Snakes In The Grass

Chapter 19

I bit my lip as I looked at my reflection. The dress was beautiful and it was everything a princess was expected to wear on their wedding day, but there was a part of me that couldn't fully enjoy the experience.

"I love that one, Lissa," Mia enthused with a smile.

I smiled at her but I knew that she could see it in my eyes. Mia stood up and came to stand on the pedestal beside me, resting her cheek on my shoulder.

"Rose would have loved this on you," she whispered, squeezing my hand. I took a slow breath and nodded.

"It feels so wrong without her here," I admitted sadly. Mia's eyes were compassionate as she nodded her head.

"I know. But hey, she's watching us, right? I mean, being an angel and all," Mia said trying to lighten the mood and I chuckled dryly.

"Yeah," I said as I looked at myself in the mirror. "But Rose would hate the lace. She'd say I look like a puff ball."

Mia snorted and shrugged. "Yeah, she would," she said before gesturing to the consultant and then pointing at a few dresses across the room.

I smoothed my hands over the bodice and bit my lips again. I wanted to be excited about this, but I was still in mourning. It was almost a year, Briar's first birthday only days away, and it still felt fresh. I wasn't sure who was more torn up about it, me, Eddie or Janine.

Janine was good at hiding it, but I saw it in her aura. She was in mourning too and it didn't get easier as the months went on. I knew that she had been taken off what was considered an active duty, but she was my unofficial third Guardian. Maybe it helped being close to me, but being close to her was a blessing and a curse.

"What do you think?" I asked Janine as she lingered in the background.

She appraised me for a moment before a small smile graced her lips. It wasn't a real one, but I'd take it.

"I think you look beautiful," she said quietly, "But I agree on the lace. It looks terribly itchy."

"It is," I said almost bluntly and stepped off the pedestal and walked into the change room to switch to another dress.

Rose, I wish you were here.

A searing pain blossomed in my chest and I blinked, no longer looking through Lissa's eyes, but into my bedroom.

"Ow," I whispered as I detached Briar. She was starting to teeth and sometimes she would bite. Usually, it was a finger when we let her suck on one, but a bite to the nipple was not pleasurable. Dimitri chuckled quietly and took a now very disgruntled Briar from me while I went to the bathroom.

"She broke the skin!" I exclaimed and Dimitri laughed before cutting it off.

"I think it's time we switch to straight bottle," Dimitri called out and I nodded to myself as I wet a face clothe and gently dabbed at my chest.

"Me too," I grumbled as I tossed the clothing into the hamper and went back into our room, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned against the doorframe. Dimitri had Briar standing on his stomach, making faces at her as his eyes flicked to me.

"How is she?" he asked softly.

"Okay. She was wedding dress shopping. She is still upset, but my mom is her shadow, so I think it helps."

"Good," Dimitri whispered and sat up, blowing on Briar's stomach. I nodded and licked my lips, a quiet sniff filling the room. Dimitri got up and came over to me with Briar, letting me cuddle her for a moment and kiss her head before he brought her into her room. I sighed quietly and climbed onto the bed, laying down on my stomach and tucked my arms under my pillow.