My heart jumped to my throat as I stared at the wooden doors in front of us.
“You’ve already fooled the toughest person,” Desmarc murmured to me. “Now you just have a room full of guests.” He pulled my veil down to cover my face, covering my expression. At least that meant I wouldn’t have to pretend the whole time.
“All right,” I said after a few beats since it seemed like he expected some sort of response.
Desmarc pushed open the door and led us inside as the music swelled to a crescendo.
Every head in the room turned to face us. The cloying scent of perfume and wood polish drifted in the air along with the sounds of hushed conversation.
I struggled to keep up the charade as my breathing grew faster and faster.
Resting a trembling hand on Desmarc’s arm, I walked down the aisle beside him. I was surrounded by a sea of faces, but I still felt completely alone. No one here knew what I was going through, except for Desmarc—the man who’d caused it all.
My feet dragged, but Desmarc’s steady pace pulled me on, his tight grip reminding me of everything I had to lose. Maybe I couldn’t be with Hiram, but I could at least keep him alive—if he’d managed to use the hairpin to get free. But even then, what chance did he have against a thug with an aether gun?
I stared down at the white lace of my train as it dragged against the floor’s polished dark wood to avoid seeing the excitement in everyone’s eyes.
Desmarc drew us farther into the room. A long table topped with snacks and desserts rested against the side wall. Although it was already too late, I scanned the brass candlesticks, leather-bound books, and antique keys decorating the table for a better weapon.
The guests were a mix of the three classes, no doubt Papá’s attempt at strengthening his platform. With everyone crowded together, the only way you could tell them apart was from the quality of their clothes and what they threw at us as we walked by. Those from the Lower Chimes tossed small gears and cogs at our feet while saying, “May your marriage run as smoothly as an oiled machine.” Guests from the Middle Chimes threw white petals over us, calling, “May your love bloom like these flowers,” while those from the Upper Chimes threw knobs and knuts at our feet and said, “May your life be full of riches and success.”
Considering I’d been altering my dress so I’d have a weapon to use on Desmarc and he’d kidnapped me for this, I was pretty confident our love had wilted before it bloomed and our marriage was already worse than a busted machine.
Their voices grew slow and distorted as panic raced through my veins.
I bit my tongue and kept my face straight ahead, focusing on the wedding arch where the Prime Meridian stood, instead of the wide window behind him that provided a stomach-dropping view of the night sky. I stared at his familiar face and tried to unobtrusively suck in breaths to calm my pounding heart. As an old friend of Papá’s, he had agreed to officiate the ceremony—yet another of Papá’s political maneuvers.
Through the window, arcs of lightning sliced through the sky, illuminating the landscape below with a brief, blinding brilliance.
Once we made it to the end of the aisle, I glanced toward the empty chair in the front row—the one that should’ve been Papá’s seat—as Desmarc and I stopped in front of Prime Meridian Emerson. The steam from the arch let out a shrill whistle that quieted the guests, and the music tapered off. Desmarc dropped my hand, leaving me free for the first time. Free yet still bound in place.
It felt like I was choking, like I’d never be able to get enough air again.
Deep, resonating rolls of thunder vibrated the airship and caused a few gasps from the audience.
“Tonight we have gathered to celebrate the union of Kyra Annandale and Desmarc Kingsford.” Prime Meridian Emerson pulled a long chain with a cracked pocket watch from his pocket and held it toward us. “We shall begin the ceremony.”
Desmarc raised his gloved hand, and, after a moment of hesitation, I did the same. Prime Meridian Emerson placed the broken pocket watch between our palms, giving me a small smile when he touched my shaking hand. He lightly bound our hands together with the long chain, so my white glove rested next to Desmarc’s black one.
“Use this broken pocket watch to remember that time is inconsequential in a marriage. Your union is not measured by the number of seconds you’ve been together but by the number of moments you choose to make your own.”
“Hear, hear,” the room muttered their part.
I glanced over my shoulder toward the empty chair in the front row. Papá still hadn’t returned.
Prime Meridian Emerson pulled out a small box that played a faint, ethereal melody. At his touch, the front popped open, revealing a mess of wires and gears inside. He pointed to the cogs, which worked in tandem to keep the machine running, then he stuck his finger into the machine and it stopped, the music grinding to a halt.
“Remember that life is far from perfect, and it is easy to let obstacles get in the way of your happiness. Even if two cogs fit together and can work in harmony, they won’t be able to function until you remove whatever is obstructing your relationship.” He pulled two cogs from the music box and placed one on Desmarc’s finger and one on mine.
“Hear, hear,” the crowd said again while I gritted my teeth, doing my best to ignore the sweat dripping down my neck.
Prime Meridian Emerson pulled out an elaborate brass key with sharp metal teeth and a rough bottom. “May this remind you that the key to happiness comes when you remember to unlock your hearts and openly communicate with one another. Marriages thrive on trust and communication, while closed hearts and closed minds will corrode your relationship.”
“Hear, hear,” the bystanders muttered a third time.
My stomach tightened as we grew closer to the conclusion, and rain lashed against the window with a staccato rhythm, like a thousand tiny drumbeats warning me not to keep going. The outside world was a nebulous tableau of swirling mists and torrential downpours, and I stared at it, trying to control the panic coursing through me. The distant landscape below, once a serene patchwork of fields and forests, now appeared as a hazy and indistinct mosaic, shrouded by the cascading sheets of rain.
Two server bots wheeled away from the walls, one approaching Desmarc and the other approaching me. It stopped at my side, careful not to run over my dress, then opened a section of its middle and produced a ring. Metal and diamond had been crafted together to form an elaborate loop that glinted and sparkled in the light.
I glanced again toward Papá’s empty chair and worried my bottom lip. Had he realized what I was trying to say but then somehow become mixed up in things and captured? I never should’ve said anything. I’d already endangered Hiram. I shouldn’t have risked Papá as well.
“With these rings, you promise to bind yourselves to one another until the end of time,” the Prime Meridian continued.
I swallowed down my nerves and reached out a shaking hand. All that was left was for us to exchange vows and kiss, and I would be married.
“We will now hear the vows from the bride and groom.” Prime Meridian Emerson bowed his head and took one step back, and I could feel the weight of all the eyes resting on us.
Desmarc took my hand, a relaxed smile on his face. One that I’d seen so many times before without realizing the monster it hid beneath. “I, Desmarc Kingsford, vow to take you, Kyra Annandale, as my wife. May we be able to see each other clearly, love one another for our weaknesses and not just our strengths, and stay together until the last cog stops turning.”
I held back a grimace at his words that were more of a threat than a promise. He took my left hand, the one not bound by the chain, and stared down at it for a moment. Maybe he was thinking of Papá’s warnings about my gloves that he’d been careful to adhere to this whole time. His gaze flicked to me, then he tugged my glove off.
My breath caught. If I Slipped now in front of everyone, Desmarc would think I was stalling and Hiram might get killed.
He slid the ring onto my bare finger, the metal and diamond cool against my sweaty hand. No spark jumped from it, and I exhaled in relief. There was no emotion in the ring to pull me to the past. Hiram was safe...for now.
Behind me, a few women sighed and Desmarc’s gloved hand tightened on mine again.
“I, Kyra Annandale, vow to take you, Desmarc Kingsford, as my husband.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat and thought of what else to say. I’d planned my vows weeks ago, but now the words felt as fake as everything else in this room.
Another look proved Papá still hadn’t made it back, and my stomach dropped. I couldn’t keep stalling. “May our marriage never run out of steam and may we explore the mysteries of the universe together, one day and one invention at a time.” I pulled off his glove and slid the ring on his finger. The ring he’d been wearing earlier was gone.
Desmarc took my hand in one of his, and with the other gently pulled up my veil before tucking it over my head where the metal filigree held it in place. I fought to keep my expression even—a smile was too much to ask for.
“If anyone in the room is opposed to the marriage, speak now,” Prime Meridian Emerson said.
My heart thundered in my chest and I prayed for someone to stand and say something even while I begged them not to. I couldn’t marry Desmarc but I also couldn’t risk Hiram. I was caught between a bot and a hard place and Desmarc’s kiss would seal my fate.
“The bride and groom may share a kiss, sealing their vows to signify the start of their new life together.”
Desmarc leaned in and his warm breath fanned across my face. I reflexively took a step back but the subtle pressure of the fine chain around our connected hands kept me from going too far.
The wooden doors at the other end of the room crashed open and banged against the wall. Every head in the room turned to look in that direction.
And there stood Hiram, looking marvelously handsome and alive, if a bit worse for wear. His gaze cut to me, and my heart skipped a beat.
“As lead detective at the Iron Watch,” Hiram said, “I hereby place Desmarc Kingsford under arrest.”