With a nod, Roshan resumed his seat, his expression wary.
“You invited him?” Kyle stared at Logan in disbelief as Logan took a seat across the aisle from the others.
For a moment, man and vampire glared at each other like wolves meeting for the first time. Then, with a lift of one brow, Logan inclined his head, and the tension in the room diminished.
“I called him a few days ago,” Mara said. “I had to let him know.”
“You should have told me,” Kyle said, his voice tight.
“I know. I’m sorry, but he’s my oldest friend, my only friend except for Rane’s family.” She lifted a hand to the ruby at her throat. “Please don’t be angry.”
A muscle ticked in Kyle’s jaw. “I’m not mad, but you should have warned me.”
The priest arrived then, putting an end to any further discussion. Father Giovanni Lanzoni was a man of medium height with warm hazel eyes and wavy black hair heavily laced with silver at his temples.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” the priest said. “An old friend of mine needed last rites, may the Lord bless him.” He smiled at Kyle and Mara, his expression turning to one of confusion as he took Mara’s hand in his. “Mara . . . ?”
“Your senses don’t deceive you, Father. I’m no longer Nosferatu.” Even though she was no longer a vampire herself, she could feel the priest’s preternatural power. It filled the room, an ancient power that, like fire, could be either beneficial or deadly. It occurred to her that Logan and Father Lanzoni were now the two oldest vampires in existence.
The priest was studying her carefully. “How did this happen? I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.”
“I heard rumors, of course, but I discounted them . . .”
“Please, Father,” Mara said quietly. “Can we just get on with the ceremony?”
“Yes, of course.” With a last worried glance in her direction, the priest took his place at the altar. “We are gathered here this evening to unite Kyle Bowden and Mara in the bonds of holy wedlock, an institution ordained by God for the blessing of His children. In the beginning, God joined Adam and Eve together and admonished them to cleave to one another, to be fruitful and multiply.”
The priest turned his gaze on Mara. “And so I say to you, if you wish to have a happy marriage, then you must share your heart with no one else . . .”
Mara licked her lips. Had the priest somehow divined that she still had strong feelings for another man?
“For true happiness,” Father Lanzoni continued, “you have only to put your loved one first and yourself second, to treat your spouse as you would be treated, to remember how much you love one another on this day, and on every day that follows, for as long as God grants you breath.
“I will say the words that legally bind you together, but the true marriage between the two of you must take place in your hearts.”
Father Lanzoni glanced at those sitting in the audience. All were supernatural creatures, save for Savanah and the two infants. “If there is anyone here who knows why this man and this woman should not be joined together, let him speak now, or hereafter hold his peace.”
Standing at the altar, with her back to the chapel, Mara could feel Logan’s gaze boring into her back. Lifting a hand to the ruby pendant that seemed to be burning her skin, she held her breath as she waited for the words she longed to hear but hoped he wouldn’t say.
“I object.” Logan’s voice pierced the silence.
“On what grounds?” Father Lanzoni asked.
“On the grounds that I love her, and I think she loves me.”
Kyle whirled around, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. “Get the hell out of here, vampire!”
Vampire. The word hung in the air. Mara heard a stirring in the crowd, not because of the word itself, but because of the sneer in Kyle’s voice when he said it.
“Mr. Bowden, that will be enough.” Father Lanzoni’s voice was quiet, calm, but there was steel underneath. “Mara, what have you to say?”
“Mara.” Gaining his feet, Logan stepped into the aisle. “Look at me.”
Slowly, her heart racing, she turned to face him. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Rafe and Rane had also gained their feet, ready to defend her if need be.
“Mara!” Kyle grabbed her hand. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a monster.”
“Yes, he is,” she admitted with a sad smile. “And I made him that way.”
“I love you.” Logan walked toward her, stopping when he was but an arm’s length away. “If you don’t love me, tell me so now.”
“Please, Logan, don’t make this any harder than it is. I’m doing what’s best for the baby, what’s best for all of us. If you think about it, you’ll know I’m right.”
“Fine, marry the bastard! I’ve waited for you this long. I can wait until the kid’s grown,” he said, his voice harsh, and with a low growl, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, hard and quick, and then, in a swirl of ebony smoke, he was gone.
A heavy silence filled the room.
For one reckless moment, Mara was sorely tempted to follow her heart and go after Logan, but she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t leave her son, couldn’t take him away and deprive him of knowing his father.
Blinking back her tears, Mara turned to face the priest.
Kyle took her hand in his. “Please go on, Father.”
The priest looked at Mara. At her nod, he continued with the ceremony. “Mara, do you promise to love and cherish Kyle Bowden, here present, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.” They were, she thought, the hardest two words she had ever spoken.
“Kyle, do you promise to love and cherish Mara, here present, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
Kyle gazed deeply into her eyes, his own shining with love. “I do.”
“Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Kyle was smiling broadly when he drew Mara into his arms. Never had she looked more beautiful than she did at that moment, her exquisite green eyes sparkling with unshed tears. And she was his, lawfully and legally his by all the laws of the land, and there was nothing Logan Blackwood could do about it.
“I love you,” Kyle murmured. “I will always love you, in this life or the next.” And so saying, he drew her closer and kissed her tenderly, and then he kissed her again.