Page 83 of Ensnaring the Dove
The vows were beautiful, and Colombia’s skin prickled as she listened to Aedan reciting his. Ultan murmured somethingthen, and Aedan removed his hand from the stone, nodding to Colombia to do the same.
Aedan produced a ring. It was silver and decorated with knots, like the interlinking roots of the great oaks they stood under.
Smiling, he slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. “I swear to love you, Colombia,” he said huskily, switching to Latin. “Completely and without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty. In this life and beyond.”
Colombia swallowed to ease the tightness in her throat. “And I swear the same to you, my love.”
The druid cleared his throat then and said a few more words.
“He’s calling on the Gods to bless us,” Aedan translated. “The Mother, The Maiden, The Warrior, and The Crone … may our lives together be long, and may you bear me many sons.” He winked at her then. “I’ll settle for daughters too though.”
Colombia smiled—of course he would.
Five days had passed since the attack on the fort. Aedan had wanted to wed immediately, but with Onnum’s vicus half-destroyed, and the outer perimeter in need of repairs, they’d waited.
Keir had gone off to find them a druid—a search that wasn’t easy these days, for the mystics preferred to dwell far from the Wall.
However, the carpenter’s search had been successful; Ultan had been willing to conduct the ceremony between Briton and Roman.
“Is it done then?” she asked, glancing at the druid’s gaunt face. The man was watching them intently.
“Yes,” Aedan replied. “Except for one thing.” Taking her hands in his, he stepped close and lowered his head, kissing her.
Colombia’s eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned into the embrace, forgetting where they were, or that they had anaudience. The kiss drew out before a cough intruded, breaking the spell.
Pulling back, her cheeks warming, Colombia glanced over at the small group who’d witnessed the ceremony.
Apart from Ultan, there were two others present here on the edge of the oakwood: Keir and Severus Juventus.
Colombia’s gaze met her father’s, warmth suffusing her chest. When she’d approached him to ask if he’d attend her wedding, she’d braced herself for his refusal.
But to her surprise, he hadn’t.
Next to him, Keir was grinning widely. “Time to get back to the fort and break open a barrel of ale,” he announced in Latin. “A wedding deserves celebration.”
Colombia smiled back. Over the past days, she’d learned that Keir had suffered much tragedy. Nonetheless, the man was still able to find joy in life. She noted how fond he was of Aedan, and how relieved he was that they’d agreed to stay on in Onnum.
Aedan was extending the lean-to, to provide a bigger space for them to live in, and he would continue to work as the carpenter’s apprentice. One day, Aedan hoped to run his own workshop, yet for the time being, he wished to improve his craft at Keir’s side.
“A day such as this does indeed need to be marked,” Severus announced then. “And that being the case, I’ve asked my cook to prepare a special supper.” His gaze shifted from Colombia to Aedan. “After you’ve enjoyed a cup of ale, will you join me … and Moira … in the praetorium?” He glanced then at Keir. “Allof you.”
A shocked silence followed the invitation.
In the days following the attack on the fort, Colombia had seen little of her father.
He’d been busy, of course, taken up with overseeing repairs on the defenses. And just two days before, a pay wagon had arrived from Eboracum—nearly a month earlier thananticipated and welcome indeed. As soon as the sacks of coin had been deposited in the strongroom, Severus had paid his men.
Their successful defense of Onnum, and the arrival of their wages, had sweetened the soldiers’ moods considerably. There were no longer any rumblings of discontent within the fort.
But Colombia had also been nervous about approaching her father—and didn’t want to ask too much of him.
Yet, here he was, inviting them into his home.
He was also acknowledging Moira. Her father did indeed care for the woman he’d taken to his bed.
“We would be honored, Commander,” Aedan spoke up then, breaking the silence. Glancing his way, Colombia noted his smile and the warmth in his blue eyes. The tension that had been building in her chest unraveled.
Severus held Aedan’s gaze for a moment before his lips lifted at the corners. “Good,” he murmured.