Free Ascend by Amanda Hocking

anything.
Garrett came up to us. He smiled, but his eyes didn’t appear happy.
    “Can I cut in?” Garrett asked.
    “Yes,” Loki said, shaking off the
intensity he’d had a moment ago, and grinned broadly at Garrett. “She’s all
yours, good sir. Take care of her.”  
    He patted Garrett on the arm once for good measure and gave
me a quick smile before heading back over to the refreshment table.
    “Was he bothering you?” Garrett asked me as we began to
dance.
    “Um, no,” I shook my head. “He’s just…” I trailed off
because I didn’t know what he was.
    I watched Loki as he drained another glass of champagne, and
then he left the ballroom just as abruptly as he’d entered.
    “Are you sure?” Garrett asked.
    “Yes, everything is fine,” I smiled reassuringly at him.
“Why? Am I in trouble for dancing with him?”
    “I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s your wedding. You’re
supposed to have a little fun. It would’ve been nice if it was with the groom,
but…” He shrugged.
    “Elora’s not mad, is she?” I asked.
    “Elora doesn’t have the strength to be mad anymore,” Garrett
said, almost sadly. “Don’t worry about her. You’ve got enough to deal with.”
    “Thank you,” I said.
    I looked around the dance floor. Willa was dancing with Tove
again, and when she caught my eyes, she gave me a what the hell look. I’m assuming that was referring to my dance with
Loki, but Tove didn’t seem upset. That was something at least.

     

8. Morning After
    Even though I had on a wedding gown that had to weigh at
least twenty pounds, I’d never felt so naked in my life.
    I stood at the foot of my new bed in my new bedroom. These
had been Elora’s chambers, but they were mine now,
mine to share with my husband. Tove was next to me, and we both just stared at
the bed.
    When the reception started winding down,
Tove’s parents, my mother, Willa, Garrett, and a few other ranking officials,
including that disgusting Chancellor, had ushered us up to the room. They were all laughing, talking about how magical this would be, then they shut and locked the door behind us.
    “On wedding nights, when a Prince or a King were married, they used to close the curtains around the
four poster bed,” Tove said. “Then the family and officials would sit around
all night, so they could be sure that they were having sex.”
    “That is really disturbing,” I said. “Why on Earth would
they do that?”
    “To ensure they would produce offspring,” he shrugged. “That
is the only reason why they arranged marriages.”
    “I guess I should be happy they’re not doing that with us.”
    “Do you think they’re listening outside the door?”
    “I really, really hope not.”
    We kept staring at the bed, refusing to look at one another,
and I don’t think either of us knew what to do. I wanted to wait long enough
until I was certain everyone had grown bored and left, but past that, I had no
idea how this night would go.
    “This dress is really heavy,” I said finally.
    “It looks like it.” Tove glanced over at my dress and the
piles of train that had been tacked up on the back so I could dance. “The train
itself has to weigh like ten pounds.”
    “At least,” I agreed. “So… I’d like to get out of it.”
    “Oh, right.” He paused. “Go ahead. I guess.”
    “Well… I need your help.” I gestured to the back of it.
“There’s like a thousand buttons and snaps to undo, and I can’t reach them.”
    “Oh, right, of course.” Tove shook his head. “I should’ve
known.”
    I turned my back to him and stood patiently while he undid
all the buttons and snaps. It seemed ridiculous when I thought about it. This
dress was meant to come off, but it took him at least fifteen minutes to get them
all undone. And the whole time, neither of us said anything.
    “There you go,” he said. “All done.”
    “Thank you.” I held the dress in the front to keep it from
falling off, and I turned to face