Chapter Six

 

Mae

 

The wedding day . . .

 

“There.” Beauty moved back to inspect her work. “Well, shit, darlin’. I never thought you could be more beautiful than you already were. But I was wrong.”

I took a deep breath when all my sisters gathered around me. They all looked stunning. Beauty had done their hair and makeup too. They wore their hair down, and their makeup was soft and delicate, just like my own. “You all look so beautiful,” I whispered, working hard on not allowing any tears to fall from my eyes.

Bella bent down and kissed my head. “It is almost time.”

I inhaled deeply then nodded. I rose to my feet, and Beauty came around me with the veil. She stood on tiptoes and pushed it into my hair. Bella, Maddie, and Lilah fanned it around my dress, and they all moved back. A large mirror stood before me, and I stared at the woman looking back at me.

I could not believe this day was finally here.

Beauty laid her hands on my shoulders and smiled. “I’ll go and take my seat now, Mae.”

Sudden nerves accosted me when I realized that the ceremony was just around the corner. Beauty left the room, but I still could not tear my attention away from my reflection. We were in one of the rooms in the clubhouse—Ky’s. The ceremony was happening in the yard. We had spent the past few days decorating the area with whites and blues. Pastor Ellis from Lilah’s church was conducting the ceremony. I adored her. Delayed the wedding a month just so I could have her conduct this day.

“You ready, Mae?” Lilah came to stand beside me. I looked at my friend and nodded my head.

“It feels strange,” I whispered and shook my head. “Like I have waited my entire life for this moment. Like everything I went through, all of it, the trials and tribulations, the joy and the pain, was all worth it because it brought me here to this exact moment.” I laughed. “To marry the boy I met behind the fence all those years ago. On the worst day of my life, he appeared like a dark angel. My dark angel.”

Lilah smiled, and I knew it was because she felt the same way about Ky.

Maddie handed me my bouquet of flowers. They were white to match my dress. Blue flowers were sporadically placed amongst the white to complement the bridesmaids’ dresses and, of course, my eyes.

“He will not be able to believe his eyes when he sees you,” Maddie said. Bella stood beside Maddie. My two blood sisters, one green-eyed, one with ice-blue eyes like mine. I stared at Bella for a moment. She was my miracle. Risen from the dead and here to witness this day.

Maddie had married Flame in private, and Bella had married Rider at New Zion. I hadn’t gotten the chance to witness their weddings. But then I looked to Lilah and prayed that my ceremony was as perfect as hers.

“It will be,” she said, reading my mind. “You are marrying Styx. Even if hell itself ascended and fiery storms tore this compound apart, you would still feel this day was perfect. Because on this day, your heart forever melds with his. Your River.”

“It was always him, you know?” I whispered and lowered my eyes to stare at the bouquet. “I found my soul mate at age eight. And here we are, about to be joined all these years later.”

“With baby Charon watching from his seat in heaven until he joins you in this world,” Maddie said and a lump blocked my throat. I nodded, unable to speak.

“Mama? When do I get to throw the flowers?” Grace asked from the back of the room.

Lilah turned to her daughter. “Soon, Grace.” She waved her hand. “Come here, baby.”

Grace went to Lilah and held her hand. As I looked at the reflection before us, I saw a picture. A family picture of love and loss, but mostly endurance and survival. “I am honored that I have you all standing here with me.”

“Mae,” Bella murmured and I saw her flick a tear from her eye.

“It is true. All of us were deemed evil, seductresses of men. All of us were hurt because of our faces.” I shook my head. “But as I look at us now, I see no cursed women of Eve. I see four women who are blessed, who are loved and love in return. Enriching the lives of their sisters, friends, and husbands.” I smiled at Grace, who was watching, wide eyed. “And children.”

“And it is because of you,” Maddie said softly. I turned to face her. Her cheeks flushed and she shrugged. “It is true. You were the one to find the courage to flee the only world we had ever known. And you returned for us, pulling us from the pits of darkness too.”

“No matter how unwillingly,” Lilah joked and I laughed. “But it was a blessing I did not expect.” She hugged Grace closer to her side as she ran her hand over her wedding band. “I did not know that life could be this beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I said, remembering the day I fled, the day of my wedding to the prophet. Hounds and disciple guards chased me to the fence. And then I broke through, hitched a ride and found myself at the Hades Hangmen compound . . . and back to the boy who had stolen both my first kiss and my heart.

River.

“I love you all,” I said, and heard my voice break. My eyes shimmered and blinked as I tried desperately to rid them of tears. I did not want to ruin Beauty’s hard work.

A knock came on the door, and the knob turned. Elysia, Ky’s sister, stuck her head through, all curly blond hair and blue eyes. “I’ve been told to come and get y’all,” she said then stopped dead in the doorway. “Hell, Mae, you look beautiful.” She smiled and waggled her brows. “Styx is gonna lose his shit when he sees you.” I laughed at Sia. She was funny, like Ky, and just as gorgeous.

“Y’all make stunning bridesmaids too, ladies,” she said and winked at Lilah.

“What about me, Aunt Sia?” Grace said and held out her arms to show off her dress.

Sia gasped. “Well you’re the most beautiful of all, Gracie Bell,” she said dramatically. “Hell, I thought that just went without saying.” Grace smiled smugly, and Sia looked at me. “Stephen’s out here ready to walk you down the aisle. And Styx is already waiting at the altar.”

“He is?” I asked, feeling butterflies swarm in my stomach.

Sia nodded excitedly. “And I gotta tell ya, girl. Styx is like another brother to me, but jeez, he looks as handsome as all hell out there, all spiffed up and fancy. You’re gonna be all over that shit when you see him.”

“Sia!” Lilah scolded, but fought hard to hold back her laugh.

“What? It’s true!” She tapped the edge of the door. “I’ll be waiting by the main doors.” She met my eyes. “Good luck, doll.” She left and I held my bouquet more tightly.

Bella’s arm linked through mine. “Are you ready, sister?”

“Yes,” I said and felt the strength of that answer all the way to my bones.

Lilah and Grace led the way out toward the yard. Maddie went next, then Bella, then me.

When I hit the hallway, I saw Stephen, my father, turn as he waited by the closed doors to the yard. He was dressed in a tux—the only attendee that would be. He had told me he had wanted to do this right.

“Mae,” Stephen whispered as I approached. He held out his hand and I slid mine in his. I met his gaze and saw his eyes begin to shimmer with tears. “You look so so beautiful, my girl,” he rasped, fighting the lump in his throat.

My girl . . .

“Thank you.” I pulled back my hand and ran it down the lapel of his tux. “You look very handsome.”

Stephen smiled, then lowered his head. When he looked back up, he said roughly, “It is an honor for me to walk you down the aisle today, Mae. I have waited for a moment like this for too many years to count. I cannot believe we are actually here right now. It’s like a dream.” His gaze drifted over my shoulders to my sisters. “All of us. All of you looking so perfect . . .” he cleared his throat. “My brave daughters.”

“Father,” I whispered and blinked away my tears.

Stephen stilled. “Father . . .” he repeated, and this time a tear drifted down his cheek. “I will never tire of hearing that word from your lips.” He kissed me on my cheek, then threaded my arm through his. “I believe it is time. I do not want to face Styx’s wrath if we don’t get you out there and married as soon as possible. He is not a patient man when it comes to you.”

I laughed, but knew he was right. Styx would not think twice about marching in here and carrying me to the altar to speed things along if I did not hurry up.

Sia waited at the doors. “You ready, Mae?”

“Yes,” I said but then quickly held up my hand. “Just . . . one moment, please.”

I moved to the window that overlooked the yard as my sisters took their places. I discreetly looked through the glass, and I felt a wave of nervousness as I saw all the brothers in their seats. Phebe and Sapphira were beside AK, Flame, and Vike. Letti and Beauty were with Bull and Tank. I saw Ky at the altar, dressed in a white shirt and his cut . . . and then I saw him.

My heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped breathing, and my body stopped moving. Styx, my Styx . . . he was . . . he was . . . beautiful.

He stood at the altar with Pastor Ellis before him. His head was down, and he was rocking from side to side. I knew how nervous he was. His hands wrung together at his front. And then he turned to hear something Ky had said, and my breath whooshed through my parted lips.

He wore dark jeans and a black bolo tie with the Hangmen emblem embossed in the silver buckle. And then there was his cut. The top couple of buttons of his shirt were undone, showing his many tattoos and tanned skin. His dark hair was messy, exactly how I liked it. And then there were his hazel eyes, bright under his furrowed brow, his dark stubbled cheeks making his irises look even greener.

He was about to become my husband . . .

“You good, Mae?” Sia asked, and I turned to face my sisters.

“I am ready,” I said, knowing each word was true. “I am more than ready.”

Sia smiled and left through the doors. I took my place beside Stephen, behind my sisters and waited for the music to begin.

Today I would marry the boy who had pulled me from my deepest despair. Today, I would become Mrs. Mae Nash . . .

. . . at long last, I would be home.