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The words were simple, without his usual sarcasm, and they made me melt.
“Then you’re our brother now,” Jaik said. “Whatever happened in the past.”
“Gods help you,” Caldren muttered, which made me smile around his cock.
Then I lost myself in these men I loved.
CHAPTER63
Honor
That night,all of us laid draped around Jaik’s rooms, sharing a meal now that I was bone-tired and thoroughly fucked. My clit and ass ached from the many orgasms, and I felt ready to face the world… once I had dessert.
The fire crackled in the fireplace, and flickering candlelight lit the room and my men’s handsome, hard-lined faces. Branok sat on the floor, and I rested my head in his lap. He’d already hung his necklace on the bedpost, so he obviously thought I’d be sleeping on that bed tonight and felt the need to surround me with little treasures. Talisyn pulled my feet into his lap and began to knead them with the perfect pressure from his deft fingers. Zehr lay beside me, with Jaik on the other side, and I was a little surprised Jaik had given up the spot right next to me. Then he winked, and I understood.
Gods, my heart ached at the thought of leaving these men. But for now…
The door opened, and Damyn, Caldren, Arren and Lynx came in carrying dinner. The aromas of the meal seemed to fill the room, and my stomach rumbled.
Soon, we were all tucking into the hearty meal. Fresh, warm bread soaking with butter, thick-cut steaks, salty roasted potatoes, crisp vegetables in a lemon vinaigrette. Spiced cider, fragrant and sweet. From somewhere, Zehr had procured chocolate, and there was a towering chocolate cake that had been baked in the palace kitchen.
I paused with my cake-laden fork hovering in midair, thinking about the many people sheltering within the walls of Rylow.
“Everyone is fed. Everyone is taken care of,” Damyn told me as if he could sense what I was thinking. He took my fork from me and held it to my mouth. “Now let us take care of you.”
“Pink icing,” Jaik noted, reaching over to tap two fingers gently on my cheek. “A nice touch.”
I grinned back at him. It was hard to believe my regal king had just smeared icing on my face.
As I wiped off the frosting, I reminded them, “We’ll need to open the gates tonight so I can leave.”
My men hated the plan. It was written all over their faces. My first impulse was to sneak away from them, to go on my own without arguing with them. But instead, I’d made it clear I was going to do what I must for our kingdom.
“You can’t go alone,” Damyn said. “Someone has to watch your back.”
I shook my head. “I need all of you safe here behind the walls. Kallus won’t hurt me, but he would hurtyou.As long as I know you’re safe, he can’t use you to control me.”
“It doesn’t matter what he threatens to do to us,” Caldren said. “Do what you need to for the kingdom.”
“I will,” I said. “But then I’m coming home to you.”
This cozy room, full of firelight and conversation and the men I loved most, would pull me back. I had to believe in happy endings.
Zehr cast a mournful glance my way. I never saw the bone king look worried, and I leaned over to kiss him. I hadn’t been trying to listen, but the walls in his mind slammed down between us as if he didn’t want me to know. My lips had just brushed his cheek, but I pulled back, giving him a look.
Zehr managed a smile. “You almost make me believe in happy endings too, Honor.”
* * *
Later that night,my men took turns hugging me tightly. I could feel what a struggle it was for them to let me go. Their pain and fear leaked through the bond. They had all lost so many people throughout their lives and they were breaking apart inside in fear I would be taken from them forever. A fierce sense of protectiveness rose in my chest; I couldn’t fix their pasts, but we could forge a future together.
But for now, the parting hurt.
And for now, I was their queen, and I’d given my orders.
Dressed in my crown, the light armor of a dragon knight, and a white cloak draped over my shoulders to signal negotiation, I walked out into the bleak, cold evening.
Kallus’s forces were spread out in front of me. I was met by guards halfway across the clearing, who bowed and escorted me to his grandiose tents.
