Page 119 of On Brutal Thrones

Silence follows.

Nyx sits straighter.

Talon’s usual smirk disappears.

I can hear insects chirping in the trees and the quiet hiss of sap burning inside one of the logs. Somewhere far away, an animal calls into the night. It strikes me how strange this place is for a wedding.

There are no flowers. No musicians. No tables overflowing with food or bottles of wine waiting to be opened. Nyx isn't wearing some beautiful dress, and we’ve all done little more than bathe in rivers for days.

But the fire paints her face gold. The stars stretch endlessly above us. Most of the people I love are here. Maybe that’s enough.

Nyx looks at each of us. One by one, we nod.

Something warm and terrifying twists through my stomach. We're actually doing this.

“What do we even do?” Talon asks quietly. “I’ve never been to a wedding.”

“Neither have I,” Thorian admits.

His gaze drops to the woven ring around Nyx’s finger, and I realize we never made matching ones for ourselves.

“I have,” Nyx says. “But it was a long time ago. A lady near our manor married several husbands.”

“Ah.” Talon’s mouth curls. “And even then you were hoping for husbands as sexy as us?”

Nyx flushes and shoves him. He doesn't move. Not even a little.

“Well, now that we’ve seen you naked, we’re constantly thinking about our sexy woman, so it’s fair.” His grin widens, and Nyx tips her chin up at him, eyes narrowing.

The air between them changes instantly.

Hell. We're supposed to be getting married. I do not need to start thinking about Nyx naked right now.

Especially because thinking about Nyx naked inevitably leads to thinking about the few nights we've had together, which leads to thinking about all the nights I intend to have with her in the future, and that's a very dangerous road to travel while everyone is fully clothed.

“If you two are finished trying to start the wedding night before the wedding,” I say, “I have an idea.”

“An idea?” Nyx asks, focusing on me.

“There are berserker marriage vows,” I tell them. “We could use those.”

Talon eyes me suspiciously. “Does this involve you throwing any of us across camp when you go beast mode?”

“No.”

“Blood?”

“No.”

“Sacrificing livestock?”

“What kind of weddings do you think we have?”

“I know very little about berserkers.”

“Clearly.”

Nyx laughs softly.