Can't Fight Time Ch. 14

Do reapers ever have carnivals?Nina wondered, then realized how stupid that was. Here she was, seconds away from marrying Death, with her homicidal father on the other side of a portal waiting to kill her, and a pissed-off ex-fiancée who looked like she wanted to rip Nina's skin off and make a coat... and she was thinking about carnivals. Would wonders never cease?

Turning away from her chaotic jumble of thoughts, Nina tried to bring her focus back to Uri. There was something different about him, something had changed ever since the Castoff Princess had come to town. It was that sixth sense feeling again, clawing in the pit of her stomach, warning her.

Swallowing down her panic, Nina saw the altar looming in front of her. She only had a few more seconds before she sealed her fate. "Uri, if you know something's going to—"

He squeezed her hand a second before they stopped. Uri drew Nina aside and bent down to her and cool lips brushed her cheek; "Try not to worry. Don't stories with princes and princesses always have a happy ending?"

Nina laughed softly, and returned the kiss he'd given her. Amongst the swirling of her violent insecurities, Uri was there to bring her back and reassure her. If she'd met him first, maybe she would have fallen in love with him. Maybe. But right now, she was just happy to call him a friend.

Nina smiled up at him. "Thank you, Uri," her voice was soft, and held only the slightest tremble, "I'll see you later."

Nina pulled back only to feel strong arms grip her and spin her around. "Thank you, Brother," Grim growled warningly as he tucked Nina's hand into the crock of his arm and walked them up to the alter.

Grim was decked out in full Bloodspurn regalia: pressed black pants, a stark white shirt, black silk tie, crimson waistcoat, and a gold and red threaded cloak on top. Nina hadn't seen anything like it, and wondered if she could actually get it off of him.

As if Grim couldn't get it off himself.She mentally chuckled, feeling a flush of heat run through her body.

The king didn't look much different, aside from the gold crown on his head embedded with the same vials behind him, and a broach, with the Bloodspurn insignia on it, secured to his cravat.Talk about a king who cleans up nicely,Nina whistled a mental catcall.

Beside the king stood an exquisite woman, dressed in a flowing green gown that looked like it had been poured over her body, and a green velvet choker with a brooch carved with the Bloodspurn insignia hanging from it. Thick, wavy red-locks flowed down her back, and a crown similar to the kings, but more feminine and delicate, was on her head.

"Is that—?" Nina began to ask, but Grim bumped her hip and the queen shot her a look that clearly said "eat shit and die painfully."

Nina bit back a smile, having never seen Grim's mother in anything other than a black velvet cloak and ivory bones. The transformation was truly shocking, though the queen looked less than pleased.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome, friends!" Tuoni spread his arms wide, swaying a little, with his voice in a sing-song melody. "I am so pleased you all could be here on this auspicious occasion to witness the marriage of my son, Grim."

Tuoni smiled a bit too widely, and Nina felt Grim's muscles harden beneath her hand. But then the queen stepped forward and smoothly interrupted whatever Tuoni was going to say. And he let her.

"The service will begin. Everyone please take your seats." Her voice was a sultry purr, even if her tone and her eyes were a bit hard. Nina couldn't help but be proud of Grim's mother, despite her own reservations about the marriage, she was still here and willing to help.

Taking a calming breath, Nina tried to focus as the ceremony began. Grim had told her that the ceremony wouldn't be anything like a human wedding ceremony and he hadn't lied.

The entire process was extremely intricate, and between the exchanging of blood and power, Grim turning into his skull and bones look, and Morrigan calling on the Bloodspurn ancestors, Nina got lost. Her head was practically spinning when they finally got to the actual ring part.

Morrigan turned to Nina and then to Grim; "The rings, please."

Though Nina had been able to choose her own bridesmaid, the selection had been scare. She would have liked to have had Krithi, one of the Council of Guardian members that had been nothing but nice to her, and iris beside her, but neither of them could be found. Which had left Nina with a maid that didn't exactly hate her guts acting as her bridesmaid and maid of honor.

Mentally shaking her head, Nina tried to remember the name of the reaper maid that was standing in as her entire bridal party, but she just came up with a blank space. How sad was it that she couldn't remember the only bridesmaid she had?

The maid reached into her gold clutch and pulled out Grim's ring. Nina smiled at the small creation: it was a platinum band with the words 'forever and always yours' carved into it.

Uri had helped her commission it and make sure it was Grim's size. It looked absolutely perfect, and Nina hoped Grim would love it as much as she did.

"Thank you," Nina said softly as she took the ring in her hand and turned back to Grim.

They'd agreed not to show each other the rings, but Nina had made the platinum band a rule. Of course, their engagement had been a little different: instead of proposing with a ring, Grim had opted to give her both the engagement ring and the wedding ring at once. In fact, the man had been so confident that she'd say yes that he'd started making the ring a couple days before she'd said the word. Talk about cockiness.

"Mictlantecuhtli Jallgrímur Bloodspurn, first and only son of Ivona Eir Bloodspurn and Tuoni Erlik Bloodspurn, Heir Apparent to the throne, do you take Nina Marie Strathmore to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Morrigan asked and then followed it up by asking the same thing in a language Nina had never heard and she was pretty sure had died a long, long time ago.

Morrigan had been doing so most of the ceremony, switching between English and the other language. She wasn't sure if that was because the other language was more common, or because it was part of the ceremony; Nina assumed the later, because every reaper she'd spoken to knew English and about a hundred more languages.

Nina would have liked to know what exactly Morrigan was saying, but she knew she had to put her curiosity on hold until later. It was, after all, her wedding.

"I do." Grim said loudly and clearly.

A thought struck as Nina slid the ring on Grim's finger and felt his power curl over her and stroke her body. Even if the man wasn't touching her, his power always was, stoking the flame within her to a roaring fire. At one point, Grim's power had actually brought her to orgasm, one of the most intense ones of her life.Screw knowing how to use his hands, the man knew how to use his power.

Giving herself a mental shake, Nina came back to herself. Morrigan hadn't asked if any one opposed their union. That was the big thing in most of the television wedding shows Nina was addicted to, but the queen seemed to have just skipped over that part. It was a little strange, considering she'd mentioned just about everything else.

Lifting her head, Nina met Grim's blue-diamond eyes and her question was instantly answered. Reflected in those depths was the assured knowledge that anyone who disturbed their union would have to deal with Grim. And Nina doubted the way Grim would 'deal' with them would be humane.

It sent a chill down her spine, knowing that the man—reaper—in front of her didn't conceal his lust, rage, murderous intent, or love from her. All of his emotions were laid out for Nina in the hard gems of his eyes.

"Nina?" the queen asked her impatiently, using her name for the first time.

Turning away from Grim, Nina looked out over the sea of reapers. Dark, gloomy faces stared back at her, eyes devoid of any kind of happiness or encouragement. No one looked like they were actually happy about the wedding, and she wondered if that was because they were reapers or because of Grim's choice of bride.

It couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds, but for Nina it felt like forever. She was fighting with herself again, wondering if she was making the right decision. What was the point of the wedding? What was the point of doing all of this if the end result would always be the same?

The memories that she always tried to forget began to creep up, wanting to overwhelm her. Those visions wanted to break her, drag her down to a place she never wanted to go. Nina was spiraling, being sucked down by her own negativity and worry. She needed an anchor, something to pull her back from the brink, something to remind her why she was going through with this debacle.

Grim was there, drawing her back with the cool comfort of his hand, his power rushing over her, curving around her like a security blanket. The memories faded, until they became dust.

Pulling her gaze away from the sad faces, Nina spied Felicia smiling wide and waving at her. The girl was probably a few lifetimes ahead of her, but she dressed like she was her junior. Still, even with the friendly wave and the innocent clothing, something about Felicia left a bad taste in Nina's mouth.

Gripping herself, and steeling her resolve, Nina turned away from the distraction. It was now or never, make or break time. Before it had been one word, and now it was two. Nina blew out a breath to calm herself before turning back to Morrigan. "I do."

How she managed to get it out, she wasn't sure, but the words were food for the wind now. She'd said them, she'd meant them, and there was no way Nina was taking them back.

Cool metal slipping onto her finger brought her back to Grim as he slid on the rings. Nina looked down at the blue diamond cut in the shape of a heart and set on top of a platinum band. She barely recognized the other ring as she looked up into eyes the same color as the diamond on her finger.

Grim raised her hand to his lips and kissed the ring. "So you can always have me near you."

Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes and threatened to spill, but Nina blinked them away. She didn't want to ruin her makeup; it was immaculate, and if any pictures were taken she wanted to look stunning.

Morrigan began speaking again, and before Nina could blink she was suddenly wrapped in Grim's arms, being tilted backwards. In the distance she could hear Morrigan switching to English, but then Grim's lips were on hers and she didn't care anymore.

It was just like that first kiss, just as intense, if not more so. She couldn't breathe past Grim, couldn't think past him. He was everything to Nina, all she'd ever wanted, and the only thing in the world she couldn't have.

She gave herself up to the kiss, gave everything she had to the man she loved, even though she'd said she wouldn't.My father might take my life, but Grim will get my heart.

"...kiss the bride." Morrigan finished as Grim tilted Nina back up and let her breathe.

Grim pulled her close, blue-diamond eyes dancing with barely contained heat. "Ready to start the rest of our lives together?"

"Yes!" Nina didn't hesitate, didn't show any of her sadness or remorse over the lie. She loved Grim, probably more than she'd ever loved anyone. That was all that would ever matter.

He'd never let her go voluntarily, no matter how right it was. This needed to happen. Time wouldn't stop for them to have a honeymoon, start a family, and grow old together. There was no point in trying to deny it, trying to fight it and call it by a different name; she couldn't fight fate.

*Hope you liked this chapter! Only two more to go! Yay!*