. Through sheer grit, and mostly by yelling at myself, I kept my mount as she carried me into the village.
“You’re like a heat-seeking missile,” I told her, and judging by the way she straightened and puffed out her chest, she enjoyed the remark. “How do you know exactly where to go?”
The look she gave me said, I’m a heat-seeking missile, remember?
And she was, because she’d carried me past spirits going about their daily afterlife, falling back into patterns they’d had while alive—some pushing prams holding ghost children or ghost Chihuahuas, some calling out today’s prices outside a butcher’s shop, a group of spirit men scratching their heads as they stared at a house mid-construction.
And sitting outside a café with striped awnings, was Honey and Byron.
They glanced up when I slid off Fuzzball’s side and landed in front of them, and if I’d expected a lack of recognition that was immediately disproved when Honey leapt to her feet and Byron grabbed me up in a bear hug.
“They got to you, too,” Byron said miserably, squeezing me tighter until I grunted.
“No.” A smile crinkled my eyes when Honey threw her arms around both of us. “I got to them.”
“But… how are you here?” Honey’s eyes were wide, filled with tears. “Why are you here? Did your husbands allow you to visit?”
“Actually, about them.” I failed to hide my smile. “I came to invite you to a wedding.”
Honey squeaked.
“As my best man and maid of honour,” I added, and Honey’s happiness was so loud we drew the attention of the whole street.
And I did not give a single shit, because I had my best friends back. We should have been alive, all three of us, but we had this. We would always have this.
Cat
Of course, I wasn’t supposed to know about the wedding, but that didn’t stop me making my own arrangements. I knew my husbands wanted to give me my dream day, but I wanted them to have theirs, too. Which brought me to arguing with a stout, bearded man called Ambition.
“I’ll only need to borrow a single one,” I said in my most polite voice, trying to wheedle him into acquiescence. “And only for one day. I promise I’ll bring them back.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, chin cocked out. “No.”
I smothered a groan of frustration, looking at the house behind him where small, fluffy, bodacious dogs wriggled in the window. If Madde wanted a corgi ringbearer, he’d have a corgi ringbearer.
I considered the god. “One day, one dog. What will it take to make it happen?”
Her eyes brightened. “You want to make a deal?”
Finally. “I do.”
The man’s beard parted to reveal a smile. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Come inside, you can meet the babies.”
Madness
Corgi. Puppies.
We had corgi puppies at our wedding.
I’d just spent hours telling myself I wasn’t going to cry, and now I was a hundred percent sure my mascara was running. Great. I was going to marry the woman of my dreams looking like a raccoon.
Cat looked insane. So good it ought to be illegal.
She floated down the aisle we’d made in Death’s garden, with rows of fancy chairs on either side of it seating our god besties and Cat’s family—my future parents-in-law, her killer cannibal bear brother, and the other, normal brother.
When Cat saw my veil, her eyes crinkled and a soft laugh rustled through the air.
Perfect. She was so perfect. Her dress was a waterfall of vintage white lace, with soft grey shadows painted across the bodice and skirt like watercolour.
The perfect marriage of dark and light, death and life, sane and utterly insane.
I swore one of the dark brushstrokes even looked like a crow, and a lump formed in my throat.
She was the most wonderful, murderous, beautiful, bloodthirsty woman I’d ever known, and I got to marry her for real.
Out of all the batshit things that had happened in my life, this was at the top of the pile. It was out-of-this-world-crazy that this was real. A wedding, a carpet of white flowers, an arch of lime coloured tulips above our heads, and corgi puppies. Tiny, adorably ghostie puppies.
I sniffled, and gratefully accepted the tissue Miz passed under my veil. It was already damp, I noticed. Good. Cat was so breathtaking, we should all be crying. Not a dry eye in the house, as they say. Not that we were in the house. That part would come later.
And by that part, just so we’re clear, I mean we’re gonna fuck like rabbits. No wall, no table, no window, and no bed was safe. Hell, with our shadows in play, no ceiling was safe.
A grin crossed my face when Cat reached us under the tulip arch, her throat rising and falling at the sight of those flowers.
“Hi,” she said quietly, silver lining her eyes as she smiled at each of us in turn.
We’d gone for a cohesive colour palette—my genius idea of course.
Death wore pitch black, Tor rich charcoal, Pain a smoky grey, Miz the colour of ashes, and I was dressed in an ivory satin suit.
And Cat, I realised, wore the perfect blend of all of us.
“You are so beautiful,” I sobbed.
Her smile curved her cheeks, pressed them close to her eyes, so big it barely fit on her face. “And here I thought I’d be the only one crying.”
“No chance of that,” Tor said gruffly, clearing his throat. “You look incredible.”
“Insane,” I agreed, so excited, so happy I vibrated.
“Unbelievable,” Death rasped, catching her hand, kissing her knuckles.
“Magnificent,” Miz breathed, wiping a tear before he kissed her temple.
“To die for,” Pain finished in a whisper. “You look unreal, Cat. Are you sure we get to marry you?”
“Don’t back out now.” Her eyes twinkled. “Or you’ll never get to see what’s under the dress.”
“Is it more puppies?” I gasped.
Her eyes softened, and she reached out to lift the veil from my face, bucking tradition like the wicked rebel she was. “Better,” she whispered.
“God,” Tor grunted, pulling at his collar. “Don’t make me carry you down this aisle before we’re even married, beautiful.”
Cat’s grin turned wicked. I had visions of lingerie, lace that teased, sheer fabric that would drive me to ruin. Would it be bridal white, or the black of death? She saw what she’d done to us, and loved it if her quiet giggle was anything to judge by.
Wicked, devious woman.
My wicked, devious woman.
When Passion moved to stand before us, very seriously opening the leather-bound book and beginning to read, I focused on the ceremony, on our vows, on finally, finally making this woman mine.
Even if we hadn’t married in life, we were married in death, and it was a binding that could never be broken.
I tried not to sob my way through my vows, and failed. There were too many emotions stuffed in my chest, and they wanted out, wanted to get to the object of their affections.
“I love you,” Cat breathed when I finished, reaching up to brush the tears off my cheeks. “My madman. My darkness.”
I sniffled, blinking back a new rush of tears when Cat’s voice stroked through my mind.
Look down, love.
And when I did, I saw she’d angled her leg so a split in the shirt showed her thigh, the black garter there, and the pink throwing blade I’d gifted her.
Wicked, devious woman indeed.
Pain
My knees were shaking. That wasn’t a cool thing to happen on your wedding day, was it?
But the second my shadows showed me the vision of Cat walking down the aisle, her hair flowing around her shoulders, hit me like a freight train.
Flattened me. Crushed me. Compressed my chest until it hurt, so full of love for her.
Squeezed my throat until there wasn’t enough space for the lump that had swelled within it.
And still my knees shook, until I worried Cat would see it as she flowed closer, walking so gracefully she had to be carried by shadows.
I wanted everything with this woman. A future, a house full of weird pets, a garden with a pond for a herd of ducks, my ring on her finger, my arms around her first thing in the morning as she woke, groggy and grumpy and so ruthlessly beautiful that it killed me.
She returned my heart to me, but the truth was Violence had only had it in spirit, because every last part of it was owned by Cat. My Cat, my darling woe.
She stopped beside us, and I knew I was supposed to wait, but I couldn’t stand it a moment longer. I swept a shadow around her waist and brought her in for a quick kiss. Soft laughter moved through the crowd, but it was the beaming smile on Cat’s face that held my interest.
I was so fucking ready to get married.
Misery
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t get a single noise past the lump in my throat as I lifted Cat’s hand and slid the ring onto her finger.
Her ring. The crown ring she gifted me when she saved me, when she gave everything to keep me here, alive.
No more would she sacrifice herself. No more would she be threatened.
I vowed it, and vowed to protect her always, to love her with every breath I took. When Passion declared us married, his eyes crinkled at the corners, I lost my battle with the emotion crammed in my chest and a sob burst free in the moments before Cat and I kissed.
It was slow and full of love and probably too long for the audience we had—the least of which were her family—but I didn’t give a shit. I had Cat forever. No one could take her from me now, and no one could take me from her.
Peach let out a low grumble from the pillow I held so our girl could be part of the ceremony, but she didn’t bite anyone, so I gave Cat one more kiss, greedy for every last taste of her.
“May death bring us together,” I said against her lips, echoing our vows, “and nothing do us part.”
“May nothing do us part,” she echoed, her eyes bright, cheeks blotchy. She’d never looked more beautiful. “Nothing,” she repeated firmly, opening her arms to hug Pain and Tor; Death, Madde, and I overlapped our arms until we all embraced. The six of us, married for life.
And for death.
And for everything that waited after.