Chapter Fifteen
Milo
“Good news,” Paxon announced as he strode into my bedroom. “No one involved in the ceremony woke up this morning with a black bar on their forehead.”
“That’s good news?” Olympia asked, raising a brow from the corner where she sat in an armchair, feet kicked up on an ottoman, flipping a knife in the air and catching it.
Paxon scowled at her but I merely grinned and focused on fastening my cufflinks.
It was the fanciest suit I’d ever worn. Sky blue and shimmering via the metallic silver thread woven throughout, it fit me well, a fact I could attribute to the Third Ringers who’d taken my measurements weeks ago the moment Nascha had announced Raghnall’s agreement and my impending nuptials.
Now the day had come, as quickly as I’d expected for it only having been planned a few weeks out.
I hadn’t reached out to Isla again for anything outside of a quick question or check in from time to time.
Both of us had been busy with preparations, her even more so than me since Raghnall’s agreement had come with the added issue of declaring her Heir.
Politics within House Lynx had been roiling ever since and she only had a few moments to spare from time to time to ask me about flower preferences or feast options.
“Is it in poor taste to have a wedding of this magnitude on the same morning as the Culling?” I asked too late, glancing back at Paxon and Olympia.
“Raghnall thinks it symbolizes your alignment with the Geist’s will,” Pax replied.
“Raghnall is an idiot,” Olympia grumbled.
“Besides, you’re already married anyway,” Pax continued, stepping up to straighten my tie. “You and Isla signed the papers days ago. The ceremony is a formality, as is the following feast, and then…”
He trailed off, eyes flicking up to meet mine.
“Do you need any pointers about where to stick it on the wedding night?” Olympia asked with a wicked grin. “Aim between her legs and you should be fine.”
I rolled my eyes as Pax audibly choked and moved away.
“It will be binding after the consummation,” Paxon said in an overly formal tone.
Olympia just rolled her eyes behind him and went back to flipping her knife.
“Have you heard from Luca?” I asked, watching her warily. Isla’s cousin didn’t seem the sort to hold a grudge or plot revenge but I wanted to be certain we were entering into this arrangement aware of any potential complications.
“I have,” Olympia replied unhelpfully.
“How is he?”
“Fine.”
“Olympia,” I sighed.
“Bummed he won’t be Heir but happy for Isla,” she finally admitted, dropping the knife to glare at me. “He isn’t so sure how he feels about you yet.”
“Put in a good word for me?”
She shrugged, noncommittal, and I had to refrain from sighing again. My cousin was at her best when she was being her worst. Instead, I focused on straightening my sleeves and preparing myself for the task I’d been most nervous for all morning.
Last chance to back out, I offered through the mental bond.
Isla’s unamused voice responded immediately.
Don’t tempt me, Milo, she warned. I’m here for you. Now and always.
Now and always, I vowed.
There was a lot I wasn’t sure of. How marriage would change my relationship with Isla, for one.
Whether we’d begin to use this bond between us more often or keep our distance and maintain separate lives as before.
Whether we’d be able to face the issues ahead side by side as intended or fall apart from outside pressure.
Whether anything resembling love could grow out of this mutual respect or if our marriage of convenience would remain just that; convenient.
But I was no stranger to doubt and I did not fear the unknown.
I would plunge straight ahead into this future as I had all others with the same mindset; that I would understand what I could and approach all else with caution.
A good rule of thumb for women in general if my limited past experiences were any indication.
“Raghnall has made the succession official?” I asked for the dozenth time, ensuring I wasn’t forgetting anything, that nothing had fallen through the cracks.
“A proper decree signed by the High Priests of all Major Houses and announced at the temple, as required,” Pax answered with a nod.
“Good,” I replied, blowing out a breath as I straightened my lapel and fixed my collar. “And our guests?”
I watched Pax turn to Olympia in the mirror. He frowned but she just raised a brow.
“We sent the invitations like you asked,” Pax answered slowly. “We never heard back.”
I nodded, dropping my arms to my sides and shaking them out.
“Still, ensure there are seats available should they choose to come,” I said.
“It’s rather…disrespectful, the lack of response,” Pax started, obviously far more irritated about it than I was. “For Third Ringers to ignore a request from a First Ring Heir–”
“It’s a good thing the three of us are the only ones who know about it then, isn’t it?”
I turned to face Pax, broad smile on my lips. My cousin faltered, meeting my gaze for the briefest moment before nodding and dropping his head along with the subject.
“It’s my wedding day,” I said, reaching up to squeeze Pax’s shoulder. “I should have some say about the guest list, don’t you think?”
Pax was still frowning when he nodded.
There was a knock on the door and then Luca was poking his head inside.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I dipped my head and his eyes strayed to Olympia for a brief second before he vanished again. I took a deep breath before turning to my cousins.
“Well,” I said. “How do I look?”
“Terrified,” Olympia replied and I barked out a laugh.
Pax led the way out of my room, through the hall, and down to the foyer.
The House was still and silent, completely abandoned for the first time I could remember.
No little nieces and nephews or cousins running underfoot, no aunts chatting in the sitting room or uncles scheming in the foyer.
Pax, Olympia, and my footsteps were the only ones to be heard echoing through the space as we made our way to the door.
It was customary for the bride’s family to host the wedding as a proper sendoff for their beloved daughter.
All members of House Avus would be there already, awaiting me and my chosen witnesses.
As the Heir, I drew a crowd. Attendance at my wedding ceremony was mandatory, as ordered both by tradition and Nascha herself who felt it was monumentally important for our family to have this formal introduction to their future patriarch’s wife.
The massive double doors of the front entry of House Lynx swung open the moment we were in view of them, burgundy coated attendants raising their chins high in welcome.
We passed through a foyer equally empty but decorated heavily in the trappings of our Houses.
Blue and red silk were draped over every wall and flowers burst from every vase on every table.
Pax and Olympia remained hot on my heels as I strode straight through the center of the House to reach the glass double doors leading out to the garden beyond.
In front of them stood both Raghnall and Nascha, dressed up in the finery of their House as befitting their positions.
I got a brief glimpse of the garden behind them as we approached.
I saw the trellis at the end and the red-robed priest standing beneath it before my eyes trailed to the crowd surrounding it in a wide circle, sitting in crimson chairs and chatting amongst themselves.
“Welcome back to House Lynx, Heir of Avus,” Raghnall called out in a booming tone that had some of the guests in the back rows nearest the door turning to look at us.
“Thank you,” I replied with a nod. “I look forward to calling you family.”
Raghnall’s smile broadened as Nascha stepped forward to embrace me.
“Your heart is your greatest strength, hafid,” she whispered. “Never forget that.”
She separated from me with a knowing gleam in her eyes and then Raghnall clapped loudly and the doors behind him opened.
Pax and Olympia stood straight on either side behind me as I raised my chin and strode into the garden.
Members of my family in various shades of blue dotted the circle amidst a sea of red.
I saw my mother seated next to Olympia’s, tears shining in her eyes as Helena gripped her hand in her lap.
Nick, Cleo, and Sebastian sat together a few rows back on the left side.
They were watching warily as if wondering how much of a choice I’d actually had in today’s events.
Colby sat with Uncle Elias on the far side, directly in my eyeline as I settled in front of the priest beneath the trellis.
They were grinning from ear to ear as I met their gaze and smiled in greeting.
Paxon and Olympia took up the space behind me, lining up side by side as my chosen witnesses.
Down the aisle, my father began helping my grandmother forward. With her arm clutched in his, he made his way to the front of the circle just feet away from where I stood. He met my gaze with a stoic scowl of his own, nodding once in the only form of approval I’d ever gotten from him.
Once Nascha was in her seat, my father beside her, the priest began to speak. He welcomed both families to the ceremony, praised the Geist and their infinite wisdom for bringing Isla and I together, and called forward the bride’s witnesses.