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“And the cycle will repeat itself,” he added before I could say anything. “You are a father now. Your son will grow and learn from you, and I have no doubt he will become a worthy man, thanks to your guidance.”
My mouth went dry at the thought and my heart sped with fear. “Yasha isn’t my son,” I said, even though I felt terrible for saying that.
Magnus stopped and stared at me. “You are the only father that boy will ever know, Sebald,” he said with deadly seriousness. “You will either embrace that role and teach him what he needs to know as if he were your own flesh and blood, or you will leave him feeling as though he has no father for the rest of his life.”
My knees nearly buckled under the weight of responsibility that truth brought with it.
“Premila thinks she’s with child again,” I said in a hoarse voice. “I’m not certain she’d even told Bee yet, but she seemed reasonably certain when she told me.”
Magnus laughed with delight. “Good lord,” he said. “Imagine if she has a girl. You will have a daughter to raise.” His expression turned horrified. “Just pray she doesn’t turn out like Ox.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, even though the idea terrified me.
We continued walking, but I still felt heavy with unresolved worries. “I want to make a good life for my…for my family.” Just saying that word took the air from my lungs. “And I want to serve our kingdom to the best of my abilities.” I bit my lip, feeling very much out of my depth, then said, “Sai trusts me. I think he likes me, even. I…I think I could be a good ambassador between our two kingdoms. I think he would take my advice on matters concerning the forest.”
“I agree with you,” Magnus said with a nod. “And I sense a ‘but’ in your words.”
“But I don’t think I could do the job all on my own,” I said. My feelings on the matter began to come clearer in my mind. “For one thing, I would like to live at least part of the time actually in the Wolf River Kingdom. I…I can’t believe I’m saying this, that it’s even something I have to think about, but I would like to raise my children in the Wolf River Kingdom, in Gravlock, or perhaps even in the new King’s City you’re building.”
“That is perfectly understandable,” Magnus said with a wise smile. “I wish to raise my children in Gravlock as well.”
I blinked. “Are you, Peter, and Neil really planning to start a family?” I asked, then immediately said, “I’m sorry, that’s not an appropriate question.”
“Of course it is,” Magnus said, surprised at my reaction. “And of course we are. On the one hand, it is my responsibility as king to set an example for my people. On the other, Neil is so desperate for babies that I think he would actually fuck Ox to get one.”
That made me laugh out loud. “He’d have to wait until she was asleep or drug her for that.”
Magnus laughed, but my own joke brought up yet another issue worrying me.
I stopped again, causing Magnus to stop with me. “We need to stop using pup tea to coerce young men into pupdom,” I said.
Magnus flinched as though I’d set off a firework beside him. “Where did that come from?” he asked.
“It’s part of the reason I want to spend much of my time in the Wolf River Kingdom,” I said, speaking quickly while my thoughts made sense. “It’s part of what we talked about last night, or at least what we started talking about. I no longer want to abolish pupdom, but I do think it should be regulated.”
Approval glittered in Magnus’s eyes. “Now you’re thinking like a man, like a real leader.”
We started walking again. “It’s the only option,” I said, still carried away with excitement. “Gennadi wanted to be Jace’s pup because there are laws protecting pups, protecting them from other men who have abusive intentions. We need to expand those protections, define the laws pertaining to pups. We need to make certain it’s an institution that benefits the pups as well as the masters. Maybe if pups and masters had to agree to terms and sign a contract before the status is granted.”
Magnus looked completely delighted. “Don’t tell me all this, tell Peter,” he said. Just saying his husband’s name made him smile with joy. “I am quite certain that, as a Justice and a man with a mission where pups are concerned, he will want to discuss the matter with you at length. He’ll want to discuss it with all of the Sons.”
Everything suddenly made sense. It wasn’t any one thing Magnus had said or any single revelation, it was merely the culmination of all my thoughts as the haze of grief and stress and confusion cleared, giving me a glimpse of the future.
We were the Sons of the Cities, and we would always be the Sons of the Cities. But we weren’t boys anymore. We’d all grown into men in the last year, men with responsibilities and experiences that none of us could have dreamed of a year before. We weren’t the playthings of leaders anymore, we were the leaders. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends anymore. It probably didn’t even mean we couldn’t fuck around with each other, if we wanted to. In a way, we might even have more in common with each other now, since our concerns and experiences were those of the kingdom.
“Magnus, what if—” I stopped before I could form my question as we neared my and Avenel’s cottage. Sai was walking toward us from the other direction, a look of deep concern on his face.
“Ah,” Magnus said, as though Sai’s swift, determined steps and tense posture meant nothing more than that he was coming for tea. “It seems we are about to deal with this particular unpleasantness immediately.”
I sighed, and we picked up our pace so that we could meet Sai near the cottage. “I don’t think he’s going to stop us all from leaving, but he’s going to be sorely disappointed.”
“In himself, I would imagine,” Magnus said. “Which his unfortunate. We must work to assure him it isn’t because of any shortcomings on his part,” he went on, adding under his breath, “Even if it is.”
We met Sai right where we’d planned to meet him. I could tell right away that he knew he was in for a disappointment by the expression he wore at the sight of Magnus and I talking.
“I’m not going to be able to convince you to return to the palace to continue our meetings, am I,” he said, his face pinched with regret.
“I am afraid not, my friend,” Magnus said with a sympathetic smile. “In fact, I regret to inform you that, for a variety of reasons, many of which are in regards to personal matters, it appears as though we will all be leaving tomorrow morning.”
