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.”
