Read Online Ascend by Amanda Hocking - Free Book Online

couldn’t
understand him.
    Duncan stayed in the doorway,
and using my mindspeak I told him to make sure that
Oren and Sara were really gone.
    Everyone else was looking
to me, waiting to see my reaction. I wanted to wilt, to let out a sigh of
relief, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let them know how rattled I was,
that I’d been terrified that my father would kill us, and I would be unable to
do anything to stop him.  
    “Sorry about the
interruption,” I said, my voice astonishingly even,
and I gave all my guests my most polite smile. “But with that over, I believe
we have a wedding to get on with.” I turned to Tove, still smiling. “Assuming
you’ll still have me.”
    “Of course,” he returned
my smile.
    He held out his arm, and
I took it. As we walked back down the aisle, the orchestra began playing
“Moonlight Sonata” again.
    “How are you holding up?”
Tove asked quietly when we climbed the altar stairs.
    “Good,” I whispered.
“Getting married doesn’t seem all that scary anymore.”
    We stood in front of
Markis Bain, and I glanced back over my shoulder. Duncan stood in the doorway,
and he mouthed the words all clear . I
smiled appreciatively at him and turned back to the Markis.
    “Shall we start with the
vows then?” Markis Bain asked. “Princess, Markis, turn and face each other.”
    I turned to Tove, forcing a smile to cover up the pounding
of my heart. With a few simple words and exchange of rings, I vowed to take him
as my husband until death. We sealed it with a quick kiss, and the guests
erupted in applause.

     

7. Interlude
    Thankfully, between the wedding and the reception, we had
a brief interlude while they cleared out the chairs and set up the tables and
the dance floor. I’m not sure where new brides were supposed to spend that
time, but I spent mine locked in the nearest bathroom with Willa.
    I splashed cold water on my face, and that helped clear my
head, even if it did drive Willa nuts. I dried off my face with paper towel
once I felt better, and she frantically reapplied my makeup.
    We left the bathroom in time for Tove and me to make our
grand entrance as husband and wife. When we walked in, Garrett stood up and
introduced us as Prince Tove and Princess Wendy Kroner, and everyone applauded
again.
    I’m not sure how they did it in such a short time, but the
ballroom looked amazing. If I’d been the kind of girl to imagine a fairy tale
wedding, this is exactly how I would’ve pictured it. The chandeliers that were
lit during the ceremony had been shut off, so the room twinkled with fairy
lights strung everywhere. Candles glowed on the tables. The whole room smelled
of lilies from all the flowers.
    While everyone watched, Tove and I danced our first dance to
“At Last” by Etta James. I’d let him choose it, and he was an Etta James fan.
We did dance well together, thanks to the countless lessons Willa made us go
through to be sure we were perfect, but we didn’t twirl around the room like it
was magic.
    When the dance finished, the orchestra resumed, playing
something by Bach. I would’ve been happy to spend the night dancing with Tove,
but as soon as the song ended, everyone gathered on the floor. I would have to
dance with anyone who asked.
    Garrett stole the first dance with me, and Aurora danced with
Tove. My own mother probably wouldn’t dance with him, but she was still here
for the reception. I imagined she would stay all night, no matter how weak or
tired she got. After that comment Oren had made, she had to prove that she
still had it, even if she didn’t really.
    Willa cut in to dance with me once, which was nice. She made
me laugh, and that felt really good . I carried all my
tension in my shoulders, and by the end of the night, I knew they would ache
like mad.
    I caught sight of Matt, Rhys, Rhiannon, and Duncan sitting
at a table in the back when a Markis was spinning me about. I wanted to escape
from the dance to spend a few moments with them,