Chapter 16

Thankfully, Abe didn't stay in our row very long. Just long enough to remind me that he's always close. Too close.

As soon as he left, Stanton let out a long breath. "That was… interesting." She said, mostly to herself.

"Where did he say he knew you from?" Ian asked me.

I looked at him. "He didn't." I quickly stood up before he could ask any follow-up questions. That was not a discussion I wanted to have with any alchemist. "I'll be right back."

I quickly made my way to the restroom, which was just outside the greenhouse entrance and within the building's main lobby. It was also thankfully empty.

After I washed my hands, I reapplied tinted lip balm and made sure my hair had remained within its carefully placed clips for the half-up hairstyle I had decided to create for tonight.

As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw him.

Inadvertently, I froze.

He was walking into the venue alongside his father and he looked… good.

Really good.

His dark blue suit stood out amongst all the black and dark gray the other men were wearing. It had been clearly customized to fit him perfectly. He also seemed… happy.

"Excuse me." Someone behind me said.

Startled, I moved out of the way. "Sorry."

Focus, Sydney.

The moroi simply smiled at me and walked into the wedding venue.

I looked back towards where I had seen Adrian, but he was gone.

I took a deep breath, shook my head and walked back to my table.

No more distractions tonight.

"I can't wait for this to be over with." Ian said to me as soon as I sat back at the table.

"Mr. Jansen, please watch your volume as you are in a public setting." Stanton warned.

She was right. If anyone walked close enough to the isle, they would've been able to hear Ian perfectly.

I did a quick scan of the room and noticed that more people were arriving and the seats were filling up fast. The ceremony must be about to begin.

Towards the very front of the room, I saw Jill sitting at the end of the second row. She was talking animatedly to a woman I assumed was her mother. I held back a smile. She looked so happy. I was glad that she didn't have to live in hiding anymore.

I scanned the rest of the row and suddenly found eyes that I knew were impossibly green, staring back at me. He gave me an imperceptible smile and a quick nod before going back to his conversation with Eddie, who quickly glanced my way and gave me a genuine smile. That time, I couldn't hold back and gave him a quick smile back.

Music started playing and the lights dimmed, signaling the beginning of the ceremony. The bridesmaids and groomsmen got into position at the front of the room. Rose was a bridesmaid and she looked as beautiful as she was lethal. Even Ian couldn't seem to stop watching her.

Her eyes, however, were stuck somewhere behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know that she was looking at Dimitri. They were probably communicating through glances. I sometimes felt like they had entire conversations without ever uttering a single word. That's how in tune they were with each other.

I had seen Dimitri earlier, wearing all black and talking to another guardian. It seemed he was on duty tonight. He was staring back at her with a bright smile that I had only ever seen around Rose.

We all stood when Sonya came out. She looked stunning. I glanced back at Mikhail in the front of the room and his eyes were glued to her. By the time she made it to him, he was crying happy tears. Between the love that was palpable in the room and their vows to each other, the entire room was clearly moved. I worked hard to keep any emotion off my face, but glancing around the room I could tell everyone was affected.

Everyone in the room knew what Sonya and Mikhail had gone through to get to this moment, so this ceremony was that much more meaningful. Unsurprisingly, Jill, Adrian and Eddie were holding back tears as the couple finished their vows. The group had grown even closer together during our time in Palm Springs. Well, Jill didn't hold her tears back but Eddie gallantly gave her his suit's pocket square so she could dry her tears.

The room exploded into cheers and applause when they kissed, and we all stood up and continued to clap as they left the room in happily wedded bliss.

The wedding coordinator quickly came to our row to let us know that cars would be taking all guests to the hotel where the wedding reception would be taking place. Most of the attendees were staying at that hotel, but she told us a car would take us back to our hotel whenever we were ready to.

It was a short and quiet ride to the hotel. Stanton and Ian seemed to be processing the fact that we were not only at Court but attending a vampire's wedding as the only human guests.

As soon as we arrived, we were directed to a table at the very back of the venue. Again, this was the ideal location to put alchemists at ease. Stanton was doing pretty good at keeping a calm demeanor, but Ian seemed to have a more difficult time with it. He looked to have a permanent scowl on his face as he glanced around the room.

"I can't believe we have to endure more of this." Ian said to the table.

"We'll just be here long enough to show alchemist support and then we can head back to the hotel." Stanton responded in a much more quiet voice.

Ian nodded then turned to me. "So. How are you liking being the alchemist for Sioux Falls?"

I tried not to grimace.

"It's good. It's… calm." It's the most boring post I've ever had.

He smiled. "You mean boring."

Right. I forgot he used to be the alchemist for Sioux Falls and warned me it would be boring.

"It's definitely a different pace than Palm Springs." Stanton looked over at us and I decided I needed to change the subject. I didn't want to seem ungrateful for my new post; I had asked to be moved out of Palm Springs.

"How's it going in St. Louis?" I asked him.

"It's going well. There are a lot of alchemists in St. Louis, and they host a lot of the major celebrations for the alchemists in the region." I nodded.

"If- if you ever wanted to, you know, attend any of those celebrations I could show you around." He continued. The tips of his ears were turning red and he seemed nervous. "I could also show you around the alchemist campus if you wanted to."

I smiled politely. "Thanks."

Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Tanner were introduced. Everyone clapped as they walked into the room, hand in hand. They walked to the dance floor at the front of the room, and had their first dance. Again, the room erupted into cheers when the song ended and Mikhail dipped Sonya into a kiss.

Soon after that, food was served. While the servers were going around the room, many took the opportunity to head to the bar for a drink to go along with their dinner. I glanced at the bar and immediately connected with Adrian's gaze. His drink was served and he grabbed it without breaking eye contact with me. He smiled and raised his drink in my direction before taking a sip.

Ian noticed my stare and looked towards Adrian. Thankfully, Adrian had already started walking back to his table.

"It's vile that they put blood in their drinks."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was just thinking."