Never After (School for Good and Evil x Reader)

Chapter 25

The fog and winds of the night cleared to a blinding sun, so strong for November that the day seemed blessed for love. Every wedding in Gavaldon was a public occasion, but on this Friday, the shops were all closed and the square deserted, for Stefan was a popular man. Under a white garden tent behind his house, the entire town mingled over cherry punch and plum wine, as three fiddlers strummed in the corner, exhausted from playing a funeral the night before.

Mute as usual, I stood beside Callis and Agatha. The latter of the two was scowling, wearing her usual clumps and black dress. Across the way was Sophie, trying to fit in with her new family. A fake smile was plastered across her face.

My brow knit together. Agatha was miserable. . .Sophie was hurting. . .

Could it be that all three of us wished to go back?

If so, then why had we even left in the first place?

"Really, dears," Callus said. "I know weddings are putrid things, but try not to look hostile." She nodded ahead. "The Elders already despise us. Don't give them more reason."

I glanced at three wizened, bearded men in black top hats and knee- length gray cloaks, milling between seats and shaking hands. The length of their beards appeared to indicate their relative ages, with the Eldest's funneling down past his chest.

"Why do they have to approve every marriage?" Agatha asked.

"Because when the kidnappings kept happening, the Elders blamed women like me," Callis said. "Back then, if you weren't married by the time you finished school, people thought you were a witch. So the Elders forced marriages for all those unwed." She managed a wry smile. "But even force couldn't make a man wed me.

"When the kidnappings continued, the Elders softened their stance and 'approved' marriages instead. But I still remember their terrible arrangements," said Callis. "Stefan suffered worst of all."

"Why? What happened to him?"

Callis' hand dropped, as if she'd forgotten her daughters were listening. "Nothing, dear. Nothing that matters anymore."

"But you said—"

"Aggie, we're starting!"

I turned to see Sophie waving Agatha to the front row, where an open seat was beside her.

One open seat.

Without a word, I sat beside my mother in the back.

"Dearest friends and family," the priest began, "we are gathered here to witness the union of these two souls . . ."

Stefan took Honora's hand. Unintentionally, my fingers twitched, as if they themselves were remembering the cold hold of someone else.

"In love, happiness comes from honesty, from committing to the one that we need," the priest continued. "May you grow a love that fulfills you, a love that lasts Ever After . . ."

"Never After," someone whispered in my ear.

I turned sharply in my chair, but nobody was behind me.

"Because you chose this love. You chose this ending to your story. And now this ending is yours eternally."

My heart jackhammered. My skin burned up.

"And if no one has any objections, then this union is sealed forever—"

Those glacial eyes flashed again and pain stabbed through my skull. I pitched forward in my seat, clutching my head—

"I now pronounce you—"

I winced in pain and massaged my temples. From the front row, Agatha was watching me, expression horrified.