Page 37 of Onyx Cage: Volume II
“Ah-lo,” Ellie repeated dutifully, her smile widening.
I couldn’t help but smile back, in spite of myself, in spite of all the memories that fought to break free. I worked to gently break her surprisingly firm hold, while laughter erupted around the table.
“Aw, look. She knows your name.” Rowan looked up at me, wearing half a smirk that promptly died on her lips. Her eyes went wide with something I couldn’t read, the guard dropping from her expression for the first time since I could remember.
Then she swallowed, looking away. Looking back toward Korhonan, which I had no desire to tolerate any more of.
“Ellie,” I addressed the child, who appeared to be delighted that I was speaking. “Can you sayLemmikki?” I asked her, looking at the pursed lips of the princess next to me.
“Wem-kee!” Ellie responded.
“Look,” I told Rowan. “She knows yours as well.”
My lemmikki did not look amused. But neither did she look back at Korhonan.
So it was another victory, all things considered.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Just when I thought I had gotten used to the bedlam around me, the queen invited myself and Korhonan for an after-dinner brandy, along with the rest of the adults in the room.
Well, most of the adults. Rowan had all but fled the moment dinner was over, when her father asked her to walk the gardens. Had he asked her for her sake, because he sensed she needed an escape?
Or perhaps to give the others an opportunity to observe us without her in the room?
Regardless, she had been openly eager to take him up on his offer.
The queen led the rest of us into a cozy parlor room with high ceilings and intricately woven tapestries. More portraits of the family hung on the walls, all of them in the same style as the ones from the hall, showcasing the royal family through the years.
Heavy, brocaded curtains hung from the windows, pulled back enough to allow the moonlight in while offering a view of the gardens. I couldn’t help but briefly scan them for signs of Rowan and her father before meeting Davin at the liquor cart.
He filled several crystal glasses of brandy before looking at me with a wry expression. Then he poured extra into a glass and handed it to me.
I quirked an eyebrow in silent question.
“I just think you may need a double tonight…” he said quietly, and not at all ominously.
A quick glance at the seating area told me he was probably right, so I took a healthy swig and allowed him to refill my glass just a little more before helping him pass out the glasses around the room.
Once we were done, Davin quickly took the spot in the armchair next to the fire. He raised his glass in a toast-like fashion, gesturing toward the only other available seat on the small sofa, right next to Korhonan.
Arseling.
The giant mass of muscles stiffened as I sat down, not even bothering to move over to offer more space. It was an effort not to roll my eyes as I valiantly took the seat, offering him the same consideration of personal space that he had offered me.
Resting my ankle on my knee, I took a long swig of my brandy, another beverage that was sweeter than necessary, before cutting in to answer Prince Oliver’s question about our after-dinner customs in Socair.
“Well, it depends, I suppose, on what clan you’re in and the reason for the meal,” I said, as Korhonan irritably stiffened at my side. “In clans such as Eagle, Crane, Wolf, and Elk, who enjoy their excess despite their peoples limited food stores, dinner often lasts several hours and consists of more courses than most of us could fathom?—”
“Vodka,” Korhonan interrupted me with a pointed glance while Davin choked on a laugh behind his brandy glass. “The men usually move to the parlor to share a bottle of chilled vodka.”
“But not the women?” Princess Jocelyn asked carefully. Her narrowed blue eyes sparkled with the same judgment I had seen in her son’s before.
I tilted my head to the side watching as Korhonan shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. “Usually, no. I am sure my brother would make an exception if his wife wanted to attend, but the women often prefer to retire to their rooms after dinner.”
Jocelyn pointedly glanced in Davin’s direction, looking for a little more insight. When he only offered a silent shrug in response, she made a small, thoughtful, if not slightly judgmental sound in the back of her throat.
It wasn’t as if things were much different in Bear, not with my father being who he was and customs dictating the different roles of our people, but I did enjoy watching Korhonan squirm.