Forty-Three
CHAPTER
Girls’ night at the Estate reminded me of what girls’ nights used to be like with Gelia.
In the Mortal Realm, we would have sleepovers where we would put our hair in pin curls and look through the box of pictures and things Gelia had accumulated over the years as Princess.
We ate snacks and opened the window to listen to the distant sounds of music coming from the city.
There were gifts, makeup, and glittery things that I was blessed to touch because Gelia allowed me to.
I missed her sometimes, even though I knew that I shouldn’t. Emotions were strange like that. Sometimes, I felt things that I genuinely didn’t want to feel.
Memories such as those were not ones I was fond of. At least, not anymore. The thought of her filled my insides with poison. It was bittersweet. I pushed those thoughts aside. This was meant to be a fun time, not a sorrowful one. Things were different now.
Now, I was in the Realm of Stars, sitting on the floor of Akira’s room while Celeste brushed all the knots and kinks and coils out of my hair. Akira brought in a tray of snacks and sweets for us all to enjoy.
“I think Narcissa is really hot, actually. It’s a bummer that she isn’t my Mate.” Akira half-pouted.
“Narcissa?” I repeated.
“She is, but isn’t she Mated with Viotto?” Celeste questioned.
“Wait.” My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. My hands emphasizing my words, I screeched, “Wait… since when are Viotto and Narcissa MATES!? And why didn’t anyone tell me? They don’t act like Mates!”
Celeste and Akira giggled.
“What?!” I squawked. Gods above. Nobody ever tells me anything!
The two looked at one another before looking back at me with smiles on their faces.
“Well, they grew up together, actually. But Narcissa hasn’t accepted or declined the Mate Bond because she was in love with him when we were little, but, at the time, he hated her.
Like, he tugged on her pigtails and pushed her into muddy puddles kind of hate.
So, when we got older, she stopped being all googly-eyed for him and it just so happens that when she did, he fell head over heels for her,” Celeste explained.
Akira butted in. “And then, the Mate Bond snapped for Viotto, and he has followed her like a lost puppy ever since, but she’s indifferent to the whole thing since she found out.” She shrugged. “The Gods pick the Mate Bonds for a reason, so we don’t question it.”
“Just like how we don’t question Acheron and Mateo’s, either,” Celeste added.
I nodded, understanding what they meant. I couldn’t help but empathize with Narcissa, given at one point, my situation was similar. Zathrian and I did grow up together, more or less, but we never saw eye to eye and even when the Mate Bond snapped in place, things were rocky for a while.
My brow furrowed in thought as I turned back to Celeste and Akira.
“I see. Well, on the topic of Mate Bonds…” I reached for a chocolate-dipped strawberry from the tray and took a bite, sucking the juices between my teeth before discarding the stem.
They both waited in anticipation with wide eyes and fidgety hands.
“I think that I want to accept the Mate Bond with Zathrian.” I paused. “Officially.”
They both squealed and giggled, smacking one another playfully, almost falling off the bed in the process.
“REALLY?” Akira asked.
“Mhm,” I replied with a quick nod.
“You know, I am surprised, but also not. You guys really can’t keep your hands off each other.” Akira giggled.
“Not to mention Mateo and Viotto practically had to drag him out of here to go to their boys’ night,” Celeste added.
I smiled bashfully. My hand reached for my curls, gently toying with them. “He just worries about me after everything that happened…”
“Reasonably so,” Akira said.
“I don’t blame him,” Celeste added.
“So, does he know?” Akira questioned.
I shook my head.
“You really think he would be out on a boys’ night if he did?” Akira asked.
The three of us all shook our heads. We burst out into laughter, our joyous sounds echoing through the room and down the moonstone halls.
Our laughter eventually died down as we collected ourselves in one way or another, primarily by wiping our almost tears and pushing away messy curls from our faces.
“Okay, okay.” I took a deep breath. “In all seriousness, I really do want to accept the Bond, but I don’t know how to tell him. As stupid as it sounds, I just look at him and… I don’t know what to say.”
“Awwww,” Celeste and Akira said in unison.
“Stop…” I mumbled, even more embarrassed than before. “Stop it.” I hid my face in my hands. “This is serious. He makes me feel… everything I have always dreamed of.”
Celeste smiled, her words muffled by Zathrian’s thoughts coming through the Bond.
You’re talking about me again? he asked.
The world doesn’t revolve around you, I replied.
Yours does, Airhead, he teased.
Shut up and go enjoy your boys’ night, you big lug, I huffed.
Says the one who can’t stop thinking about me when she’s supposed to be enjoying girls’ night.
I lightly rolled my eyes, pushing him out of my head.
I didn’t want him to know what I was thinking simply because I wanted to be the one to tell him.
Directly. Face to face. Not mistakenly through the Mate Bond.
Everything always had to be so complicated.
I puffed air between my teeth, blowing a single curl in my face.
“Don’t you think?” Akira asked me, her words finally reaching my ears again and snapping me back into the current moment.
“Huh?” I muttered.
Akira huffed. “Did you not listen to a single word I said? Stars above, do you ever pay attention when I am trying to tell you the important stuff?”
“Uhm, sorry. I just zoned out.” Lifting my hand, I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
Akira rolled her eyes, and Celeste popped a couple bits of popcorn into her mouth.
“Anyways, as I was saying, I think you should pull him aside and just speak from the heart. You don’t need some grand gesture of love or speech of devotion to tell him. Just say how you feel, you know? Say what comes to mind.”
I nodded, contemplating what Akira said.
“She’s right, you know. It means more when it’s more in the moment, in my opinion,” Celeste agreed.
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t really fix the whole, getting-choked-up thing when I am around him.”
Akira tapped her chin. “Mmm… mhm.” She nodded. “That certainly would be a problem. I guess you can’t exactly tell him if you can’t find the words to say.”
“Oh! OH! OH, I KNOW!” Celeste smiled bigger. “A gift! I mean to accept the Bond, you would have to go through the ceremony, with him being a High Lord and all, but it’s tradition to make him an embroidered handkerchief. You could do that.”
Words could not describe the baffled look on my face. “I haven’t done anything like that in ages.”
“Well, put that knowledge to work then,” Akira encouraged, ever the optimist.
“Right, okay.” I nodded as Celeste dug through Akira’s things to find needles and thread.
I guess we were doing this.
It took all night.
I stabbed myself with the needle at least a dozen times, if not more. The pads of my fingers were stiff and sore, but after far more trial and error than I cared to admit, and several cups of coffee to help me keep the pep in my step, I somehow managed to create something beautiful.
The handkerchief itself was a soft cream color. The edges were trimmed in the celestial emblem of the Realm of Stars—silver and navy. In the corner, I had a heart with the following embroidered within it:
A + Z
Forever and Always
I was honestly impressed that I was able to pull it off the way I did. It was beautiful, despite having never done anything like that before. All the work I had done with a needle and thread prior was always small simple things.
Nothing like this.
But for him, I would move mountains and cross oceans if I must. I never thought I would feel the way I felt about Zathrian. Until I did.
Exhausted, and barely able to keep my eyes open, I hugged the handkerchief, hoping that it would mean as much to him as it did to me.