the curtain and leads me into the crowd of Wanderers. There are hundreds of them. Kaino stands at the front, near the edge of the cliff. Lord Raske smiles broadly at me from the front of the crowd. Gabriel waves his bionic fingers at me, his eyes focused intently on Luca, who smiles shyly at him.
And then I see him.
Standing at the edge of the world, the ocean dark behind him, the sun surrounds him, sinking low into the water. The sea breeze lifts his dark hair, like a whirl of emotions flowing around him. And his beautiful silver eyes are glistening as he looks at me. His eyebrows rise slightly, his lips parting, his intense eyes drifting over my exposed body.
The nerves that were drowning me just seconds ago are washed away under his gaze. I walk confidently toward him, closer and closer, wanting to ambush him where he stands, among all the people. My bare feet pick up the pace against the dirt and I realize the music is strumming around us.
I look for the source of the perfect melody. My eyes drift over the crowd until I realize, next to Asher, at his right-hand side, is his grandfather.
Jim stands smiling at me, his fingers moving effortlessly against the cords of his guitar. The gray hair that was so disorderly when I first met him, is now neatly combed back from his lined face. Shae stands proudly at his side, the wind ruffling her long silver hair, piled high on her head. They look so out of place against the ocean side but I can’t imagine this day without them.
Asher smiles at his grandpa, who beams back at him, their features matching, the two looking similar for only an instant.
It’s perfect.
Everything is perfect.
He’s perfect.
Luca leads me to the front of the standing crowd, my legs move without thought, the crowd falls away. Luca slips my palm into Asher’s. His fingers wrap around mine, strong and warm and assuring.
Luca slips away to stand at Gabriel’s side. At the head of the crowd, just before me stands… my mother. The breath is knocked out of my lungs and a gasp slips from my lips as my eyes lock onto the Infinity witch, her bare feet practically teetering on the edge of the rocky cliff before us.
Lines crease around her olive eyes as she smiles down at me, knowing exactly what I see. Today I’m doing something my mother never could; marrying the person I love. I bite my lip and look away, into the white clouds as tears sting my eyes. My chest aches as a shuddering breath fills me and I wipe quickly at the corners of my eyes.
Asher gives me a curious look but takes my hands in his again, giving me a half smile as he leans closer to me, pulling me toward him, his hands seemingly begging to hold me.
My eyes rake over his tall frame. His lips are set in this half-open smile like he isn’t sure if he should celebrate yet. Like our fate might fall away from us again, tumbling over the cliff before we’ve even started.
His hair is combed, neatly parted but ruffled by the wind. He hasn’t combed his hair in all the days that I’ve known him. It’s different. It makes him look… responsible. Less like the reckless pike I gawked at through the compound window, not anything like the hybrid who stormed into this community, nothing like the hybrid who nearly died at my feet a year ago. He looks… confident and clean but also… like he can take care of me. Strong and strong-willed, but also calm and gentle.
He squeezes my hand. My eyes flutter down his crisp white button up shirt, he holds both of my hands lightly in his. My gaze scans over his clean black jeans, to his bare feet. His typical heavy boots are nowhere in sight.
Because we’re going to jump soon.
My mouth goes dry and my eyes dart back up to his for reassurance. The sun illuminates us, shining brightly over us, his skin appearing paler against the light. My heart thrums against my chest, making me aware of its existence as it pounds loudly in my ears. I never really gave my heart much thought before I met him, but now it’s like I’m alive just for him. He makes me aware of my own beating heart when I took it for granted every day of my life before him.
A smile passes