"Yes," he said. "Uncle Rav is not dead, nor is he away in another land. He is in Velre."
Aryen’s heart leaped, and his brows rose in disbelief. All these years, he had believed his father was away in so distant land because of the letters he used to send, and when he was growing up and his play mate taunted him about being fatherless, Aryen had begun to think their father didn’t want them. If it hadn’t been for his mother’s constant reminders that he would co back to them soday and that he hadn’t abandoned them, Aryen would have long ago hated his father for neglecting them.
When Finn had told him that his father was alive and suffering from corruption, everything had started to make sense, but he had fought the urge to go and search for where they were keeping him. Finn had explained that when Angel returned, he would treat and cure their father, and that Aryen should pretend he didn’t know about it.
Many tis while growing up, he had seen the complete family of the Dagons and wished their own family could feel and be that complete, but that had never been possible without their father, about whom their mother cried almost every night in her room. Aryen hated hearing her sobs in the middle of the night.
"He is in Velre? Where? Can I see him?" Aryen asked, unable to contain the feeling bubbling inside him.
"I’m sorry, you can’t see him yet. He is kept inside a coffin for now, and the coffin can’t be opened until the day his heart will be changed," Max said calmly, though if one could see and read his heart, they would notice the nervousness he felt about the changing of the heart, sothing he had looked forward to all his life and also dreaded.
Aryen’s face fell, but not completely, as there was still hope. "When will that be?" he asked.
"When I find a matching heart for him. I have been searching for a healthy heart strong enough to survive a vampire’s lifespan, but I haven’t found one yet. After Elle’s wedding, I will continue the search for a suitable heart among the turned vampires."
That was one of the main reasons the heart changing had been delayed. Max couldn’t risk using a human heart, nor could he use any kind of turned vampire’s weak or unstable heart, one that would eventually corrupt again through the years. The heart he needed had to be strong, compatible, and able to endure immortality.
Taking such a heart would an killing the person it belonged to, and Max had not yet found soone whose heart t all the requirents. Until then, he refused to touch anything on uncle Rav.
"Can I help in any way? I would like to assist," Aryen said. Max looked thoughtful for a mont, silently considering, before he finally nodded his head. "Sure. I will let you know when it’s ti to start the search."
Aryen grinned, revealing a straight set of white teeth, and held out his hand for a comrade handshake. Max looked down at the hand, then removed his own from his pocket and grasped it firmly. They held it a mont longer than necessary, a silent exchange passing between them.
"Thank you," Aryen said softly, his voice carrying the weight of gratitude. "For everything you did for my family."
___
Elle had known sothing would go wrong today because of the persistent feeling in her gut, but she tried to ta the sensation and convinced herself that it was all in her head. She was overthinking things because she was dying of anxiety. Many tis while she was being dressed, she had asked for water and blood.
Though a half-breed, she still required blood, only it wasn’t like the others; she could live without it. But today, she had requested it more than three tis to quench the dryness in her throat, which made it clear it wasn’t from thirst, because even the blood didn’t quench it.
Aunt Belle had asked more than once if she wanted to rest for so ti, but Elle said she was fine. Her mother had asked if she wanted the wedding to be postponed if she didn’t feel well, and Elle shook her head. Though she was tempted to say yes, she dared not after coming this far ahead.
The guests and all of the McKay relatives had gone ahead to the venue; it was her and her family’s arrival they waited for. All her life she had been treated like a delicate flower, where her mother did everything for her. She had given her everything she ever asked for.
Elle wouldn’t spoil her na in society now because she was having cold feet.
Rosey had said it was normal for a bride to feel nervous, and Aunt Belle had also described how nervous she had been during her own ti.
Not to ntion, Elle wasn’t marrying a stranger but a man she had known for more than a year.
When they finished dressing her, Elle stared at her reflection in the mirror, where she didn’t look like her normal self.
"Rosey, isn’t this too much?" she asked her friend, who was hellbent on making her the most beautiful bride anyone had ever seen.
Rosey scoffed. "Too much? Not a chance. You have a beauty that makes anyone stop and stare, just like that doll from my childhood. You should enhance that beauty. I didn’t even do much, Elle. Let’s make Eryx know how lucky he is to marry an Angel!"
Angel. The word made her rember he was sowhere in the house, but she didn’t want to even think about him more than she already had. This new Angel unnerved her and made her feel strange. He had grown into a man she had not expected, so tall and big-muscled. She recalled his big hand resting at the small of her back and felt herself blush.
"Oh, the bride is blushing already," remarked Finn, who had co to join them for so reason instead of hanging around Aryen like he normally did. "The carriage has arrived. You should save the blush for your groom, cousin," he announced as he peeked out the window.
The groom. That word alone made Elle clutch a handful of her dress nervously. Eryx was waiting for her.
Rosey noticed the way Elle paled at her brother’s teasing and imdiately moved closer. She reached out and smacked Finn’s arm. He looked down at her with a clueless expression, still chewing on the blood candy he liked to carry around in his pocket like so child, one she believed he still was, despite how much he had grown.
"What?" he asked.
Rosey rolled her eyes and said, "Go tell Mama that the bride will be done soon."
"I am not your errand boy. You—" Finn paused when Rosey spoke through their link, telling him he was making the bride nervous by ntioning the groom.
He glanced at Elle, taking in her pale face and tightly clenched hands, and imdiately left to do as he was told. He had just wanted to join them not make the bride nervous in anyway.
"Shall we?" Rosey went back to assist Elle from the stool in front of the mirror.
Elle’s face was covered with a veil, through which she saw everything in a haze. As her nerves returned all over again, she took a deep breath and thought of flowing water, a creek with rocks beneath the clear water. She focused on that and on the soothing deep voice that had whispered those words in her ear that morning, and she felt herself slowly relax.
Her brother assisted her into the bridal carriage. He adjusted her dress as she sat down and said, "You look beautiful, Elle." After he closed the door, her gaze fell on a familiar figure through the window, blue hair and a broad back, that she recognized imdiately.
Thankfully, she had a veil over her head, or he would have noticed how she was shalessly looking at him so yearningly. He wasn’t looking at her; he was assisting his mother into the big family carriage. But before he stepped inside himself, he turned over his shoulder in her direction.
Elle felt her heart waver under his gaze and quickly turned away, pulling the curtains of the carriage closed. Rosey joined her inside, and soon the carriage began to move down the smooth lane of Mirehaven. The closer they got to the venue, the more her anxiety increased.
When they arrived, Elle did not expect so many guests and such a number of carriages packed outside. No doubt many were McKay guests, since her family had not sent invitations to more than fifty people. Her stomach turned, and bile rose to her throat, but she forced herself to stay composed.
She was assisted down from the carriage, and her family fussed over her before proceeding into the large church, where the McKays had insisted on a Christian ceremony.
Though many vampires didn’t believe in holy things, turned vampires still held on to their belief in God, and the McKays and her mother were among them.
Uncle Rohan soon ca to stand beside her, holding out his bent arm as her escort to the altar, where she would be given away to her groom. Elle slipped her hand around his forearm.
"Your hands are cold, Elle. Are you nervous?" he asked gently.
"A little," she murmured softly.
"Do you need more ti to relax?" he asked again.
Elle was tempted to say yes, but she shook her head. "No. Let’s go in. The guests are waiting. I don’t want to keep them waiting any longer, Uncle Rohan."
Rohan turned to look at her, feeling as though he should say sothing more, but he had no idea what words a father was supposed to give his daughter on her wedding day, especially when she was this nervous. His own daughter hadn’t married yet, and he had never experienced giving her away, sothing he wasn’t looking forward to, as many n of this generation were useless in his opinion. Instead, he said,
"You can always count on , Elle. If after today Eryx does anything to hurt you, I am only a call away."
Elle couldn’t help but smile despite herself; her brother had said the sa words to her just a day ago.
Her heart ward, and she whispered, "Yes, sir. Thank you."
When they walked into the church, the piano played softly in the background, and every pair of eyes turned to her. Elle realized how real everything was, she was getting married.
She tried to keep herself composed, but as she looked at a few guests murmuring loudly enough for her to hear, she belatedly sensed sothing was wrong. When she raised her head toward the altar, where the groom was supposed to be, the truth hit her hard in the gut that made her imdiately nauseous.
I knew it, sothing was bound to go wrong, Elle thought in despair, almost close to tears.
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