Chapter 85

MILA

It didn’t feel real.

Every few seconds, I kept looking down at the wedding band on my finger, still slightly in shock that it had actually happened. Felix and I were actually married. Despite everything that had tried to come between us over the last few months, we had beaten the odds.

Our wedding reception was held in the castle’s Grand Hall. The entire room was swarming with royalty and nobility from across the world, and I was pretty sure I had spotted the American President in the buffet line. When I was a little girl, thinking about my wedding, I had never imagined anything like this.

I took a long sip of wine as I surveyed the room. People bowed to me as they passed. Not only was I a wife now, but I was also a princess.

I had come a long way from being my family’s servant.

I was content to take a moment for myself, knowing that once Felix took the throne, I would not have much alone time. At the moment, Felix was across the room, talking to Esmeralda. The sight of them together did not throw me, but Felix had a look of concern on his face. He leaned in closely to the witch, talking to her in a hushed, urgent whisper.

Was something wrong? I craned my neck to see.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to see King Ivan and Queen Rowena smiling at me. They were perhaps the only familiar faces in this crowd, and I was glad to see them.

“We wanted to extend our congratulations personally, Mila,” Ivan said. “We are so pleased to welcome you to our family.”

At the mention of the word family, Rowena’s eyes darkened slightly, and I knew that she was thinking about her child who was not present at the event. Charles had hurt all of them with his betrayal–not just Felix.

“Thank you for your kindness,” I said in response. “I’m thrilled to have you both as in-laws.”

That made Rowena’s face brighten slightly. She extended a small wooden box towards me. Its lid was covered in ornate carvings–dragons and fire and armor. I looked down at it in surprise.

“You didn’t need to get me anything!” I exclaimed. “Please, this wedding is more than enough. Your generosity is unmatched.”

“It’s more than a gift,” Rowena said. “Open the box.”

I lifted the lid. Nestled in a bed of soft green velvet was a pendant in the shape of a small glass dragon. Inside, there was some sort of glowing amber material that shimmered and caught the light, moving as if it had a life of its own.

It was stunning. I raised my eyes to meet Rowena’s, aware that mine were filling with tears.

“It’s a dragonfire pendant,” Rowena explained. “Inside is a tiny drop of dragonfire from Ignatius. You may not be a Dragon Knight yourself, Mila, but you are part of the legacy now. This necklace represents your place in the royal family and in the inner circle of Dragon Knights.”

I broke public protocol in that moment to give her a hug, but truthfully, I did not care. If anyone wanted to remark on my inappropriate behavior, that was on them. For the first time in my life, I had somewhere I belonged, and people who loved me.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Felix, with a wide grin on his face.

“The pendant is beautiful, is it not?” he said. I nodded, still feeling too overwhelmed to speak.

“I’ll put it on for you,” he said, spinning me around so that he could clasp the necklace around my neck.

I shuddered at the feel of Felix’s fingertips against the delicate skin on the back of my neck. There was not a doubt in my mind that this man would never stop giving me butterflies.

“I have a surprise for you,” Felix murmured into my ear. I twisted slightly to look back at him.

“Another surprise?” I asked. “Felix, it’s too much.”

“Nothing is too much for my beautiful bride,” Felix said, and grabbed my hand to lead me outside.

Most of the crowd had gathered on the Great Lawn, and there was a string quartet playing orchestral versions of pop songs in the corner.

“What are they all doing outside?” I asked Felix. He simply smiled and pulled me against his chest.

“Look up,” he said.

I craned my neck skyward and was stunned to see the first firework explode in the night.

“Did you…?” I asked Felix in amazement. He laughed.

“I wanted something big to celebrate our marriage with,” he said. “A fireworks show seemed to be the only thing appropriate.”

I threw my arms around his waist and watched the sky. Unfortunately, there was still one dark cloud in my mind that I needed to sweep away.

“Can I ask you something?” I said tentatively, watching the colorful fireworks reflect on his face.

Felix tilted his head down to me in worry. “Of course, my darling. Is something wrong?”

“I saw you talking to Esmeralda earlier. It seemed like maybe something was the matter. Is everything alright?” My words all came out in a rush. I was terrified to spoil the perfect moment, but I wanted the truth.

Felix’s brow furrowed. “Of course, Mila. We were just talking about Charles. It’s… difficult not to think of him on a day like this.”

I nodded in understanding. “Your parents seemed upset as well.”

“I’m sure,” Felix said. “This is now the only wedding of a child they will attend. It’s a day of complicated emotions for us all.”

I lifted my hand to touch his cheek. “You’ll always have me by your side to help you through the complicated days. Always and forever.”

I leaned back against him and watched the grand finale of the fireworks display. As the last bombshells faded from the sky, Felix leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Maybe we should continue the party inside.”

“Oh, sure!” I said. “There are still a few people in the Grand Hall that I should probably greet.”

Felix raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what I meant.”

My body flushed with heat as I realized what he was saying. “Oh. Oh. Yes, let’s go inside.”

Felix led me upstairs to our new bedchamber–a massive room overlooking the Great Lawn and city below. The chambers of a Prince and Princess. The chambers of the future King and Queen.

Felix wasted no time as soon as we got into the chambers. He pinned me against the door and started kissing his way down my neck. I moaned and arched into his touch.

It took him a few minutes to undo all the tiny buttons on the back of my dress, and I briefly cursed Marie for allowing the tailor to make it so difficult to get in and out of my wedding gown. But Felix was smart, and had quick, deft fingers, and soon, the white pooled around my feet as the dress fell to the floor.

Felix looked at me in my wedding night undergarments up and down–a lacy white corset and frilly white bloomers.

“Mila,” he said softly, his voice hoarse.

And so we consummated the marriage. But even as Felix stretched his body over mine, his hands searching and squeezing and stroking, there was a distance in his eyes that I could not quite place.

Something was wrong. I just needed to figure out what it was.