Chapter 15
There was no doubt in my mind about how Adrian had gotten my address: Abe.
The question now was: was he the moroi at the nightclubs a few days ago? If so, had Eddie been with him?
Also, why would he come all the way out here but not try to see me?
Not that I wanted him to, or anything.
My phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts.
It was my father, which was rarely good news.
"Sydney," He said as soon as I answered. He sounded annoyed. "I just got off the phone with Stanton, who informed me that you've been invited to a… wedding of sorts."
"A wedding, sir?" I was confused. Who's wedding would I be invited to, and why would that annoy my father?
"Yes. That vampire we helped save from the Warriors of Light is marrying her guardian boyfriend." He scoffed. "Or whatever passes as a wedding for them. Anyway, they sent an invitation to you, Stanton and Ian. You'll be traveling to Pennsylvania in two weeks."
"Two weeks?" I thought aloud, without meaning to.
"Well, the invitation was sent 3 months ago but there was no reason for you or Ian to be made aware until now."
Of course. Keeping us in the dark as long as possible, for seemingly no reason.
"The travel has been booked," he continued. "The trip details will be sent to you via email. I have a meeting to go to. I trust there will be no issues with the trip."
And that's how he ended the call.
I took a deep breath and tried to collect my thoughts. I had a million questions that I knew I wouldn't be able to ask.
Starting with the obvious, it seems I'll be going to Sonya's wedding with Stanton and Ian.
Why us three? Out of all alchemists, why would they specifically choose to invite-
Suddenly, I realized that I did know why they would choose the three of us. We were the ones held at their court last year. It's a political move.
As promised, I received the travel details via email within an hour of the call with my father.
I'd be staying at a hotel near the outskirts of court, undoubtedly as a way to put as much space as possible between us and the rest of the vampire world within their walls.
The trip was purposefully short. The wedding was Saturday evening, so I would be flying into Pennsylvania early on Saturday and leaving the next morning.
The flight into Allentown was uneventful. It was the closest airport to court, and I still had to drive an hour to the hotel.
It was two hours past noon by the time I was walking into my hotel room. They gave me a free upgrade to a small suite, and I wondered if they had done the same for Ian and Stanton. They had shared their itineraries and I knew they had arrived about an hour before me.
The hotel was nice, clean and tastefully decorated. Everything was in warm earth tones that helped give the entire place a cozy feel. It was a nice change from all the ultra modern and stark white hotels that I've stayed in recently.
I made sure to grab coffee and something to eat on my way here, so all that was left to do was to get ready for the ceremony.
A car would be picking us up from the hotel 30 minutes before the wedding began, so I made sure to head down to the lobby 15 minutes ahead of that.
"Sydney." Ian said, sounding surprised as he joined me a few minutes later. "You -" He cleared his throat. "You look nice."
"Thank you," I responded as I stood up.
I looked down at my dress to ensure it didn't get wrinkled when I sat. I was wearing a well-fitted, short sleeve silk dress. It was almost entirely black, except for splashes of royal blue on the skirt. I paired it with sensible heels that weren't visible under the skirt but allowed me two extra inches in height. I wore my makeup the same as every day, except for some additional eyeliner and mascara. I also chose to wear a tinted lip balm, which I kept in my purse for easy re-application.
"Good evening." Stanton said, as she joined us. "Remember: we're here to help advance the relationship between alchemists and the moroi. We may be guests tonight, but we are still here to represent the alchemists."
Translation: don't get too comfortable.
Ian nodded solemnly.
"It seems the car is here." Stanton said, glancing towards the hotel entrance.
The drive was very short but we were hit with freezing cold air as soon as we stepped out of the car. It was clearly still Winter in Pennsylvania. I had only brought a thin shawl with me and was glad that we would only need to go outside when getting in and out of the car.
As soon as we walked into the venue, it was as if we were transported to another world. There was greenery everywhere; flowers and plants on the tables, hanging from the ceiling intertwined with twinkling lights, along all the walls. It was breathtaking. The wedding was taking place in a greenhouse, which meant the ceiling was exposed to the night sky. It was more beautiful than anything I could've imagined.
"There are so many of them," I glanced at Ian next to me, who was uncomfortably looking around the room.
Right. We're surrounded by vampires and half-vampires.
"There's definitely more than I expected." I tried to sound scared and uncomfortable. The second emotion was not hard to project. It was only a matter of time before I saw-
"At least we have each other," Ian responded with a smile.
A wedding coordinator suddenly approached us and guided us to one of the last rows on the right side of the room. She assured Stanton that we could let her know if we needed anything, but it was unlikely that any of us would seek her out again for the rest of the night.
It was actually the perfect position for us; close to the doors and away from all the other guests. It was a long bench that could probably fit six people, which I assumed would remain empty… until we were joined by the least expected person.
"It is so nice to see you again, Miss Sage." Abe said, as he sat down next to me.
I gave him a forced smile.
He extended his hand towards Stanton and then Ian. "Abe Mazur, nice to meet you."
