A Shattered Dawn

Chapter 30

I am not scared. I am ready to do this.

I spin in front of the mirror one last time, admiring my gorgeous white dress with its tiny floral accents. My makeup is simple yet beautiful, and I smile at myself, forcing myself to have confidence in what I am about to do. The rhythm of my heart accelerates.

I cannot believe what I am about to do.

Before I can talk myself out of it, undress, and tell Adrian that I don't want to marry him, I push open the door and walk out into the courtyard. A servant greets me, adjusting my veil. It, too, is carefully embroidered with tiny wildflowers. It's hard to believe that back then when I saw those flowers and imagined this dress, that I would be attending my own wedding in this very dress. I never thought I would be married. Married to a Celestial, especially.

I smile at the servant and let her guide me.

I try not to shake.

I steady my careful steps as we descend to the beach.

The view before me is beautiful. The white wooden archway is woven with the brightest flowers I have ever seen, with all the people in attendance awaiting me. And Adrian, his pale hair pulled back from his face, his eyes brighter than ever. I do not see how attractive he is, though, when I know that he is a murderer. I know what he has done.

I smile at him.

He smiles back.

The servant leaves me stranded at the end of the aisle. A soft breeze blows in my hair as my feet begin to move, stepping carefully over the rosebuds and flowers strewn across the pathway. I walk right into his arms.

Is that a tear in his eye?

Surely he can't care this much about me. Well, I guess, he is marrying me.

He holds my hands. His hands are surprisingly warm against my cold ones. The coldness of death, of night. I am a Night Angel after all.

The man next to us begins to speak. I assume he has some religious credentials. Religion is so odd here.

I do not know what it is like in the northern lands, but here...

Attending religious celebrations and congregations of prayer is more common in the countryside. There are variations, but there seems to be a main belief—a belief that is rooted in the two peoples that used to peacefully inhabit these lands.

The man twists tales about how there was once a land filled with people. It should have been an inhabitable world, filled with darkness. The people fed on the darkness and thrived within it. They were powerful, too, and the darkness rewarded them for their strength. They could live forever. They were the first immortal beings. Some say it was the plants they fed on, which, too, thrived in the dark. But over time, the people began to become powerful and were able to wield the darkness. It was a peaceful world, though, and fights were resolved. Then, one day, a child was born of those people. A girl who was not immortal like those around her. And, over time, light began to shine on them. Some say it took millennia. It likely did, but the child was not immortal like the other species. Once her offspring grew older, the world was a different place. There were new people. New continents were explored. There was light and darkness, for the first time these people had ever seen. Her offspring were just like she was. They did not live forever. Those were the first Celestial royals, named Celestials for their ethereal yet not everlasting, beauty, and their gift of light to the world. They had none of the speed and cunning of the existing peoples and suffered under the cruel hands of time.

I am not sure why the man who is supposed to wed us is explaining the religion of the Celestials, but I listen nonetheless.

He explains that the woman was strong and powerful, and the first of their people. Therefore, they worship her for her strength and wisdom. Her name was Aria. She, like all Celestials who came after her, had the power to bind souls. Strengthened by love, this bond was powerfully binding. It bound the lives of those who accepted it. She claimed that it already existed, she only had to bless it.