But together, we weren’t lonely. We fit perfectly, Dominic and I. It was almost as though we were the last two pieces in a puzzle, lost for years and found under the dusty couch. And once linked together, the empty space was filled and everything was complete as if it had never been empty at all.

When I was a little girl, I believed in fairy tales. Not the ones Disney tells. No, I believed the real ones. The scary ones. The ones where not everyone got to meet their prince in shining armor or got their happily-ever-after. I learned too young how fucked up life could be, how pain and suffering and death lurked behind every smile. But I never stopped believing in the power of love, and I always loved the beasts more than I did the princes.

Dominic was my beast. And somehow, I was his princess.

I stood along with Effie at the entrance of the ancient, tiny chapel where we’d be wed. I wore the antique-lace wedding dress passed down from my grandmother, clutching roses so red they almost appeared black. Two men opened the doors, and the small gathering stood. The scent of incense and time poured from the open doors.

I met Dominic’s gaze through the net of my veil, and my heart thudded against my chest. For a moment, I wished I had accepted Salvatore’s proposal to walk me down the aisle, because suddenly my knees grew weak, and I wasn’t sure my legs would carry me the distance between us.

But then Dominic smiled, and I saw how that dimple softened his face, giving him a younger appearance, an innocent one. An angel of death. That’s how I’d seen him at the cabin, where he’d been sent to break me. Now I knew it was true. He was my angel of death. But he would slay all my enemies, and he would protect and love me.

The organ began to play the wedding march: a heavy, dark gothic piece I’d chosen. One Dominic had raised his eyebrows at but accepted without question. Effie walked ahead of me scattering bloodred rose petals in her wake. I took my first step, standing taller as I did, meeting every eye in the church, knowing that even though Dominic and I may never be accepted by some, it wouldn’t matter, not anymore. We only needed each other.

Dominic took the last steps to meet me, and with his arm around my waist, he led me to the altar. We stood before the priest. The music stopped playing, and he began the service. I didn’t hear much of what he said. I couldn’t stop looking at Dominic, and he seemed unable to take his gaze from me.