Fixing the last strand of errant hair into an elaborate up-do, Eira sighed. She couldn’t say she’d ever thought she’dd be wearing a wedding dress, even if she’d admired them on all the TV shows she’d watched. As much as it had taken her off guard, and as much as it still seemed odd she needed to wear one, she trusted that Leth knew what he was doing. If he said that it was tradition, then she’d have to trust him.

A rumbling of voices revealed that Josh and Rueben had arrived, and something like butterflies started playing in her stomach. She wasn’t nervous about seeing them as such, more about what they’d think of her in the dress, which was stunningly beautiful she had to admit. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her bedroom and into the main room, to find three pairs of eyes immediately fix on hers.

“E, you look…” Josh started, the first to actually respond.

“Beyond stunning,” Rueben added, looking like he was about to storm over to her and ravish her on the spot. She wouldn’t say no if he did.

“You look just as good as I thought you would,” Leth said, making his way over to her and kissing her cheek. “What’s this? Did I hurt you earlier?” he asked, smoothing a gentle finger over her forearm. She looked at where he meant and her stomach sank.

“No, you didn’t,” she answered quietly.

“Then where’s it from, Frostie?” He tried to look in her eyes, but she looked away, refusing to meet them.

“Has it got anything to do with your call earlier?” Josh asked, getting up and walking over to her so that he could look too, Rueben hot on his heels. “Hell, E, it looks like he grabbed you hard.”

“It was a vampire.” Rueben’s statement of fact shocked her, and she looked up to find angry blue eyes boring into hers. “Eira?”

“Yes, it was Edward,” she answered, not looking away from him.

“Fuck, the little—”

“Hey, Rueben, it’s alright. Vampires do dickish shit all the time, so do witches and fae. You can just report him to your Council, right?” Josh asked, and something odd flitted across Rueben’s face.

“You mean Elders,” Leth butted in, but was ignored. Rueben pushed a hand through his hair.

“Can you?” Eira asked softly.

“Sort of, but there’s a couple of problems with that.” He sighed, but none of them said anything as they waited for him to continue. “He is an Elder.”

“What?” Josh demanded, angrier than Eira had ever seen him before, including the time that someone had broken his little sister’s heart. Rueben took a deep breath.

“And so am I.”

She stared at him, not quite sure how to respond. “An Elder?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?” It wouldn’t change anything, she knew it wouldn’t, but now she was curious.

“A hundred and seventy ish I think. I’m not sure I spent most of the early nineteen hundreds drinking away the memories.”

She pushed past Josh and placed a comforting hand on Rueben’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

“For asking? You have every right to know.”

“No, that you had to live through that. It can’t have been easy.” She looked into his eyes, hoping to convey the emotions she wanted to through them.

“I can’t complain, I found my way to make amends, and now I’ve found something truly worth living for.” He lifted a hand to touch her cheek and it was like the whole room ceased to exist, and only the two of them existed.

“But what does that mean for Edward?” Leth interrupted, ruining the intensity between her and Rueben.

“It means I need to go deal with him. Then I need to go find Eden.”

“What? You’re not coming with us?” She didn’t like the idea of him not being at the ball, she’d been looking forward to the four of them being there together.

“I’ll come as soon as I’m done. I’ll make it, Eira, I promise.”

“And who is Eden?” Leth asked, sticking his nose in again.

“She’s the most reasonable member of the Elders. Don’t worry, she’s already happily mated.”

“I’m not worried,” she told him truthfully. After all, she could read the look in his eyes as well as she would have been able to read her own. “But will you kiss me before you go?”

“No. It’s not perfect—”

“I’m wearing a sodding wedding dress, Rueben, what more perfect moment could you want?”

“It’s just not right—”

“Oh for—” she started before grabbing his shirt and pulling him towards her. Without waiting a second longer, she pressed her lips against his, relieved when he reacted almost instantly. It’d taken too long to get t this moment, and, while it wasn’t the perfect one he wanted, it felt that way to Eira. They broke apart, and she stared up into his eyes, a myriad of emotions playing across his light blue irises.

“Finally,” Leth muttered, and Eira broke eye contact with Rueben so that she could glare at him. She may love the half-fae already, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still a pain in her ass. Huh, love. She hadn’t thought it about any of them yet, but it seemed so natural that she knew it must be true. The advantage of true mates she guessed.

Luckily, Leth didn’t say anything else, and she turned her attention back to the vampire in front of her, already knowing that she wouldn’t be able to change his mind about what he needed to do. “Be safe.” She raised a hand and cupped his cheek, stroking her thumb over the rough stubble that seemed to have formed there.

“It’s only Edward,” he replied, the look on his face suggesting that he was more worried than he was trying to let on. Which worried her a little in turn. She’d only just found him, she didn’t want to risk losing him. She didn’t want to lose any of them, and if anything happened to any of them, then she didn’t know what she’d do. Probably feel incomplete for the rest of her life.

“Rueben, please,” she begged.

“For you, I’ll be extra careful.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back, hoping he’d do what he promised.

“Eira, I...”

She waited for him to say the words she knew were on the tip of his tongue, but instead, he just stayed silent.

“Just be careful,” he said instead. She deflated slightly, but refused to let it show. There was still too much to deal with for that.

Rueben nodded once at each of the other men, before turning away and walking out of Eira’s flat. She stared after him, already feeling his absence. It was going to be a long night, and she was going to constantly be checking for his arrival at the ball.

“We need to go, E.” A light touch on her arm accompanied Josh’s words, and she turned to him, unsurprised by the compassionate look on his face.

“He’ll be okay,” Leth added, seeming to take things seriously for a change. “But it’s time to get you to the ball, Cinderella.” Or maybe not. Even so, she smiled, already happy to have him here to diffuse the tension with his own odd brand of humour.