Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection (The Lunar Chronicles) (33 page)

Winter stood and wrapped her arms around Scarlet’s waist. “She’s in the stars,” she whispered. “Jacin and I saw her when we were in the sky, and she was smiling down at you, and so very, very proud.”

Scarlet shook her head even as she sank into the embrace. “I thought you weren’t crazy anymore.”

Winter grinned. “I never made any promises,” she said, lifting her chin high. “And I believe it, besides. She is watching you, Scar, and she is proud.”

With a nod, Scarlet rubbed at her eyes one more time. “This is good,” she said. “It’s better to get all of this out of the way so I’m not a mess during the actual wedding, right?”

Cinder looked down, but she could still sense the awkward glances shared between Cress and Iko before Cress cleared her throat and asked, “What about the something blue? You didn’t tell us what that was going to be.”

“Oh, that.” Scarlet extricated herself from Winter’s arms. “I couldn’t really think of anything, so I thought I’d skip that part. It’s just a silly tradition, anyway.”

Winter jolted, her eyes gleaming. “It’s not silly at all, and I know just the thing. Do you have any blue thread?”

Scarlet peered at her uncertainly. “There’s a sewing kit in the top drawer over there.”

Winter hurried to the dresser, found the kit, and within moments had threaded a needle with cobalt blue thread. “Sit down again.”

“Now what are you doing?” Scarlet asked with some trepidation as Winter folded up the hem of her dress, revealing the silky lining underneath.

“Don’t worry. I taught myself how to embroider years ago.” She lowered her head to concentrate, her thick spiral curls curtaining her face.

Scarlet sighed, but didn’t argue. “How long is
this
going to take? Maybe someone should go tell Wolf to water the flower beds before it gets much later?”

“I’ll go,” said Cress. She was out of the room in a blink, shutting the door softly behind her.

Apparently tired of avoiding wrinkles in the dress, Scarlet sighed and lay back on the bed, letting Winter do whatever she was doing to the lining. Cinder tried to peer over Winter’s shoulder, but her hair blocked the needlework, so she gave up and joined Iko on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

She pulled up the commlink screen on her retina display and jotted off a quick message.

A
NYTHING WE’RE FORGETTING
?

Iko glanced at her. They rarely communicated using their internal computer interfaces anymore—using portscreens instead made them
both
feel more human—but being cyborg and android still had their conveniences.

C
RESS IS SUPPOSED TO BE HANDLING THE MUSIC,
came Iko’s reply.
I
JUST SENT HER A COMM REMINDING HER.

Cinder nodded and folded her arms over her knees. “Are you nervous?” she asked.

Scarlet turned her head. She was probably destroying that braid, but no one said anything. “No,” she said. “At least, not about getting married. I’m a little nervous at the idea that this has become an international spectacle and there are people who don’t know me or Wolf who are going to take it on themselves to judge our wedding, but … no. I’m not nervous about getting married, or being married. It’s Wolf. It feels … right.” Her eyes turned hazy as she stared at some insignificant spot on the wall over Cinder’s head. “There was never a time when it didn’t feel right.”

Cinder swallowed and couldn’t help thinking of Kai. Had there ever been a time when it didn’t feel right?

There had been difficult times, certainly.

When she’d first started to fall for him but had been too scared to tell him she was cyborg.

When he’d learned that she was Lunar, and thought she’d brainwashed him into having feelings for her.

When she’d kidnapped him, undermining his attempts to end a war and obtain the letumosis antidote.

And, oh, that one time when he’d married her tyrannical aunt.

She couldn’t very well say that their relationship had ever been
easy
, but then, neither had Wolf and Scarlet’s.

But had it always been
right
?

Her pulse hummed at the question.

It must have been, she thought, even way back when everything was so wrong. She couldn’t have fought so hard for him otherwise.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed with her lost in thought when a subtle knock sounded at the door and Cress reentered. “The flowers are taken care of,” she said, and winked at Iko. Luckily, Scarlet had her eyes shut and didn’t notice the blatant code word, if that’s what that was supposed to be.

“I’m almost finished,” said Winter.

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done to my beautiful dress,” said Scarlet, although she didn’t sound overly concerned.

“You will love it.” Winter tied a knot into the thread and bent over, using her teeth to cut off the long strings. “There.”

Scarlet sat up as the others crowded around.

This time, when Cinder saw what Winter had done, even she couldn’t prevent a joyful gasp from escaping her.

In the beautiful blue thread, into the silk lining of Scarlet’s wedding dress, Winter had embroidered a single word in simple, elegant script:
Alpha.

“You’re right,” said Scarlet, rubbing her thumb over the word. “It’s … perfect.”

“It’s something blue, at least,” said Winter.

Cress cleared her throat. Cinder looked up to see that she had her portscreen with her, and she was entering some command. She had an excited, beatific smile on her face.

“What now?” said Scarlet, her suspicious tone returning.

The only response, though, was the sound of string music echoing up from the floor below, loud enough to fill the whole house.

Scarlet pulled herself off the bed and let her uncertain glare travel from one friend to the next. “What’s going on?”

Cress pulled open the door, letting the music spill into the room.

Scarlet took a hesitant step toward the door, but Iko stopped her and made a few quick adjustments to her hair before nudging her forward. They all filed behind the bride as she emerged on the landing and peered down the narrow staircase. Since Cinder had been out before, the banister had been wrapped with white crepe paper and finished with an enormous tulle bow. The doorway below, which separated the foyer from the sitting room, was hung with fine white streamers. The whole house smelled of roses.

Scarlet turned back. “What have you done?”

They all stared with close-lipped, secretive smiles.

Shaking her head, Scarlet made her way down the stairs in her red-heeled shoes. When she turned into the sitting room, she was greeted by Jacin, holding out an expertly crafted bouquet. She took it from him, her mouth hanging open, and stepped through the fluttering streamers.

Then she began to laugh.

Cinder hurried to join her, eager to see what the boys had done. But when she stepped into the sitting room, it was not the decorations that caught her attention first, but Wolf, standing in front of the fireplace altar in his formal black-and-red tuxedo. Though it had been made especially for him, the jacket still stretched across his broad chest and shoulders, and the red bow tie was almost humorous against his fierce features and lupine bone structure.

Almost.

Despite everything Levana had tried to do to him, Cinder had to admit that he was still handsome, with his olive skin and vivid green eyes and unkempt hair. Most of all, though, it was the look he was giving Scarlet, which would have taken away the breath of any girl.

Kai and Thorne were there, too, each of them standing with their hands in their pockets, rocking back on their heels with supremely smug looks on their faces, like they were daring anyone to suggest it wasn’t the most beautiful impromptu wedding ever created.

And they had done a marvelous job—much better than Cinder would have expected. The turmoil from before had somehow been tweaked and massaged into a picture-perfect scene, with flower garlands over the tables and ivory fabric draping the windows and pillar candles flickering around the room.

There was also Émilie, Scarlet’s friend and the girl who had once been deathly afraid of Cinder, back when she was a wanted fugitive. Now, Émilie was beaming and standing next to a small table that held a towering pyramid of golden pastries.

“What,” Scarlet breathed, clutching the bouquet, “is this?”

Wolf smiled around his canine teeth. “You are the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on.”

Scarlet cocked her head. “And
you
look like you’re about to get married.” There was blatant amusement in her tone.

Wolf’s eyes dipped once to the carpet, but he didn’t stop smiling. He paced across the room and took Scarlet’s hands in his, so that their palms engulfed the wrapped flower stems.

“Scarlet,” he said, “I know how frustrated you’ve been with the … attention our wedding has brought, and how much you hate what it was turning into. And on our wedding day, all I want is for you to be happy and content. I don’t want you thinking about journalists or cameras or newsfeeds. You didn’t sign up for any of that, and it isn’t fair to you. So … I thought … I wondered if you might marry me now,
here
, instead.”

Scarlet tore her gaze from him and let it wander to everyone else in the room. “You were all in on this.”

“Wolf had the idea a few weeks ago,” said Kai, “when he noticed you were getting … upset about the media. That’s why he wanted us all to come early.”

Scarlet blinked tears from her eyes. “I … this is … it’s perfect, but I think you might have forgotten one important element.” She turned back to Wolf. “There’s no officiant here. Who’s going to marry us?”

Wolf’s grin widened, and he glanced at Kai.

Scarlet followed the look. “Seriously?”

Kai shrugged. “I’ve never done it before, but it is within my powers as the emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth to marry people. It will be perfectly legitimate and binding.”

Wolf took a step closer so that he towered over Scarlet, creating what could have been a moment of intimacy if the room hadn’t been so crowded. “So? Will you marry me?”

Scarlet started to smile.

“Wait. Before you answer that,” said Thorne, gesturing around the room, “you should know that the store where we got all this stuff doesn’t take returns.”

Casting her gaze skyward, Scarlet said, “Well, in
that
case. Yes. Yes, of course I will.” Her eyes glimmered as she draped her arms over Wolf’s shoulders. His hands spread out across the sash at her waist and he bent toward her—

But just before their lips touched, Thorne thrust his hand in between them, receiving dual kisses on his fingers. Wolf and Scarlet jerked back.

“Slow those rockets,” said Thorne. “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure we’re not to the kissing part yet.” He pried Scarlet away from Wolf, who growled low in his throat, and ordered, “Places, everyone!”

Cinder gladly claimed one of the wooden chairs that had been brought in from the kitchen, and Émilie took the seat beside her, whispering, “Aren’t they the most beautiful couple? I introduced them, you know.”

Cinder cast a frown at her. “You did?”

Émilie shrugged and flashed an impish grin. “Well … sort of.”

Kai and Wolf stood at the makeshift altar, while Winter and Jacin took the remaining dining chairs. Thorne led Scarlet back out to the foyer, and Cinder could hear him whispering hasty directions before coming to sit beside Cress and Iko on the sheet-draped sofa.

After Cress punched a new command into her portscreen, the music changed to a classic wedding march. The change was affecting, sweeping away the frivolity of the decorations and Thorne’s humor and filling the house with a sense of intent.

Scarlet waited a moment, allowing the music to permeate the ceremony, before she glided through the wall of streamers. Her eyes were locked onto Wolf’s as she took one meaningful, patient step after another.

Émilie sniffled and raised a handkerchief to her nose. “I love weddings.”

Grinning, Cinder glanced toward Kai and found him smiling back at her. If he was nervous to be playing such an important role on such a momentous occasion, he didn’t show it.

Scarlet stopped beside Wolf, and Cress lowered the music’s volume, letting it fade pleasantly into silence. There was another sniffle in the room—
Winter
, Cinder guessed.

“Dear friends,” Kai began, “we are gathered today to witness and to celebrate the union between Wo—er, Ze’ev Kesley and Scarlet Benoit. Though we are a small gathering, it’s clear that the love we feel for this bride and groom would span to Luna and back.” His copper-brown eyes passed fondly from Scarlet to Wolf. “Of course, we know that the world sees this wedding as a historical event. The first recorded marriage union between a Lunar and an Earthen since the second era. And maybe that is important. Maybe the love and compassion these two people have for each other is symbolic of hope for the future. Maybe this wedding signifies the possibility that someday our two races will not only learn to tolerate each other, but to love and appreciate each other as well. Or,
maybe…”
Kai’s eyes glinted. “… this relationship has absolutely nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with our shared human need to find someone who will care for us as much as we care for them. To find a partner who complements us and teaches us. Who makes us stronger. Who makes us want to be our best possible self.”

Cinder heard yet another sniffle—this time from Iko, and she nearly choked. Iko, like her, couldn’t cry, but that had never stopped her from faking it before.

Kai continued, “I think that when every person in this room looks at Ze’ev and Scarlet, they don’t see a Lunar and an Earthen. We don’t see an agenda, or two people trying to make a statement. I think we see two people who were lucky enough to find each other in this vast universe, and they weren’t going to let any boundaries of distance or race or even physiological tampering get in the way of a happy life together.”

Cinder listed her head thoughtfully.
Distance. Race. Physiological tampering.
It was almost as if Kai wasn’t just talking about Wolf and Scarlet. He could just as easily have been talking about their own relationship. She squinted at Kai, newly suspicious, but his eyes never darted toward her, and she began to feel self-absorbed for thinking it. This was Wolf and Scarlet’s moment, and Kai respected that.