Chapter 34
Poppy, the minor Goddess who had helped me before my engagement, had made last-minute alterations to my dress last night, tucking and pinning until the golden material slid along my curves perfectly.
I loved her and her incessant nattering, but I couldn’t wait for her to leave.
Gray, as ever, was in tune with my thoughts and feelings and kept any other guests at bay.
All I’d wanted was my bed, but sleep evaded me and now the sun was rising over Elysia. I slipped from my space carefully, leaving Gray looking peaceful. I envied him for being able to sleep with no troubles. When he slept like that, you would struggle to pin a destructive nature to him.
Grabbing some sweatpants and a T-shirt, I changed out of my pyjamas and crept downstairs and out the door. The open air was what I craved. A space that was not confined.
Elysia was breathtaking at all points in the day, but early morning was where it captured my heart. There were few Gods and Goddesses bustling around and the quiet calm made it look like it should be hung in a museum. Too beautiful to be real. Unbelievable that it would be my permanent home.
My fingers brushed against the stone of buildings and against the flowers that bloomed in bushes.
Who would have thought that this place was on the brink of being torn apart a few weeks ago?
Blood and rubble swept away to make space for perfection once again.
Whenever I thought about it too much, it made me feel dizzy.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath.
To remind myself that those days were gone.
There was no immediate danger. This was now a chance for us to learn and grow.
To rebuild into something more transparent and functional.
Unsurprisingly, my feet and thoughts had led me to the council chambers, the centrepiece for all the big changes in the heavens.
In a few hours’ time, someone would place a crown on my head and lead me to a throne.
A laugh escaped my lips as I walked into the room.
Who would have known this would be my fate?
“Gods!” Elva turned around with her eyes wide. “Quentin! You made me jump.”
“Sorry! Elva, what are you doing here?”
She moved towards me, her aura around her and a soft smile on her face. “I told you I wanted to help get things ready for today. You didn’t think I would delegate, did you? Why are you here?” When she stopped in front of me, she tucked some of my loose hair behind my ear.
My conversation with Cass about family had not been about comparing him and Elva, but explaining the difference in our relationships.
She was still someone so new to my life and although I appreciated all of her efforts, I knew it would take me time to be as comfortable with her as I was with my brother.
“Are you nervous?”
“About what?” I asked, followed by giggles that betrayed me.
“Everything.”
I walked past her towards the row of thrones that were on the dais.
Hunter’s and a few others’ had been removed from the line-up to make room for new ones representing the Gods that would make my inner circle.
At the centre of it all was an ornate-looking piece.
Intricate details were carved into the gold, and my fingers followed the swirls lazily.
“It’s very mortal of me, right?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. “Being nervous about everything.”
Elva came to my side and nodded. “Yes, it is, but you’re part mortal, Quentin, so it’s natural. There’s an awful lot that has come into your life quickly.”
That was an understatement. “Reminding myself to take it one day at a time.”
“Sometimes that’s difficult when you have an eternity ahead of you.”
I hummed. Eternity was another concept that made me feel woozy these days.
It was a double-edged sword. How glorious it would be to spend the rest of my days with Gray and how terrible it would be when the time came to lose Cass and the others I cared so deeply about.
The hairs on my arms raised at the thought.
“How are you and Ig?” I asked, trying to shift the subject before I spiralled.
With everything that had happened lately, it was almost surprising that relationships had survived. Old wounds were opened and alliances remained on shaky ground. It was a testament to how resilient the Gods were that they would fight to keep the things that they regarded as sacred.
“We’re good. We’ve been talking,” she said with a shy smile.
“About?”
“About maybe extending our family.”
I blinked a few times before grinning at her. “That would be amazing.”
“You think so?”
“Yes.”
Elva looked up at her old spot on the dais. “We never approached the topic before. We were lucky that Hunter granted us his blessing to get married. I think we both assumed we’d be pushing our luck to start a family. Even Ig didn’t think he had it in him to sway that.”
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Hunter. Even though he was gone, still lingered.
There was no way to cleanse him from the heavens so rapidly.
It would take time for us all to heal from the things he had done and said.
To untangle all the messy threads so we no longer tripped over them.
The repercussions of his actions still had us tripping over words and looking over our shoulders before we remembered he could do no more harm.
“Quentin, what have I said about going places without me?” Gray’s voice echoed through the chambers.
I rolled my eyes at the comment. Gray had taken to being my shadow, as if I was the one who had almost lost my life.
Sometimes I wondered if I should give him a spot back on the council so that he could bother everyone else and give me some peace.
But even in my moments of mild irritation, I was grateful that he cared as much as he did.
The feelings of inadequacy crept up sometimes in the middle of the night as I watched him sleep.
The fear that he might think I had dragged him through too much and leave.
That was all before common sense kicked in and I reminded myself that we were made only for each other.
No matter the bumps, no matter the difficulties, we would only find peace in each other’s arms.
Elva snorted beside me, and I bumped her shoulder with mine.
“Save me,” I mumbled to her.
“You’re on your own,” she whispered. “I’m not getting on his bad side.”
“Traitor.”
Gray joined us, a look of disapproval and love etched across his features. His feelings clearly mirroring my own.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked.
“I thought you could use some sleep.”
His lips drew into a thin line. “I don’t need sleep. I need to make sure you’re okay.”
“I should get back to decorating,” Elva said.
She gave me a mock curtsey, and I shot her my middle finger. Her laugh echoed around us, light and airy and full of hope.
“How are you feeling?” Gray asked.
“Am I allowed to say that I don’t want to discuss it?”
“I don’t like the answer, but I’ll respect it.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling a deep sense of appreciation swell in my chest. “We should probably get back and start getting ready, I guess.”
Gray wasted no time. His aura took us away from the chambers and back to the warmth of our bedroom.
He could sense every atom of chaos that vibrated through me as I walked around the room collecting my things. He perched himself on the end of the bed, the weight of his gaze following me.
“I wish Cass could be here,” I muttered, pulling the dress from the wardrobe. I took it from its bag last night, unnerved by it remaining in its garment bag. There needed to be some disorder, some small spark of rebellion to the day.
“I’m sorry that wasn’t possible,” Gray replied. He rose from his spot, taking the dress from me as I shed my casual attire.
I appreciated Elva and Ig. It made my heart burst to think that they wanted to start a family and I would have a baby to dote on. But it was no replacement for Cassidy and Sophie.
The rush of warmth filled my eyes, and I blinked quickly to stop the tears from falling.
Gray patiently waited with my dress, and I stepped into it, using him to steady myself.
If he had seen or sensed my little emotional wobble, he didn’t make comment on it and that made me love him even more.
His fingers ghosted along my spine as he pulled the zipped up slowly and as he finished, he pressed a kiss to the back of my neck.
“You are a wonder, Quentin Scott,” he breathed against my skin as our reflection stared back at us from the mirror.
“You have to say that.”
“I don’t have to say anything, and you know it.”
He kissed my cheek before going into the wardrobe for his suit. I brushed through my hair, watching him as he dressed in his signature black. There was not a single ounce of colour on him, and he looked truly sinful.
“Quentin,” Gray said after he straightened his cuffs.
“Yes, Gray?”
His knuckles brushed my cheek gently, and I leaned into his touch. As annoyed as I could get at my hulking shadow, I would walk without him for most of the ceremony today, and that was beginning to feel daunting.
“Before anything else,” Gray said, leaning down so our noses touched, “you are my Queen. I want you to remember that. You are mine before everyone else’s.”
Blood thundered in my ears, and I swallowed.
Gray was making his position abundantly clear the way he always had.
I was his top priority, and he expected the same in return.
And, even if it made me a bad ruler, I knew that Gray and his life would come before anything else.
Call it our bond or loyalty or love, all I knew was that I could never find myself in a position to lose him ever again.
“You know you could have made an official statement by marrying me before all this pomp and circumstance,” I told him.
“Stop pouting,” he replied, kissing me. “I promise we will get there.”