“They’re not so different from us.” Viper kissed the side of Ward’s head. “We fight for each other like they do.”
A circle formed near the fire, dancers gathering with bare feet and clapping hands, some still holding mugs or loaves of bread. The music shifted to a faster beat, the drums throbbing like heartbeats. Laughter echoed as a tall woman with braids down her back pulled Kaze into the ring and spun him in place. He yelped, then tried to match her steps—and failed miserably.
“That’s gonna end in disaster,” Reaper muttered from behind them, watching as Kaze tripped and recovered and grinned like a lunatic.
“Yeah,” Viper agreed. “But he’s enjoying every second.”
“Are you gonna dance?” Ward asked with a raised eyebrow.
Viper shook his head. “Baby, I dance like a damn elephant with only three legs. I’d squish someone and end up getting myself killed for my troubles. So, unless you want this night to finish way early, it’s better if I don’t dance at all.”
Ward turned fully toward him, a wicked grin curling his mouth. “Damn, I was thinking maybe you could teach the Fianna how to do the tequila hula.”
Viper groaned. “Early night it is then…”
Cackling like a loon, Ward stood and offered a hand. “Come on. No one cares if we stumble.”
Viper hesitated for a beat, then he took his hand and together, they stepped into the firelight—two bonded men in a world older than recorded time dancing beneath stars that had witnessed the rise and fall of kings. Around them, the Fianna clapped in rhythm, the drums pounded like blood through ancient veins, and the music steeped in history played wild, free, and full of hope.
By the time the stars had shifted high overhead and the music started slowing from thunderous war beats to softer pipes and gentle strings, Viper leaned in to Ward’s ear and murmured, “Think anyone would notice if we made our escape?”
Ward, flushed from drink and dancing, swayed into him and grinned. “If they do, they’ll be too drunk to care.”
The pull between them that had never really been banked since they’d completed their mating bond flared into life. It tempted, seduced, and dared them to answer its siren’s call.
Viper caught Juice’s eye across the feast circle. His 2IC gave him the smallest of nods, already dragging Trace toward a fireside blanket with all the subtlety of a brick. Reaper looked half-asleep, Zero had a lap full of knives and was busy talking Oisín’s ear off, and Kaze was somewhere between wrestling a bear of a Fianna warrior and professing his undying love to the woman who’d kept beating him at darts.
Perfect. No one will miss us.
Viper reached for Ward’s hand, laced their fingers together, and tugged him toward the edge of the light. Ward followed without question, and walked with him through the darkened grove and down the narrow, winding trail that led to their crannóg.
The night air was crisp, pine-scented, and full of life, but it was quieter out here. The firelight from the village dimmed behind them until only the glow of the moon danced along the lake’s surface. Their boots scuffed the wooden walkway as they crossed the bridge to the roundhouse.
Inside, the space was warm. Someone—probably Trace—had come by earlier and stoked the fire. The furs had been shaken out, fresh ones layered atop the old, and there was even a small covered pot set on the hearth that smelled like cinnamon and honey.
Ward turned slowly as the door shut behind them. “You think they were trying to set a mood?”
“They’re trying to get us to relax,” Viper said, stepping up behind him. “You know… in case a week of magical combat and saving an ancient king wasn’t enough to wear us down.”
Ward leaned into him, back against his chest, gaze fixed on the flames. “It’s strange. How fast this became home.”
Viper slid his arms around him and pressed his nose into the curve of Ward’s neck, breathing him in. “I think it’s you who made it home for me.”
“This is probably not going to make a lick of sense.” Ward reached up and covered Viper’s hands with his own. “But there’s something about this place. The way it listens. The way it remembers.”
He fucking loved how Ward viewed the world. “Then let’s give it something worth remembering.” He spun him gently, walking him backward until Ward’s knees hit the edge of the fur-draped bed. He caught Ward’s mouth in a kiss that was slow and deep, laced with heat and gratitude and a bone-deep hunger that had never really faded.
Not with him.
It will never fade with him.
***
Ward’s knees bent, and he let himself sink into the furs, pulling Viper down with him. The firelight flickered against the walls, painting gold across Viper’s shoulders, highlighting the long scar that ran from his collarbone to the curve of his bicep. Ward traced it slowly and reverently, dragging his fingers down the path of it. “I want to learn all of them,” he murmured. “Everyscar. Every line. Every place the world tried to take a piece of you and failed.”
Viper sucked in a breath through his nose and leaned into the touch, his voice rough with something dangerously close to tenderness. “You already know more than anyone else ever has.”
Ward rolled, pulling him over until Viper hovered above him. “Good. Then let me learn more.”
