Chapter 23: Day Thirty-One

Roxie's POV

On day thirty-one, I wore the good hoodie.

It had no stains on it.

I pushed the sleeves up to the elbow, which is how I dress for important occasions.

The Chapel was already open in my headset when I sat down on my stool in the stream room.

There were three hundred and forty thousand people watching.

Gus had built the pews himself.

He stood at the front in a long gold robe, with his reading glasses on their cord and a clipboard.

"Welcome," he said. "I'll be officiating, because I wrote the rules, and because nobody else would."

The chat scrolled by in a river of tiny hearts and one skull.

Sunder stood at the altar.

He was not in black plate anymore.

He was a tall man in a linen shirt and brown trousers.

His sorry eyes looked sorrier than ever.

"Where's the armor?" I said into my mic.

"Traded," Lorne said, from the stool next to mine.

"Where's the sword?"

"Traded."

"Lorne."

"I'll tell you after."

I walked Kettle down the aisle in her dented armor, past the pews.

There was a lectern next to the altar, and on the lectern was a gold button.

It said UNDO YOUR VOWS, and it was lit.

"Today the button works," said Gus. "There are two options."

"If you both press it, the Handfast ends, you keep your inventory, and the studio sends a card."

"A card?" I said.

"A condolence card. I designed it. It's very sad."

"What's the other option?"

"Renew your vows. The couple joins hands and holds for ten seconds."

"Then the bond is rewritten with no end date."

The chat wrote: HOLD HOLD HOLD HOLD.

I turned to look at Lorne on his stool.

He was looking at the lectern with his jaw set.

"You came," he said, very low.

"I said I'd come."

"You said day thirty-one," Lorne said. "That's a date. It's not an answer."

"Gus," I said. "I'd like to do the trade first."

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