Page 94 of The Edge of Darkness

“Like it or not, the two of you are stuck with each other. So you had better find a way to coexist.”

He chuckled again. “Anything else you’d like to demand of me, darling?”

I raised a brow at him, and he let out a deep laugh as he pulled me into his arms. “I don’t have an issue with your Dionach. I just haven’t had the time to pull him aside and get to know him yet. But I will. I promise.”

“Thank you,” I murmured into his chest.

He shifted his shoulders against the pillows. “Let’s talk about something else, shall we?”

“Like what?”

“Our marriage ceremony.”

I lifted my head to look up at him.

He smiled. “It’s been arranged.”

“But I thought I needed to swear the oath to become part of your council first—get their approval⁠—”

“You’ll swear the oath in front of me, and Syros, The Adorner. No one else.”

“Won’t they take offense that we did it without their consent?”

“It doesn’t matter what they think. I’m the High Lord, and my opinion is the final one. They’re lucky I’m making the binding ceremony public instead of keeping that for ourselves as well.”

“Niall . . .”

“When you walk down those temple steps to me, I will have every guarantee that you are accepted and recognized as my equal.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

“Damn right.” He tucked me tighter to him. “Now, tell me more about this dress you’re envisioning.”

I squinted at him. The only person I could recall discussing it with was Roirdan. We had been trying to pass the time guessing things about each other while sailing back from Neveshir. I had told him that Niall had proposed, and somehow we ended up on the topic of what I was planning to wear.

“Did Roirdan say something?” I asked.

“No . . . I overheard.”

I poked him in the chest, earning another laugh from him. “Snoop!”

“You know I’m always listening. I can’t help it.”

“You actually could help it, you just choose not to.”

“There’s no fun in always being the last to know.”

I cackled. “I very seriously doubt that you are the last to know about anything around here, even without your snooping.”

He rolled over on top of me and pinned me against the sheets. “Fine then, I’m a snoop. One that wants to know what color you’re going to choose?”

A smirk tugged at my lips. “You’re a pretty lousy snoop if you didn’t hear me when I said it.”

“Don’t make me wrestle it out of you,” he said, eyes glinting with mischief.

Suddenly, the entire chamber shook, and the ground rumbled beneath us. Niall leapt off the bed, taking me with him. He backed me up against the wall as he assessed and listened.

“Something’s wrong. Stay here and wait for me,” he commanded. He snatched his shirt off the floor, and vanished, leaving a faint trail of shadows behind him.