Page 106 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

Unfurling it, I quickly scanned its contents. Taras's familiar shorthand lined the page. He sent the reply from the Lord of Finance—which wouldn’t have been an issue for Davin, so I kept scanning until I got the final part of the letter.

Word of your happy news has made its way from the south. Your father was distressed that he did not get to share the announcement himself, as the dukes have been sending in their many felicitations. Wolf—Nils in particular—is very interested in your return so that he may congratulate you himself.

A muscle feathered in my jaw. Nils was more likely to approve my alliance with a deranged ferret than with Rowan. I had known word would spread quickly, but I had hoped I would make it home before all hell broke loose. It would certainly be much harder to put out fires from this side of the mountains.

It would seem that your impending nuptials are the most anticipated event among the clans. I am certain that our soldiers stationed away from the palace will be eager to join us for the celebration. I can send their invitations as soon as we have a date.

-Taras

My shoulders tensed. He wanted to call in more of our men for the wedding. I knew there would be fallout, but the suggestionthat we would need more soldiers at our gates because of the mood of the other clans was unsettling, to say the least.

The paper crumpled slightly in my grip. I knew we would have to be careful when Rowan and I returned to Socair for the wedding, but once again I was reminded of how much better—how much safer—it would be for her in her home country.

How much safer it would be for the people of Socair when I didn’t raze every clan to the ground that even considered bringing her harm.

When I finally looked back up at Davin, every ounce of the careless façade he so often donned was gone. Instead, concern and something closer to anger filled his expression.

“I need to know that you will keep your word,” he said in a lethal tone. “That you won’t send her back with scars this time.”

His question sliced through the silence. I narrowed my eyes, guilt warring with my temper at the implication that I would do anything else before I registered the quiet once more.

Not once since we arrived in the highlands had there been complete silence. But now, there were no birds, no rustling of leaves, no chittering of small, chaotic creatures.

Davin stiffened, sensing exactly what I had.

Our weapons were in hand before the first soldier appeared. They wore the same blue-and-silver tartans that the rebels had worn when they attacked us at the lake.

Davin stepped closer to me, our backs together as we made a slow circle to assess the threat more fully. There were at least fifteen men surrounding us, probably more if I accounted for those who were hiding more effectively in the trees.

I mentally tallied how much ground we had covered during the hunt—how much distance was between us and the other royals now. Were they close enough to call to? Had they been compromised already?

The rebels didn’t look fatigued, and their swords weren’t bloodied, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more of them somewhere else in the trees. For that matter, I had no intention of giving away her family’s positions if they were still safe.

“Well, Cousin,” Davin said casually, “I had hoped to treat you to a day out in the kingdom where my people weren’t actively trying to kill you…”

“That would just be boring,” I muttered. “I might accuse you of a lot of things, but boring would never be one of them.”

Davin’s chuckle cut off as the first wave of men charged toward us.

Der’mo.

I would never leave my sabers behind again.

Though my new dirk was proving extremely deadly, it didn’t have the reach of my swords, and so it relied on closer combat to be useful. Although, the rebels didn’t seem to mind obliging me that, at least.

When one of them was close enough, I parried his sword away before dragging the serrated edge of my blade down across his neck.

Blood burst from the artery, the spray distracting the rebel behind him enough for me to grab an arrow from my quiver to slam into his temple. There was no time to wrest his sword from his spasming grip when another man was already attacking in his stead.

Davin was similarly having his own fun, alternating between his dirk and dagger to fend off blows. At least behind his nonchalant façade, he was every bit as fierce as the rest of the royal family on the battlefield.

Between us, we had already taken down six men in just as many minutes.

Slowly, we had edged ourselves closer to one of the larger trees, the trunk wider than the average carriage. It at least offered some protection for our backs, forcing the rebels to face us head on.

When the next wave charged at us, we took blow after blow, dealing our own in return. It was pure chaos. Blood rushed to my ears, the beat somehow amplifying the battle cries of the rebels and the clashing of steel.

And in that chaos, they were trying to separate us, slowly edging into the space between Davin and me.

---