Scornful Sadie (Dark Sorceress Trilogy Book 1) (9 page)

Chaos. My parents’ house was pure chaos.

The men were at Grandma’s getting ready for the ceremony, set to start in just under two hours, while all the women were here. My mom, Olivia’s mom, Grandma, Juniper, and myself were running around attempting to all get ready and help Olivia at the same time. Per usual, I was dressed and ready to go first, even locking my dagger around my thigh with a holster. You know, just in case.

“Sadie, can you finish up the flowers?” Megan, Olivia’s mom, asked.

“Sure thing.” Thankful to get away from all the chatter and confusion, I slipped out of my nice shoes and replaced them with my boots. I imagined I would be in deep trouble if I got them dirty before this shindig went down.

Stepping outside, I inhaled the fresh morning air. A ten a.m. wedding. Who did that? After a glance around to ensure no one was near, I began magically placing the yellow roses all around the arch. I mixed in some baby’s breath for effect, hoping they were ok with the slight addition. Small bouquets to match went on the back of the first chair on each row. Arranging a centerpiece for the guest table, I set it in the middle and moved the book and pictures to make it look better. Satisfied with the outside, I headed back inside.

Everyone was now dressed. My mom, Sabrina, looked gorgeous in a light blue gown with a matching wrap. Grandma’s dress was similar, but in dark blue. Megan looked stunning in red. Juniper, of course, matched me and even had her eyes hidden with contacts. She’d dyed the colored strands in her hair yellow to match our dresses.

Liv was gorgeous. The gown fit her perfectly and her yellow rose bouquet held matching diamonds from the netting. Her hair was curled and pulled back off her face. She glowed with happiness.

“You look so beautiful,” I smiled. Looking around, I realized I was the only one not crying.

She grinned widely. “Thanks.”

Megan sniffled, then turned to me. “Is everything done out there?”

I nodded.

“Good, thank you,” she said, patting my arm. “We need to get the reception ready.”

Grandma waved her hand. “I’ll get it when the ceremony is over.”

“Are there any humans coming?” Juniper inquired.

“A few,” Liv replied.

“Good. I’m glad I didn’t put these horrid contacts in for nothing!”

We all giggled at her response. I’d never worn contacts, but I imagined they weren’t pleasant. Watching her put them in earlier gave me a serious case of chills. Anything touching my eyeball was not cool, especially my finger.

“How long do we have?” Liv asked.

“About an hour,” my mom said.

“It took that long with the flowers?” I asked surprised.

They all nodded. “You must have been thinking about a certain kiss,” Juniper teased.

“What kiss?” Mom and Grandma asked at the same time.

Groaning, I gave her the evil eye. Mom and Grandma stared at me expectantly.

“I’ll tell them,” Juniper said gleefully. “Yesterday, Sadie saw Aiden and he had a girl with him. A girlfriend, actually.”

They gasped. Grandma looked horrified.

“Anyway, Sadie went outside and blew stuff up at Anna’s,” she continued.

Grandma glared at me, opening her mouth to speak, but thought better of it.

“And when she came back in, she walked right up to him and laid one on him! With his girlfriend right there! She was so mad.”

“Sadie Tabors!” Mom cried.

I shrugged. “What? We’re supposed to help him remember.”

“You better have fixed my yard,” Grandma said sternly.

“Scott took care of it,” I said. “It’s fine. Really.”

“What about the girl?” Mom asked. “He doesn’t remember you, Sadie. You hurt her.”

Sighing, I nodded. “I know! I know.” It’d eaten at me all night, knowing I hurt that girl when she hadn’t knowingly done anything to me. It wasn’t her fault she fell for Aiden. Who wouldn’t? He’d been gone for so long, I should have expected it.

All was quiet after that, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The sound of the front door opening had us all scrambling. Liv locked herself in a bedroom with Juniper and her mom, while Grandma, Mom, and I went to greet the rest of the wedding party.

Scott looked dashing in his tux, his grin a mile wide as he stood in the living room. “You ladies look beautiful.”

“Wait until you see your woman,” I said. Hugging him, I began to get a little emotional. My brother was getting married today.

“Mom,” he said, letting me go. “You’re going to mess up your makeup if you cry all day.”

“I just can’t believe my baby’s getting married,” she sniffled. “It seems like you were just born and you all should still be children.”

My dad came over and put his arm around her. “There, there. We’ll have more children to watch grow one of these days.”

Her face scrunched in angst. “I don’t think I’m ready to be a grandmother!”

Scott held his hands up. “Whoa! Calm it down. No one is having any babies. Let’s focus on the wedding, ok?”

I’d never seen Scott look so scared as he did the moment she mentioned becoming a grandmother. Santos winked at me from beside him and I fought back a giggle. Scott didn’t squirm at much and it was entertaining.

“The wedding starts in less than fifteen minutes,” Grandma said, taking charge. “Is Elsie seated at the guest table?”

Elsie was Kyle’s kind of girlfriend, an unbound we helped not long after he started becoming a vampire. She was half vampire and half fire fae.

Kyle strode in. “Yep, she’s ready.”

He looked just as handsome as everyone else, their tuxes all black except Scott’s, who wore white. He was going to walk Olivia down the aisle since her father was killed in the great Devlin battle.

“You look nice,” I said. We’d become friends when he’d come to Arrow Rock, and in turn Loudon Heights, not long after Liv started to come unbound.

“You do, too,” he said with a wink. “Now, where’s my sister?”

“This way,” Mom said, leading him upstairs.

Grabbing Scott’s arm, I pulled him aside. “I’m really happy for you and Liv. I wanted to apologize for leaving and not letting you know where I was. The longer I’m here, the more I realize what a mistake it was.”

He wrapped me in his warm arms, his brotherly love washing over me. “Sadie, Sadie. You’ve always been so stubborn. Nothing at all like I thought getting a sister would be like,” he chuckled.

Pulling away, I swatted him hard in the chest. “Hey!”

He laughed heartily. “I wouldn’t trade you for any other sister in the world, but if you ever leave again like that, I’ll make sure when I find you that you can’t again.”

Rolling my eyes at his threat, I said, “Ok, ok. Where’s Aiden?”

“Kyle brought him and he’s probably already outside,” he said. “People were starting to show up when we got here.”

“Are you nervous?”

“A little,” he admitted. “We gotta go get ready!”

“Go,” I said ushering him toward the kitchen. “I’ll see you out there.”

He grinned, practically skipping his way through the kitchen and to the back door.

###

Olivia and Kyle stood around the corner, barely out of sight, as Juniper and I waited for our cue to head down the aisle. Scott, Mark, and Santos stood in the front, with Grandma officiating. Mom and Dad sat in the front next to Megan, all three with glistening eyes.

The music began and Juniper gave me a wink before starting out the door. I counted to twenty, as instructed, and followed. There wasn’t a flower girl or ring bearer, since neither side had any small children available for the role. I cursed myself for not laying a rose petal walkway down, but couldn’t do it now for fear of the humans noticing. Once we got to the front, I smiled warmly at my brothers and Mark, then turned and waited anxiously for Olivia.

The wedding march started and everyone stood. Leaning my head and standing on my tiptoes, I grinned when I saw her coming. I didn’t watch her, though; I looked back at my brother and studied him as he saw his bride for the first time. His eyes grew large and moist, then the brightest smile I’d ever seen on his face appeared. His chest swelled and his breathing intensified.

They truly had a love like no other.

A glance back showed her looking as elated as he did. Kyle was proud and strong as he led her to her soon-to-be husband. The tears fell freely in the crowd, and I was beginning to see why crying was so common at weddings.

Emotions. Flying. Everywhere.

She reached Scott, holding her hand out for him to take. He did greedily, pulling her to him as everyone laughed. “You look sensational,” I heard him say. She giggled, peering up at him from under her veil. Grandma cleared her throat and signaled everyone to take their seat.

The two separated, barely, and the ceremony began. Both had written their own vows, but they spoke so intimately I couldn’t make out what either of them said. The looks they exchanged were enough to make anyone want their kind of love.

As the whispered their promises and tears fell from their eyes, I casually searched the guests for Aiden. Skimming over the heads, I finally found him in the middle, watching me.

Sharply inhaling, I almost lost my balance when he winked at me. Those eyes, so deep and blue as the ocean, tore through me and opened me up, leaving me raw and exposed. Dragging my eyes from his, I took a few breaths to calm myself and Juniper gave me a look telling me I wasn’t being as subtle as I thought. Composing myself, I redirected my attention to the ceremony.

Scott finished his vows and placed the ring on Liv’s finger. They smiled and held hands the rest of the time, turning to Grandma to finish up. She closed it up, pronouncing them husband and wife.

Scott grabbed her around the waist, yanking her to him as he lifted her veil. She giggled loudly, then he dipped her as he kissed her in a way no sister should have to witness.

Everyone cheered as they continued to kiss for what I guessed was longer than they should have. The parents all dried their eyes and Grandma patted hers. When they finally parted, they turned and held their conjoined hands out for everyone to see.

More cheering, followed by screaming.

There in the back, behind all the guests, was the water fae from Charleston. She had friends this time, all decked out and throwing magic and abilities around like it was nothing.

I dashed from my spot, dropping my flowers along the way. Forgetting about who was watching or what they would see. These idiots were ruining my brother’s wedding and I wasn’t about to let them get away with that.