Page 115 of Onyx Cage: Volume II
The light shifted behind my closed eyelids, and the shuffling of feet followed.
“Then we will take Rowan back to Avani’s rooms,” Gwyn announced, her voice closer to the door now.
“And we are going to go collect Van’s cousin and a few of his soldier friends and keep this party going in here,” Davin replied.
“Only the soldiers, Dav. I mean it.” Rowan’s tone left no room for argument.
I raised my eyebrows, wondering who else he would invite that would bother her so much.
“Cross my heart, Cousin,” Davin shot back without a single trace of sincerity.
“Gal!” She shouted.
“I promise, Row,” he said in a markedly more believable voice. “I won’t let him bring any of his lady friends.”
I let out another low laugh. Of course, I should have guessed that was how Lochlannians—and Davin, in particular—mightchoose to celebrate a man’s last night of being unattached. All his jokes aside, I didn’t think even he was brave enough to risk the bloodbath that would ensue if a woman was found in this room.
I certainly wasn’t, nor did I have any desire to look at anyone who was not my lemmikki.
“All right then.” Her exhale was quiet in the chaotic room, her disappointment nonetheless palpable.
At least I wasn’t alone in that.
“I will...see you tomorrow, Evander,” she said with a small laugh.
Tomorrow. When she vowed her life to mine. I swallowed, a smile tugging at my lips.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Lemmikki.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Though I hadn’t been especially excited about the idea of a night with other men for company instead of my future wife, I found myself enjoying the evening more than I expected.
Somewhere between the rare sight of my cousin having actual fun, the kind of casual time with my men I usually only got to spend at the cabin, and Davin and Gallagher’s general commitment to keeping the night entertaining, it was surprisingly late before I was back to my bed.
That didn’t stop me from waking at sunrise, heart beating faster than usual in my chest. There were still so many things that could go wrong before our vows were completed.
Since I doubted seriously there was any risk of running into my lemmikki at this hour, I threw on my clothes and headed to the barracks to burn off the residual energy. My men were up as well, all but Pavel, who had taken the night watch after the festivities.
They stood at attention when I walked in, halting in the midst of their morning conditioning. I had chosen each of them to come here because they were among our best men, but every soldier in Bear was accustomed to training on little to no sleep. I had ensured that my men were the best in Socair, making itdoubly concerning that Taras felt our numbers were insufficient for the upcoming wedding.
There was more than tension between the clans, something he wasn’t telling me—either by choice or because it was imprudent to put it in writing.
I nodded for the men to return to their conditioning, gesturing for Yuriy to meet me in the ring. The newly formed scar on my chest prickled uncomfortably for the first round, but it eased once I warmed up. Gradually, more of my men joined the ring, until I was facing off against an endless wave.
It was enough to clear the incessant buzzing along my skin, the unrelenting feeling that something in the universe would still try to take this from me.
Finally, when the last soldier was disarmed, I dismissed my men to prepare for the wedding while I left to do the same.
To the general surprise of no one, Davin and Gallagher were lounging in my rooms by the time I emerged from the bath in my robe, both already dressed for today’s event.
“I actually do know how to put my own kilt on this time, as much as I enjoyed your invasive assistance for the festival,” I said, a small smile tugging at my lips in spite of myself.
“Oh, don’t mind us,” Gallagher said lightly. “We’re just here to make sure you don’t run away before the wedding.”
“See, it’s tradition since my dear father jilted Auntie Charlie the day of their own nuptials,” Davin explained with a sage nod.
I blinked, having been wholly unaware of that bit of history about my new family. “I see.”