Thicker Than Water

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Almost done.... there!"  Missy exclaimed, putting the finishing touches on my hair. I stared at myself in the mirror in disbelief. This woman was an artist. Some worked with watercolor, some with charcoal, but Missy worked with fashion and beauty.

                The rose gold Jenny Packham dress hugged me in the bodice and then floated down like a dream. The shoulders and back were lace, and a slim waistband was adorned with a handful of jewels. She'd given me a pair of white platform heels that looked like they were made of lace. She'd given me a very dramatic makeup look, and pulled my hair into a low bun with some braids mixed in. Diamond earrings hung from my ears, and she'd given me a teardrop diamond necklace to match.

                She'd put on one of the most reserved dresses I'd ever seen her in- which meant that most of her legs and chest were covered. It was a dark blue gown with one strap, which was ruched and draped to her hip, then flowed down. She put her hair up in a sleek bun and had adorned herself with crazy amounts of jewelry. Finally, she set a beautiful delicate gold tiara on her head.

                "I keep forgetting you're a princess." I laughed.

                "Don't get me wrong," she smirked. "I love a good tiara. But the responsibility this one brings isn't something I love to think about."

I nodded thoughtfully. Before our breakup, I'd imagined what it would be like to be Apollo's wife- the Queen of the Vampires. It likely would not be anywhere near as fun as movies and books made it out to be.

"Well, maybe you'll get to wear a tiara soon." She nudged me with her elbow, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

                I wasn't sure how I felt about that yet. Apollo's heartfelt apology had definitely mended my heart a little, but I was still very hurt. And while I had imagined spending the rest of my life with him, we hadn't known each other that long. Considering that we had a potentially infinite amount of time to be together, I wasn't ready to be rushing down the aisle anyway.

Apart from that, I was feeling great again. My side no longer hurt, I was back around all the people that I cared for, and the love of my life was being given a great honor.

                I followed Missy out into the hallway, where we found Hermes waiting for us. He was dressed in an all-black suit and looked quite handsome.

                "Wow." He said, taking in the sight of us. "You both look... wow."

                I smiled. "That's a compliment if I've ever heard one from you."

                He held out an arm, and I took it. Hermes was one of the sweetest, most caring guys I had ever met. He was so protective over Apollo and me, and I believed he would be that way even if it weren't his job. He led us downstairs, where only a couple dozen formally dressed people waited.

                "It's... quiet." I noticed.

                "Well," Hermes sighed. "With the battle last night, and a good number of nobles injured or dead, we figured that it would be safe to only open the coronation up to the Five Families."

                "The Five Families are the descendants of the original five vampires." Missy explained. "They are the noble vampire families. I'll try to introduce you later."

                Hermes directed us past the groups of nobles, who looked at me with suspicion. He opened the doors to the throne room, which had thankfully been spared from any damage due to last night's fight. Missy looked very respectable as she moved to her seat up front near the stage. I hung back near the doors, not really knowing where I should sit.