Page 92 of Onyx Cage: Volume II
I studied her carefully, watching as she averted her eyes, taking yet another sip of her drink like she needed it to calm her. I might have thought she genuinely was concerned about a blood sacrifice, if not for the way her lips were pursed like they were when she was trying to hide something.
“No,” I said slowly, gauging her reaction. “From what I understand, it’s similar to weddings here.”
She shook her head slightly, then squared her shoulders, finally looking at me. Finally ready to get to whatever point she was trying to make.
“And...” she trailed off, faltering in the bravery she had summoned before she took a deep breath. I had half a second to wonder how concerned I should be before, at long last, she blurted out what it was she wanted to know.
“What about the wedding night?”
That…was not what I had been expecting her to ask. I blinked, my mind going still for several heartbeats while I tried to rein in the images that came to mind whenever I considered our upcoming wedding nights.
I took a sip of my whiskey to aid in that regard, clamoring for my usual rationality before I responded.
“What is it you want to know?” I asked.
Do you want to know all the ways I have considered putting our mutual stamina to use, Lemmikki?
Crimson crept up from the low neckline of her dress, in no way helping with my line of thought.
“How is the consummation...verified?” she gritted out.
The pieces clicked into place, effectively sapping the tension from the room. I settled back in my chair more comfortably. This was an easier question to answer, if entirely less fun.
Though, it could be fun in a different way. Forcing my expression into neutrality, I prepared to bait her.
“Well, old Socairan law dictates that a room of witnesses is the only reputable method...” I told her truthfully.
Abject horror overtook her features, and I fought to not laugh outright.
“But those laws are not generally adhered to anymore,” I assured her.
She scowled, though her shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Even my dear father isn’t quite that archaic.” Though, I suspected that had been entirely out of respect for my mother. Given his choices, he would love a chance to humiliate the Lochlannian princess, but there was no way in hell I would allow that to happen. “It’s just the standard examination the next morning.”
She wasn’t quite as relieved by that as I had anticipated.
“What standard examination?” she asked.
I tilted my head. Either she was getting retribution for me letting her believe that she would have to consummate our marriage in front of Iiro or she genuinely didn’t know. I searched for a delicate way to explain it, having been wholly unprepared for a discussion of this nature tonight.
Or any night, for that matter.
Generally, this was a talk a woman in the bride’s family would see to, but nothing was ever typical where Rowan were concerned. I took a slow sip of my whiskey, willing myself not tobe uncomfortable about something that would occur between us in less than a week.
“Of your...maidenhood,” I settled on, given that it sounded better than all of the alternatives that ran through my head. “Or lack thereof, as the case may be.”
She nodded, though protest was written plainly across every one of her features. “I see.” Her words were clipped to indicate that she very much didnotsee.
Or at least, that she didn’t want to.
She shot back a considerable amount of her drink, her movements jerky with an emotion I couldn’t quite read.
Though her actions and reactions would speak to the contrary, I considered that perhaps I had misjudged her stance on our wedding night. For all that I was, and the things that I had done, I was not a monster, and no treaty or vows would compel me to force a woman into my bed.
Surely, she knew that.
Then again, she had always thought of Socairan laws as barbaric. Was that why she had come here? Why she had brought all of this up? For yet another way we could be married in name only?