“Grand finale,” he warned.
Her stomach flipped as he dipped her, holding her weight in his arm while the music swelled and finished.
He leaned forward and said against her lips.
“I think you wanted to dance with me that night,” he said.
A shaky breath blew through her parted lips, and she was lost for words. A battle was fought hard and inevitably lost.
At least he was princely enough not to gloat about his win. Instead, he righted her and whispered in her ear.
“Run away with me?” he asked.
Ruthless man. Using his win to blindside her, knowing she couldn’t deny him a single thing.
“After you,” she said.
His answering smile was imprinted on her heart and written into the pages of her story, never to be dulled by something as mundane as the passage of time.
Cinderella and her prince.
Chapter thirty-three
And They Lived
Over time, the story became glitter and gowns, midnight spells and royal balls. But long before all that, there was just a girl who loved another, a borrowed dress, and a heart meant to hope.”
-The Vencia Archives, Volume II
They snuck out much like that first night, but this time Luci wasn’t worried about the gossip that would come after. Whatever stories they concocted were most likely true anyway. At least she certainly hoped they were.
By the time they made it to the Glass room, Luci was breathless and her mind hazy. Once again, standing on the precipice of something new, something that would change everything. This time, though, one thing was different. Ira’s hand in hers was unrelenting. One word radiated between them. Together.
Meeting his gaze, he waited for her. This was her choice. No fancy words, no promises, no what ifs. Simply hers.
Which was why she stepped forward, pulling her in with him. What should have been a ruin of glass, unrepaired from the first time she entered, was exactly as she remembered it. Unbroken and endless.
“She fixed it,” he said, staring in awe.
The door shut behind them, and for the briefest of breaths, Luci remembered the panic of being trapped, but when Ira squeezed her hand, she knew she wasn’t alone.
A clock chimed in the distance.
He pulled her into him, and she wrapped her arms around him, counting his heartbeats in the dark of the room. His breath was the sound she lived by. And so it began, a trail of shimmering blue magic and that all too familiar smell building.
Just as it was the first time, the magic danced over her skin, but instead of the pricks of before, it was a gentle caress, a welcome. It ran over her and danced above her, the magic growing.
“You were always enough, Lucinda. For the gift you’ve given me and the world alike, I give to you what you’ve always longed for. Though the story is unwritten and the words may change, the future is yours for the making if only you are brave enough to take it.” Elowen’s wrapped around her like a hug.
The blue magic leapt from her skin and sparked into the air before them, illuminating the room. Ira and Luci reflected inevery panel just as they were. Stepping back, Luci spun in a circle, careful not let go of Ira’s hand.
The blue spark ran over her shoulders and down her arm before leaping into the mirror, and the world shifted. Where Ira and Luci once stood, Gladys, resplendent in a golden gown, knelt, Ira standing before her. As she bowed her head, Ira slipped a golden diadem inlaid with rubies onto her head. The image blurred and shifted, revealing a small gathering of the people Luci loved best in the world.
The room edged, and Brielle stood before her, holding out her hand.
“You look beautiful, Luci,” she said, emotion inlaid throughout each word.
A hand gripped hers, and Luci saw herself in a sleek white silk dress, a veil in her hair. She stepped forward, moving through each panel until she reached him. Ira stood tall and proud, eyes silvery as he took her hand.