Caleb turned and smiled at Caitlin. “I do,” he said.
Aiden reached out, took Caitlin’s wrist in one hand, and took Caleb’s in the other, and then held their palms up, until they were touching each other. He held them that way, and Caitlin could feel the energy coursing through his hand.
“The rings,” Aiden prompted.
Caitlin reached into her pocket and extracted Caleb’s wedding band. It was a magnificent ring, with a gold band, covered in sparkling rubies. It had been given to her as a gift by Aiden, and he had insisted that she give it to Caleb on his wedding day. As Caleb turned his hand, she reached out and placed it on his ring finger. It was the first time he’d seen it, and his eyes lit up with surprise and, clearly, admiration. It was a perfect fit, and Caitlin had never felt so proud.
Caleb, for his turn, reached in and extracted the most gorgeous wedding band Caitlin had ever seen, covered in diamonds and sapphires. Caitlin was shocked—she hadn’t expected him to get her a second ring, above and beyond the magnificent ring she already wore. But as she looked down, he added this second ring to her finger, and Caitlin could immediately see how the two matched each other. She was speechless.
“By the authority vested in me,” Aiden continued, “and by the authority of the grand vampire council, I, Aiden, of the Pollepel Coven, do hereby, through the thousand year tradition, pronounce you man and wife, vampire and vampire, merged together in a union that no man or vampire shall tear asunder.”
He paused, looking at them both.
“You may kiss each other.”
As they kissed, a cheer arose among the crowd. Joyful music broke out, to the sound of a lute and a harp, and vampires on both sides of the aisles threw handfuls of flower petals on them, as they turned and began to walk back down the aisle.
Caitlin felt the petals showering down, all around them, and broke into laughter, as did Caleb.
Even while it was happening, Caitlin already knew that this was one of the peak moments of her life, one that she would never re-live again. She wished, more than anything, that she could just freeze it, hold onto it forever; but she knew, like everything else in the tide of life, it was something that could not last. So instead she just tried to enjoy it, staring at the petals, at Caleb’s smile, feeling his love for her, and hoping that they could be together like this for eternity.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Sam hadn’t stopped dancing for hours. He could not remember a night in his life when he’d danced this long, or had a better time. He’d been drinking for hours, too, ever since the ceremony had ended, which had been followed by a feast to end all feasts.
There must have been thousands of torches placed around the ceremony and reception area, in the huge, open field before the castle. Even the castle itself was alight with torches, placed all around the moat, all along the entranceway, and even in every window. In fact, the moat itself was filled with ingenious floating candles.
As if all this were not enough, there were thousands of flowers, elaborate displays of every color, in every direction. There were huge vats of wine, even bigger vats of blood, and dozens of boars roasting on spits. These had been complemented by every sort of delicacy. Rounding out the festivities were dozens of musicians, jugglers, clowns, and all sorts of tournaments, games and fun. It had been a grand spectacle. And the night was still nowhere near over.
Sam couldn’t be happier for his big sister, or his new brother in law. He was thrilled seeing the two of them so happy together. He was also elated for himself as he walked down the aisle with Polly, feeling how lucky he was to have her, and feeling her love for him as she held his arm. He couldn’t help thinking, throughout the ceremony, of their night before, of how they’d spent the night in each other’s arms, listening to the crashing of the waves. It had been a full moon, and they had slept right under it. Before dawn, he had taken her back to the castle, and they had slept in his bed.
For those precious few hours in which they’d slept in each other’s arms, Sam had finally felt at peace in the universe. He was now certain, beyond a doubt, that Polly was The One.
Now, more than ever, he felt a desire to make the depth of his love known to her. Throughout the night, he’d felt an urgency to find her in the crowd, to express his feelings to her, and, inspired by his sister, to propose. But he hadn’t been able to find her since the ceremony.
It had been a chaotic night, vampires streaming in from every direction, and it had been too hard to stick together. Vampires from every corner of the world grabbed him, danced, spun him around, and handed him off to partner after partner after partner. The music and dancing never stopped, and in the whirlwind, Sam had not been able to find her since.
Finally, he’d had enough, and had to catch his breath. He broke from the ranks and forced himself off to the side, to the wine vats, and he stood there, out of breath, combing the faces for her. He looked for her trademark hair, her large, bright eyes. But she was dressed like the others, and it was just too hard.
Suddenly, Sam felt a tapping on his shoulder.
Sam turned, and his heart soared.
Standing there, smiling back, her cheeks flush from dance and drink, was Polly.
She threw open her arms and gave him a big hug. He hugged her back, tightly, and spun her around.
She pulled back, and looked at him, and was beaming. He could see the love in her eyes.
“I missed you,” Polly said.
“And I you,” Sam said, and they came in for a long kiss.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Sam said. “To ask you, actually.” Before she could respond, Sam took her hand and led her away from the crowd, off to the side.
He desperately wanted time alone with her.
Sam found a quiet spot, away from the chaos, and as they stopped, he could see her looking back at him with surprise, unsure what it was.
“I want you to know that I meant what I said the other night,” Sam began. “About…how much I love you.”
Sam paused. He could feel his heart racing. He took a deep breath. He felt that now, more than ever, on the night of his sister’s wedding, was the time.
Polly stared back, smiling, waiting.
“I want to be with you forever,” Sam said finally.
“So do I,” Polly said back.
Sam shook his head.
“No,” Sam said. “I really mean it. Truly. Forever. Just like Caitlin and Caleb. Forever. ” Sam dropped to one knee, and took Polly’s hand.