Iko made a clicking sound in her throat—akin to a subtle tsk. “How else are we going to get the full effect? Dress, shoes, hair, everything. It all has to work together.”
Scarlet sighed. “You’re all acting weird. Is there something going on that I should know about?”
A chorus of highly incriminating Nos and Not at alls flurried around her. Scarlet scoffed.
“Why don’t you tell us about … something old?” said Cinder, sitting beside Winter.
Scarlet frowned. “Something old?”
“Yeah. Um. Wolf had said something about a tradition…”
“Oh!” Scarlet fluffed her skirt, keeping out the wrinkles as much as she could. “There’s an old, old wedding tradition, in which the bride should wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. So, for me, my dress is new.” She gestured at the dress. “The shoes are borrowed. And my something old is right over there.” She pointed.
Cress turned and picked something small and shining off the top of the dresser. She held it toward Scarlet, who nodded before showing it to the others.
It was a brooch. A yellow gemstone was at its center, set into a five-pointed star, with two golden wings stretching out to either side. Cinder’s retina display recognized it almost immediately, informing her that it was a pilot pin from the European Federation military, circa 81 T.E.
“It was my grandmother’s,” said Scarlet, holding out her palm. Cress set the pin into it. “It was given to her when she became a pilot. She gave it to me years ago, and … I thought it would be like having a part of her with me. I thought I’d pin it to the bouquet or something.”
“Don’t be silly.” Winter rose up onto her knees and scooted closer to Scarlet. Taking the brooch from her hands, she leaned forward and pinned it through the fabric of the white bodice, right over Scarlet’s heart. “This is clearly where it belongs.”
Scarlet was smiling as she looked down at the brooch. “You don’t think it clashes with the outfit?”
“Oh, it definitely clashes,” Iko said from behind her.
“But do you care?” added Winter.
Scarlet shook her head. “Not really.”
“I figured as much.”
“Done!” Iko leaned back. “Get up and show everyone.”
“When did you become so bossy?” Scarlet said, chuckling, as she stood and straightened the dress. She gave a twirl, then stopped and let everyone admire Iko’s handiwork. Her hair fell in large spiraling ringlets—still curly and wild, but neater than she usually wore it, and topped off with the elegant, pearl-studded braid. She went to look at herself in the mirror.
After a long, silent moment, she swallowed and placed a finger against her grandmother’s brooch. She sniffed, then tilted her head way back and inhaled deeply in an attempt to keep tears from falling. After a second, she laughed again and lowered her head.
“I wish she were here,” she murmured, and no one had to ask who she meant. “She would have loved him so much.” There was another sniff, and she turned around, swiping at her eyes. “She would have loved all of you, too. I think … I think she was a little concerned that I never made very many friends.” She swept her arms in no particular direction. “And now look. I have so many friends, I need a cargo ship to keep you all in.”
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.
ANYTHING 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.
CRESS 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.