Water and Fire

Chapter 27

Lena stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a white dress and her mother had put white flowers in her blonde hair. Lena's wings were clearly visible and reflecting the sunlight that came through the windows of her room.

"Are you ready for the most beautiful day of your life?" Her mother smiled brightly and Lena felt two hands on her shoulders. "You'll be the most beautiful bride ever." Her mother pressed a kiss on Lena's cheek and Lena forced herself to smile.

Four weeks had passed since she had seen Brian. Lena knew that she was not supposed to count the days, but she was. Just like she was still wondering if he was okay, if he had survived, if he was in hell or somewhere else.

Her mother had thought that Lena's love for Brian would slowly fade.

And actually Lena wished it had been like that. Even though she had sworn not to forget Brian, she hated it that she couldn't be happy right now. She was going to meet her soulmate. She was going to meet the man who would make her heart skip beats. She was going to meet that one person who could make her smile when everything was crashing down around her.

"I'm sure your soulmate will love you as soon as he sees you." Her mother walked away and left Lena's room.

In five minutes the government would sent the carriage with the horses to pick her up. They would drive her through Heaven so everyone could see that she was going to get married today. And then they would drop her off in front of the small church where she would see her husband for the very first time.

She wondered what Brian would say if he could see her like this.

Would he stare at her for five minutes without saying a thing? Would he smile and tell her that she was beautiful? Would he wrap his arms around her to kiss her while saying her that he was never gonna let her go?

Lena shook her head and she placed her elbows on the table while her chin rested in her hands.

How could things have gotten so out of hand?

How could she have lost her heart to a demon? How could she even now think about him while the man of her dreams was waiting for her in the chapel? She was going to get married and all she could think of was the lover she had had to leave behind.

Her husband would without a doubt be sweet and caring. He would for sure love her to the moon and back. He would take care of her and he would comfort her and he would take her on dates she could only dream of.

Lena wondered if he would really be able to make her forget Brian. She knew that she would never be able to talk about him.

Her husband was not allowed to know that Brian had existed.

She had to act as if he had never been there, as if she had never loved him, as if her heart had not been broken because his hand had slipped out of hers.

Once again tears rolled down her cheeks. The last couple of weeks it had seemed as if crying had been her default setting.

She had always managed to hide when it happened. She hid in her room. She hid behind a book. She hid behind her desk. She had mastered the art of crying without making a sound, without sniffing, without shocking her shoulders. She had mastered the art of unnoticed crying.

Vaguely the sound of galloping horses echoed through the street.

She had to pull herself together. She had to keep herself in check for the upcoming hour and she had to pray that all the myths and all the stories about meeting her soulmate would come true.