Dark of the Tide [Shadow and Bones]

Chapter 22

"Do you think this suit makes me look, I don't know, not good-looking?" Kaz asked, looking in the mirror for my opinion as he tried on a white suit.

    I smiled. "Not possible. You always look handsome to me."

    He smiled and turned around to face me. "This is exactly why you never take your fiancée out to try on suits."

    "Then you should have asked Jes or literally anyone else besides me." I replied.

    He chuckled and took off the white suit, handing it on a hanger before trying on a simple black one.

    "Trying on suits shouldn't take this long. Dresses, yes. Suits, not so much."

    "Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness. Are you bored?" He asked in a joking manner.

    I shrugged and laughed lightly. "I'm just saying. Guys have some things easier than girls. Shopping being one of them."

    "That is true, but our wedding only comes around once in a lifetime. I want to make sure you're impressed." He said, looking at himself in the mirror again.

    "You already impressed me by not getting fed up with all my snarky comments the first few weeks here." I replied.

    "You had a reason to be snarky. And I did find you quite intolerable at the moment."

    "Not anymore, I hope."

    He looked back at me. "Not anymore."

    "Good," I blew out a sigh and swung my feet back and forth. "Are we almost done?"

    "Okay, Miss Crabbypants. I found one." He said as he smiled at himself in an ivory white suit, taking it off and getting into his regular dark green jacket; hanging up the suit and heading out with me.

    "Finally. You two took forever." Nina said when we exited the store and onto the sunny streets.

    "Blame this one. He had to try on a dozen suits before he found the right one." I said, pointing to Kaz.

    "For a suit? Huh. Usually that's dresses that take forever." Nina said, scrunching her brows together in slight confusion.

    "Exactly. Thanks, Nin." I said to my friend.

    "Yeah, okay. I get it. Does this mean I'm going to go through the same thing when you're trying on dresses?" Kaz asked me.

    I smiled. "No. I want my dress to be a surprise."

———

I sat cross-legged on my bed, staring at the wall in thought and fiddling with my fingers resting on my lap.

It had been at least a week since the Darkling's last visit, but I was still reeling in anticipation and anxiety over his last words to me. "Don't cry, Arabella. You're getting married."

    Did he still care about me just like all those years ago at the Little Palace? Or was he just saying the words I needed—what I wanted—to hear.

    Even worse thoughts occurred to me jus that second. I basically gave him an open invitation to the wedding. Granted, I didn't tell him when or where it was, but he will find a way to get there and ruin it. Just like he ruins everything.

    "What are you thinking so deeply about, Arabella?" Jesper asked, shutting my door and flopping back onto my bed.

    "Oh. Just the wedding." I lied. Well, technically that wasn't a lie. I was thinking about the wedding. But my main rocous and worries were about the Darkling.

    "Can't believe you're getting married. It feels like yesterday you and Kaz were bickering up a storm."

    I looked back at him. "We were, Jes."

    Jesper chuckled. "Oh. Right. Some things never change, I guess."

    "Yeah. I guess." I agreed, smiling a little. "Hey, Jes?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Are you going to bring your guns to the wedding?" I asked, then added quickly. "Just as a precaution."

    "Uh . . . they'll be out of sight. Most likely on the bottom of my seat, but yeah. Why?" He asked in confusion.

    "Just wondering. Some people might not be happy about this. Especially Pekka Rollins." I frowned.

    "Yeah. Knowing him, he will probably try to crash the wedding. But don't worry. I won't let that happen." Jesper said, patting me on the back.

    "Good,"

    "Is Mal coming?" He asked suddenly.

    "Uh . . . don't know. I sent out an envelope on ship to Novyi Zem. He might get it. Might not." I shrugged.

"Do you want him to come?"

"Of course I do. He's my brother. My only living relative . . . and I guess Alina will most likely become my sister sometime soon."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Please, Jesper. I know every look my brother makes, and what they mean. And the look he gives Alina 24/7 is the "I love you and I want to marry you, but we're in constant danger so we can't." look. It's honestly revolting." I explained to him, continuing on. "I mean, I look at Kaz that way, but not all day every day."

"Eh. That's debatable."

"Jesper!" I smacked him with a pillow and he laughed, batting it away like a cat with a ball of yarn.

    He suddenly tackled me and we rolled off the bed, tumbling to the ground; him landing on me and apologizing as we both laughed again.

    "Payback hurts," Jesper said.

    "Yeah, no kidding." I rubbed my sore shoulder and chuckled lightly, smacking his shoulder.

    "Why did you do that for?" He asked.

    "Payback." I replied with a smile.

"And I'll get payback for my payback! Fear me!"

"No. No. No no no no!" I shrieked with laughter as he ticked my sides and neck. "Jesper!"

"Yeah?" He asked as he continued to tickle me.

"St-Stop! Tickling m-me!" I gasped out, laughing loudly and trying to squirm out of his grip.

We laid there laughing on the floor for a few more minutes, then eventually stopped and just stared up at the white ceiling.

"Did you ever get into any fights while you were at the Little Palace?" Jesper asked, looking at me.

"A few times. Mainly with this one Squaller Zoya. She and I never really got along well. Probably because she was always trying you bed my brother, and then I would drench her from head to toe in ice-cold water." I replied, recalling the memory.

"Wish I were there to see it."

"Yeah. It was awesome. You should have seen the look on Botkins' face. He was our combat trainer. His face was pure and utter amazement. And terror."

Jesper laughed. "Typical Arabella. A nightmare dressed like a daydream when you get on her bad side."

"Yeah. So you're on thin ice, mister."

Hey! Hope you liked this chapter.

Question of the day: If you could be a Grisha, what do you think you would be, and why?

To answer my own question, I would probably be a Tidemaker because I love the water and aquatic creatures.