Lara's heart had faced monsters without flinching.
It had remained steady beneath collapsing ceilings, during assassination attempts, and while standing between armies that had every intention of turning her into a cautionary tale.
Now, in the middle of the Moon Temple, it was beating so hard she was fairly certain half the guests could hear it.
She stood at the end of the aisle beside Veylira, shoulders straight, hands at her sides, and tried not to look as though she might either run or set something on fire.
The temple music drifted through the air, soft and silver, each note echoing beneath the high arches. Moonlight spilled over the polished floor. The ceremonial flames burned steadily near the altar, one silver and one red.
Lara focused on them.
Fire was familiar.
Fire did not care about seating charts.
Fire did not expect vows.
Fire had never looked at her with Sarisa's eyes.
Her fingers brushed the small velvet box inside her jacket for what was probably the fifteenth time.
Veylira noticed.
Again.
"The rings have not escaped," she murmured.
"I know."
"Then stop checking."
"I am making sure."
"You are attempting to calm yourself through repetition."
Lara glanced sideways. "Are you planning to analyze me through the entire ceremony?"
"If necessary."
"Cruel."
Veylira's mouth moved faintly. "You will survive."
Lara looked down the aisle.
The temple entrance remained open, framed by hanging silver flowers and glowing crystal threads. Beyond it waited the corridor where Sarisa would appear.
Soon.
Too soon.
Not soon enough.
Lara breathed in.
Then the music changed.
A softer melody began, playful beneath the solemn notes.
The guests turned.
The flower girls appeared.
Aliyah came first.
She stepped into the temple in her white dress, carrying a small basket against her hip.
Her back was perfectly straight, her expression serious enough for a military inspection.
She scattered a careful handful of white and red petals across the floor, watching them land with precise concentration.
Lara's chest softened immediately.
Aliyah looked so proud.
So determined.
She took another step, then glanced toward the altar.
Her eyes found Lara.
Her solemn expression cracked into a bright smile.
Lara smiled back before she could stop herself.
Behind Aliyah came Kaelith.
Kaelith was not walking.
She was performing.
She wore her white suit with the sleeves already pushed up, despite someone having clearly fixed them earlier.
She carried her basket in both hands and scattered petals with enormous enthusiasm, throwing them high above her head so they rained down over her, Aliyah, and several nearby guests.
One Celestian noble received a face full of white petals.
Kaelith looked delighted.
Aliyah turned around.
"Not at the people," she whispered sharply.
"I did not throw them at him."
"You looked directly at him."
"I was checking the wind."
"There is no wind inside."
"Magic wind."
Aliyah stared.
Kaelith threw another handful.
This time, half the petals landed on Aliyah's head.
The guests began laughing.
Not cruelly.
Warmly.
The tension in the temple loosened.
Aliyah stopped and turned slowly toward Kaelith, petals tangled in her dark hair.
Kaelith froze.
Then she offered Aliyah one single red petal.
"Peace?"
Aliyah considered.
"No."
Kaelith placed the petal into Aliyah's basket and ran ahead.
Aliyah chased her for three steps before remembering she was in a wedding procession.
She stopped abruptly, straightened her dress, and continued with as much dignity as a child covered in flowers could manage.
Lara pressed her lips together.
Veylira did not bother.
She was smiling openly now.
"Controlled perfectly," Lara murmured.
"Exactly as expected," Veylira replied.
The girls reached the front of the temple.
Kaelith emptied the rest of her basket in one dramatic sweep across the floor.
Most of the petals landed on Lara's shoes.
Kaelith looked up at her.
"I made it pretty."
Lara looked down at the small mountain of petals around her boots.
"You did."
Aliyah came to stand beside Kaelith, her own basket mostly empty.
"You look handsome, Mama Lara."
Lara's throat tightened.
"Thank you."
Kaelith looked her over seriously. "Mama Sarisa might faint."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it is true."
"She will not faint."
Kaelith leaned closer. "You might."
Lara narrowed her eyes.
Kaelith grinned and moved toward the place reserved for the children near Elysia and Malvoria. Aliyah lingered for one moment longer.
"Do not be nervous," she whispered. "She already loves you."
The same simple reassurance she had given Sarisa earlier, though Lara did not know it.
Lara swallowed.
"I know."
Aliyah took her place beside Kaelith.
The music changed again.
This time, every conversation stopped.
The playfulness faded into something slow and luminous. The notes rose gently through the temple, wrapping around the silver arches and hanging beneath the moonlit ceiling.
The guests stood.
Lara's heartbeat became thunder.
She looked toward the entrance.
Raveth appeared first.
For once, she was not carrying a bottle, a weapon, or an expression suggesting she had recently threatened someone.
Her white suit was immaculate, the silver chain at her collar catching the light. She stood tall and composed, one arm extended.
Then Sarisa stepped into the temple beside her.
Everything else disappeared.
The guests.
The music.
The altar.
The priests.
Even the temple itself seemed to dissolve around the woman walking toward Lara.
Sarisa wore white.
Not the cold, severe white of Celestian court dress. Her gown seemed woven from moonlight made solid, fitted elegantly through her waist before falling in layers of luminous silk.
Silver constellations curved across the bodice and skirt, catching the light with every step.
Near the hem, the embroidery became dark red flames, moving through the stars as though they had always belonged there.
The symbol of Celestia rested beside the Daemara crest over her heart.
Her silver hair fell in soft waves, tiny crystals shining among the strands. A narrow circlet rested above her brow.
The mating mark on her neck was visible.
Proudly visible.
Lara forgot how to breathe.
Damn.
Damn.
That woman was going to be her wife.
Not a dream. Not a secret stolen between wars and political disasters. Not a promise made in a hidden house where no one could see them.
Her wife.
Sarisa's gaze found her from across the temple.
The world returned only enough for Lara to see her smile.
That smile struck straight through her.
Lara's vision blurred.
No.
Absolutely not.
She blinked hard.
The blur remained.
Beside her, Veylira inhaled with suspicious amusement.
"Well," she murmured, "someone is crying."
Lara kept her eyes fixed on Sarisa.
"Shut up."
Veylira's smile deepened.
Lara did not wipe the tear that escaped.
She could not move without risking the entire structure of her self-control collapsing in front of diplomats, priests, and half the Demon Realm.
Raveth walked Sarisa slowly down the aisle.
For someone who usually moved like violence wearing boots, Raveth was remarkably gentle. Her expression remained composed, but Lara could see pride in it. Something almost protective.
Sarisa held Raveth's arm lightly.
She looked radiant.
Beautiful was too small a word for it.
She looked free.
That was what caught Lara hardest.
There was no fear in Sarisa's face. No resignation. No carefully trained emptiness. She was nervous, yes. Lara could see it in the way her fingers pressed against Raveth's sleeve.
But she was choosing every step.
Choosing Lara.
The guests faded again.
Lara watched the distance between them shrink.
Halfway down the aisle, Kaelith whispered loudly, "She did not faint."
Aliyah answered, equally loudly, "Not yet."
Several guests laughed.
Lara might have laughed too, had her throat not stopped working.
Sarisa's smile widened as she heard them.
Raveth glanced toward Lara with a small, dangerous smirk, clearly enjoying Lara's emotional collapse.
Lara would deal with her later.
Perhaps in ten years.
Perhaps never.
When Sarisa reached the altar, Raveth stopped.
For one suspended moment, Lara and Sarisa simply looked at each other.
Up close, the dress was even more breathtaking. The silver details mirrored Sarisa's tattoos, and the red flames at the hem echoed the embroidery on Lara's suit.
They matched.
Not perfectly.
Better than perfectly.
They belonged beside each other without becoming the same.
Raveth placed Sarisa's hand into Lara's.
Lara's fingers closed around it immediately.
Cold.
Sarisa's hand was always a little cold.
Lara's was warm.
Sarisa looked at the wetness near Lara's eye.
Her expression softened.
"Are you crying?" she whispered.
"No."
Sarisa's eyebrow lifted.
Lara leaned closer. "Do not start."
A tiny laugh escaped Sarisa.
Raveth stepped away, though not before murmuring, "She cried."
"I heard that," Lara said.
"That was the intention."
Raveth joined the others.
Veylira released Lara's arm and stepped back as well.
Before she moved away completely, she touched Lara's shoulder once.
A brief, steady gesture.
Then Lara and Sarisa were standing together beneath the crystal crescent, hands joined, moonlight and fire surrounding them.
Lara looked at the woman before her.
Her fiancée.
For only a little longer.
Sarisa's thumb brushed over Lara's fingers.
"You look beautiful," Lara said, too quietly for the temple to hear.
Sarisa smiled.
"So do you."
Lara almost argued with the word.
Then decided she would accept anything Sarisa gave her today.
The officiant stepped forward.
The ceremonial flames rose.
And Lara held Sarisa's hand as the temple prepared to make them wives.