I do not remember the words.

I remember Nathan’s face, close to mine, arranged into tenderness, and I remember thinking, with a calm that felt oddly gentle: you have no idea what is coming for you, and you did it entirely to yourself, and all I did was let it play.

Chapter 13 — The Screen Lit Up

After the ceremony portion of the day had ended, the guests moved into the reception hall, and everyone found their seats, and there was that warm expectant hum a room makes when it is full of well-fed people waiting for the party to start.

Then the lights began, slowly, to dim.