Page 70 of Crimson Kingdom
“I believe I see some even now, Brother,” Oli said, placing a hand to his heart in feigned sincerity. “Glistening in your very eyeballs.”
The twins giggled, and even Da’ let out a low, reluctant chuckle, shaking his head.
“Ach, haud yer wheesht, Oli,” he finally said.
Evander’s shoulders relaxed incrementally, and he took a sip of his wine.
After that came a more sincere round of congratulations and welcoming of Evander to the family, along with a few more jokes at my expense because my family never declined an opportunity to openly and relentlessly mock one another.
All the while, though, I couldn’t stop watching Evander.
Each twitch of his lips, each word he spoke.
Whatever game he and I were playing, I couldn’t help but feel like the stakes had just gotten even higher.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
By the time dinner was over, I was more than ready to retreat to Davin’s rooms.
It was the one time of day I didn’t feel pressured or tense, even if a traitorous, masochistic part of me missed the constant awareness of Evander’s presence.
“So,” Davin drew the word out as he dealt a round of cards. “King Logie-bear was in quite the mood tonight.”
“He’s just protective of Row,” Avani said. “Of all of us. And...he doesn’t want her to go.”
Sadness coated her tone, though she kept her features neutral. I reached over, touching her arm, but she waved me away.
“It’s all right, Row. I’m all right,” she assured me, pasting on a terse smile.
“Have you,” Gallagher began gently, “decided whether you’re staying or not?”
I suddenly found my hair extremely fascinating, fixating on smoothing out the ends of one spiral instead of making eye contact with him.
“We have not discussed that, as of yet,” I answered.
“You two are ridiculous,” Avani muttered with a shake of her head.
“Well, I hope you’re talking about something, at least,” Davin said under his breath.
“Such as?” The way he said it had me on edge.
He took a long drink of his whiskey before responding. “I’ve just heard some interesting things about Socairan wedding traditions.”
“Like the black dress?” I asked.
He cleared his throat. “Not exactly.”
“What do you know?” I demanded, narrowing my eyes.
Davin was now the focus of everyone’s attention, something that normally didn’t faze him. But for some reason, this time, it made him shift in discomfort, which, in turn, had dread pooling in my stomach.
He straightened in his chair, taking a fortifying breath before responding. “You know how Aunt Charlie outlawed the witnessing of consummation…”
The blood drained from my face, as Gwyn chimed in. “Not that it stops the older families from doing it.”
“Let’s just say, I don’t believe it’s been outlawed in Socair,” Davin summed up. “And while I personally would have no problem with such an arrangement, I imagine it’s the sort of thing you’d need to work yourself up to.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Surely, Theo would have mentioned…” I trailed off, realizing that wasn’t quite true.