ALL US VILLAINS

Chapter Thirty-Two

Liam does not know anything about sorcerer traditions. Despite the fact that he is standing by the makeshift altar awaiting for his bride, he still does not understand the reason he is barefoot or why his hands are marked with symbols or why he is wearing a flower crown.

He wanted to ensure that Diana's traditions and customs had been honored in their wedding ceremony. Even when it requires him to say a phrase that he is most certainly going to butcher. Octavian had spent the last twenty minutes they had together attempting to teach Liam how to say the right words, and he still has a terrible pronunciation of them.

Megan stands behind the altar, an old book resting in her hands. Her entire focus is on the end of the small aisle, which leads directly to the front door of their cottage.

As the seconds tick by, more spirits begin to flicker into existence. They all stand on either side of the aisle and make no move to the prince. They, too, have their attention at the end of the aisle, awaiting the bride.

It isn't until the front row of ghosts fade into view that Liam figures out who the spirits are and why they are here. The woman standing on the bride's side of the aisle looks exactly like Diana and Aurora. Her hair is kept in small, black braids that reach the center of her back. At her side is a man that looks more similar to Octavian. They hold hands and tightly clutch onto one another.

One his side of the aisle, his grandfather appears. When their eyes lock, the old man inclines his head in a greeting.

Andrew had always been their grandfather's favorite— mostly because Liam had no interest in spending time with a man who no longer had the wits to remember his name. The fact that the old man left the cemetery to witness this event when his family could not— and likely would not— makes him smile.

His smile grows even larger the moment that he spots her bride walking down the aisle. She is breathtakingly beautiful. The white dress makes her dark skin glow and the pale pink flowers in her hair compliment the dress.

In his nearly twenty-one years of life, Liam has never seen someone as beautiful as her.

Diana accepts his outstretched hands when she is standing across from him. Though her face is neutral, he can see the amusement lighting up her eyes. "You know, we did not need to do all of this." Her eyes flicker down the aisle, which is almost entirely empty in her gaze. "My siblings certainly wouldn't have mind."

Resisting the urge to look at all the spirits standing witness to their wedding, Liam smiles up at her. "You once told me that you love a dramatic entrance." He winks at her. "I can only assume that the size of the audience does not matter."

A large grin lights up her own face while her aunt begins. Liam does his best to remain attentive to the woman's words, but most of them are in a language that is entirely foreign to him. He silently waits for his turn to speak, already knowing what he is going to say.

After ten minutes, Megan lowers her book. She gestures toward Diana while dipping her head. "As is tradition, the bride shall say her vows first."

Diana quietly regards him for a moment, a quiet laugh leaving her lips. "I have spent the better part of the day trying to understand how we got here." Her eyes fall to their hands, which are conjoined between the two of them. "The first moment our eyes met, I despised you. To me, you were nothing more than a spoiled, selfish, little prince who was in way over his head." Shaking her head, Diana smiles. "I had yet to discover the kindness and compassion that fill your soul. I knew nothing of your selflessness and your ambition. And as I discovered these parts of you, I found myself tolerating you more and more until that toleration blossomed into something far more beautiful.