Excited? one of the guys asked me.
I gave it my best try at responding with an expression that said I didnt know what he was talking about.
Wil iam talks in his sleep, he explained, shrugging his hulking shoulders. If he isnt moaning your name, hes sighing about a Betrothal. His friend to the right elbowed him, but it was more one of those that was encouraging him on that tel ing him to shut up. Ive spent a lot of time with Wil iam in the field. Hes the best man Ive ever known. Youre a lucky woman.
His friend throwing elbows scanned me with peaked brows. Hes a luckier man.
Yes, yes. We al know Bryn is the height of al woman-dom and youd saw off your left testicle to have her. As always, Sierras way with words had a way of bringing on a communal cringe to any conversation. But Wil iam would rip off the rest of your manhood for even thinking about that, so lets shut our traps and show a little respect?
The men hadnt made me feel al that uncomfortable, other than the eyebrow-elbow ones once over, but I shot Sierra a smile of appreciation.
She answered back with a pistol shot hand gesture and a click of her mouth.
The smal talk was abruptly over as a hush fel over the room and the table of men across from me rose in unison. My body ran numb down to my toes and a nervous energy was buzzing with such strength I pul ed the linen napkin into my lap to wring some of it out.
Good evening, my friends, Charles stated, glancing around the room, his eyes the warmest Id seen them as he seemed to acknowledge everyone. Ive never been a man of words, nor particularly good with those words I choose,”a soft laughter of assent echoed through the tent”so why dont we get to the heart of why were al here? he said, pul ing out a piece of paper from the inside of his jacket.
The room went fuzzy in that old-school black and white static television kind of way. It felt quite possible I was on the verge of passing out for a record second time as an Immortal and it wasnt something on my list of things I wanted to do in front of every last member in our Al iance. That would be something theyd never forget. Literal y.
I heard a clearing of the throat that was as recognizable as it was obvious, but it gave me the break I needed in my overwhelmed state to look up, right at him.
Charles paused mid-unfolding and turned his head to his son.
Excuse me, Wil iam said, a smile pul ing his mouth into position.
Charles head shook, but there was no disapproval in it; he looked more amused than anything. Wil iams stare returned to me and he let out the most non-existent kind of winks. Hed succeeded in getting my attention turned elsewhere than on my trepidations about whose name was planted next to Bryn Dawsons on the sheet in Charles hand.
Standing with his hands clasped in front of him, at the end of our seven council members dressed in tuxes, Id understood why hed wanted to get my attention. His surf attire stood out as much as he did in a room and, next to the stark black and white al around him, it brought a laugh to the surface. Thankful y I was able to restrain most of it before what was left surfaced as a hiccup.
I saw Sierra having to work at containing her own laughter then, but Charles pretended not to notice. One guttural outburst was enough for him for one Betrothal announcement.
If there are no more interruptions, Charles said, raising his eyebrows in Wil iams direction, eliciting another echo of laughter from the room. It gives me great pleasure to announce the first Betrothal of the night.
I was pretty sure my name would be last on that list again, because a. they liked the idea of torturing me for as long as possible, b. they wanted to make their chosen ones Betrothal a grand finale, c. they wanted to make sure al the Betrothals were announced before Wil iam tore the room apart when Patrick and my name were paired, or d. al of the above . . . except for b.
Miss Bryn Dawson is hereby and forever Betrothed to, Charles cal ed out, eyes pul ing me out of the crowd, just in time for my face to fal . Heres what I should have calculated in my Betrothal line-up”when the Council was involved, always expect the unexpected.
A few moments passed in silence as I felt al the eyes in the room bearing down on me, as if they were waiting for me to do something. If it wasnt passing out, I wasnt sure what they wanted or if I was capable of it in this present mess.
Charles gestured his hand up, signaling me to rise. I offered him a forced smile, popping up so quickly my knees hit the table on my way up, rattling the tables china. I heard an obvious snicker coming from the Haywards table to the right of the Council table and I didnt need to look to know it was coming from a white tux.
My cheeks flushed to ful red as I tried to force composure. I was going to face whatever future the Council had set before me with strength and courage. My eyes flitted back to Wil iam and he was already side-stepping around the table in anticipation, he was that confident it was him. At the same time I noticed a shifting in a seat a table over. It was kind of hard to miss it with the blaring white tux he was exhibiting. His hands braced over the table, preparing to rise . . . he was that confident it was him.
No matter what the outcome was, one person was going to leave heart-broken. I would have given anything to keep both Patrick and Wil iam from heartache, but there was only one who would crush my soul to see in such a state.
Charles continued, choosing to play ignorant of his sons assured movements, Have I inserted enough of a dramatic pause? He grinned into the folds of the paper in his hand as another shot of laughter rol ed through the crowd of Immortals on the edge of their seats.
Mr. . . . I heard the col ective holding of breath throughout the entire tent as I took my own. Charles eyes lifted, right into mine, and he smiled. One that was warm and welcoming, one Id never seen turned in my direction. I knew who the name was a heartbeat before it fel from Charles mouth.
Wil iam Hayward.
My knees gave out beneath me along with the rest of me. Thankful y, my chair caught me before the ground did. There was an explosion of clapping and a few hol ers of congratulations thrown out, but the only thing I real y took notice of was Wil iams victorious figure coming for me. And he wasnt walking towards our eternity together, he was running.
He was lifting me off the chair and carrying me out to the dance floor before I had a chance to replay the name that had been cal ed out in my head. Wil iam. William . . . and me. Betrothed.
Wil iam lowered me to the floor, slowly and intimately and, before I could do a stupification clearing of my head with a few shakes, his lips were on mine, unyielding and unrestrained. That was a more effective means of clearing my mind and, despite my state of shock, I did what any self-respecting Immortal girl would have . . . I gripped my fingers in his shirt, pul ed him closer, and kissed him harder.
The room exploded with hoots and hol ers, cheering us on. A few more seconds of mind-numbing kissing ensued before Wil iam released me.
His eyes were sparkling as I saw the reflection of my own doing the same. Dance with me? he whispered, running his hand down my back until it fitted over my hip. Forever? he added while I ran my hand down his arm until it folded into his.
And then some, was my only answer as he pul ed me tightly to him, leading me across the dance floor as only he could.
The room ratcheted up a few levels in noise; it had to be nearing the crystal shattering point. As I scanned the room, not a single body wasnt cheering or jumping up and down, the Hayward table the wildest of them al .
Except for one.
Patricks eyes found me, gripping mine to him, wanting me to see the genuineness on his face. He nodded once as a smile broke slowly over his face. Folding his hands into his pockets, he turned to walk away and was swal owed whole by the crowd.
CHAPTER SEVEN
BETROTHED . . . AGAIN
I hadnt been out of Wil iams arms since I first went into them several hours back at the announcement of our Betrothal. It stil hadnt settled in yet, so whenever hed planted a lingering kiss on me, I found myself throwing a nervous glance around us because earlier this same night, wed technical y no more belonged to each other than I did to the freckle-faced boy twirling like a top beside us on the dance floor. Yet here we were, my head resting against his chest as we swayed to the music and no one cared, not even the Council. Wel , no one cared in that you two are in so much trouble way.
After the first few dozen discovered Wil iam wasnt going to release me to step into their congratulatory embraces, the remainder of the crowd settled for patting him on the shoulder and a lucky few received high fives. And thered been no shortage of wel wishers since we were the only couple that had been Betrothed. Smack in the center of the limelight, the place I tried to avoid at al costs, but something about knowing this entire event had been orchestrated for nothing other than extending Wil iam and me a promise of forever made al the attention we were getting easier to be gracious about.
May I cut in? Joseph sauntered up to Wil iam and me, stil lost in our own little world. I knew separating was inevitable, but it didnt make it easier to execute. At least a dance with my future brother-in-law was one of the better reasons to leave the arms of Wil iam Hayward.
I tried pressing through Wil iams embrace and I might as wel have been banded to him by a six inch thick layer of steel. His expression was appal ed, eyeing Joseph as if hed just asked if he could drive a dagger through my heart. I thought you understood the way it was, Wil iam said to Joseph, attempting to sound severe. I wil never wil ingly surrender her into another mans arms.
Joseph was failing to hide the same smile I was holding at bay. What if she willingly decides to leave your arms? he asked, looking to me for some help.
Hed have to keep looking. Sorry, Joseph, I said, replacing my head against Wil iams chest. I was just promised an eternity together with this man and I take that in a strictly literal sense. Besides, I wouldnt want to go against what the Council has ordered. Id found my admiration for the Council had increased in vast quantities since their Chancel ors little announcement.
Yeah, Joseph threw his hands up in the air, turning to retrieve his wife from Hectors best attempts at waltzing. Its not like youve done nothing but approve of the Councils orders.
Hey, Wil iam cal ed over to Joseph who was in the middle of dipping Cora. No need to get al mouthy with my girl. Looking down at me, his eyes went soft. Thats my job.
When his mouth touched mine, time didnt only stand stil , it unraveled in an endless spool before us. There would be no more fleeting kisses, no more stolen moments, no more sneaking away to be alone”unless we wanted it”no more wondering if Id have to watch the man I loved spend his life with another. I sighed between our combined lips, bliss in every thought and touch.
Easy there, kil er, Nathanial said, leaning into us as he and Abigail danced their way towards us. Theres a time and place for that and the time is after your Union and the place is in your bedroom.
Abigail covered her husbands mouth. Dont listen to him. The two of you together like this . . .”she searched over us with her eyes”wel , its beautiful. Dont waste a second of it.
Not planning on it, Wil iam answered, a hand grazing up to the nape of my neck as he pul ed me back to him, his lips and h*ps moving with skil to the music.
So fantastic, you guys are Betrothed, Cora interjected, steering Joseph in our direction. Lets move on to important things here, like dress selection.
I sighed my exasperation against Wil iams mouth before looking over at her. Whatever grudge shed held against me for coming to the social event of the decade dressed like an outfit-impaired imbecile had melted. Wil iam opened his mouth, likely to come to my rescue, before Cora barreled ahead. We need to book our tickets, like yesterday, for New York or Milan or Paris” Not Paris, I warned, trying to hold back the memories of a skuzzy apartment, a skuzzier bar, and a team of Immortals sent to destroy.