Gianna read the room the way her people always did, finding the strongest current and riding it. She laid a soft hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Come on, caro, don't be so stiff about it. Ade might not think of me as family, but I've always treated her like blood."
"It's just a white dress. I'm not fussy about that kind of thing. It's not like I'm gonna wreck it."
She tilted her head and smiled at me, sweet as poisoned wine. "You're not that small, are you, Ade?"
Whatever hesitation had flickered in Tommy vanished in an instant. He let go of Gianna's shoulder, wet his lips, and cut his eyes toward the biggest man at his side before he jerked his chin at one of the girls. "Go get the dress."
I held his gaze. "Tommy. Don't you dare."
He didn't look at me. His voice was low but it left no room. "Gianna put more into this union than anybody. Letting her try on a dress isn't gonna kill you. She'll give it back."
The girl came running with the gown. I lunged for it.
Before my fingers even grazed the fabric, two of his men shoved me aside. I stumbled and slammed into the corner of a table, pain shooting through my lower back until my legs went numb.
Gianna took the gown and slipped it on right there in front of the whole enclave. She smoothed the skirt, did a slow little spin, and smiled with her eyes curved into crescents.
The pose. The look in her eyes. Anyone wandering in off the road would have sworn she was the one bound to Tommy today.
Someone in the crowd started whistling.
Tommy didn't step away. He let his gaze drift down over the dress on her body, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
I stood there watching the two of them side by side, and suddenly I wanted to laugh.
The dress was mine. The union was mine. The groom was mine.
But in that moment, I was the outsider.
I fixed my eyes on Tommy. My voice had gone raw. "Do you even remember whose blood union this is?"
Gianna's smile vanished. She lowered her head and fiddled with the hem of the gown, her eyes flicking once to the side before she found her line, her voice barely above a whisper. "Ade, I'm just no good with other girls. Do you really hate me so much? If I did something wrong, just tell me, please. Don't be like this."
Her eyes turned red as she spoke.
Tommy whipped around and glared at me, his voice loud enough to carry across the whole yard. "Are you finished? Gianna's been helping out of the goodness of her heart and you've been pitching a fit since the second she got here. What is it you want?"
I pointed at the gown on Gianna's body. My finger was shaking. "She ruined my union!"
"Ruined your union?" Tommy let out a cold laugh and stepped closer.
"Let me tell you how it goes out here. The rougher the hazing, the stronger the marriage. That's old custom. You're a city girl. That it? Deep down you think you're better than us? Better than me?"
He had the floor now and he knew it. He turned to the guests, arms spread wide, voice climbing. "All of you, take a good look! This is the city wife I brought home! Can't stomach a little wedding fun, and she says she loves me?"
The enclave jeered.
Gianna tugged lightly at his sleeve and murmured something into his ear. Tommy patted her hand, his voice gone so gentle it was unrecognizable. "It's all right. I'll handle her."
Then he turned back to me. His eyes went cold. A faint, unreadable smugness sat at the corner of his mouth.
"Since you won't show any respect, don't blame me for what comes next."
He cocked his head toward the men beside him.
Under the table's edge, without looking down, I turned the thin gold band on my finger one full rotation.
I had barely taken half a step back when a deep, heavy roar rolled in from overhead.
Every head in the yard turned skyward at once. The jeering died in their throats.
A silver-white jet was descending through the clouds, the Valente crest on its fuselage blazing under the sun.
