The night before the wedding, tradition demanded the king and queen sleep apart, and Aria found herself restless and alone in her old chambers for the first time in years.
Vael came to sit with her, the way she had the night before the war that ended Selene, settling onto the floor beside the bed with the easy familiarity of six years of sisterhood.
"Nervous," Vael said. It was not really a question.
"Strange," Aria admitted. "I have already been his mate for six years. I have already worn his mark. There should be nothing left to be nervous about."
"And yet."
"And yet tomorrow the whole kingdom watches me choose him in front of everyone, the way I never got to choose anything in Blackmoon. I think some small frightened part of me still expects to be told, at the last moment, that I a
