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Oriel seemed to understand without being told that Aspen would rather stay on the ship that only contained ladies and not strange men he’d never seen before. While Oriel went to fetch Roth, he caught sight of someone with silvery hair and realized that must have been Kalen who was speaking to someone else.
Roth seemed just as surprised to see Aspen and the banner the women had made. Kalani went across to speak to Kalen and Rhys about the info she’d gathered, and Aspen took the other two into the cabin he slept in at night.
He told them what happened with Asara likely trying to poison him and the fleet.
“Why would she kill him then?” asked Roth. “Why not wait and keep him comfortable and clueless?”
“Why not take care of a loose end that’s hogging up a room and isn’t doing anything to helpher,” Oriel spat as he paced the small room. “She just wanted him out of the way and figured he’d be easy to sweep under the rug. ‘Oh, the poor broken boy killed himself. How sad.’ And then later-” He drew a finger across his throat. “You and I would be dead. She didn’t bet on her army fracturing and picking me over her.” He let out a frustrated growl as his pacing in the small space grew vigorous. “I’ll go back and fucking slit her throat. I swear to Elira…”
Roth drew Aspen into a hug. “She’ll pay. I promise. I’m just glad you got out.”
“I have some news of my own,” said Oriel. “That lord on the night we were taken. His name was Taggert, and he’s dead.”
Aspen peered over Roth's arm. “How?”
Aspen stayed on the lady’s ship that night. He was worn out from talking and all of the commotion. They’d be leaving tomorrow, and Kalani had agreed to follow and keep Aspen in her care, although they wouldn’t be in the battle. It wasn’t their war.
The door opened, and Aspen automatically stiffened, but it was only Oriel. “I wanted to say goodnight, but I also wanted to ask if I could stay too. Even if it’s on the floor,” he hastily added.
Aspen hesitated. “All right. The lantern stays on.”
Oriel had brought a blanket. “That’s fine. The light won’t bother me.” He started spreading it out on the floor.
Even if they’d gotten this far, it wasn't over yet. He could still die, and Aspen might not get the things he wanted. Neither would Oriel. “You…could sleep in the bed with me if you wanted.”
Oriel paused on his knees. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“But if you fall asleep and wake up-” Oriel gestured. “My being there might frighten you.”
“If I tell you to get out, would you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then come lay here with me. We’ll try it.”
Oriel dragged his blanket along and climbed in. Considering he hadn’t argued, he must have wanted to be closer too. Wrapped up, he lay on the bed without touching Aspen as they faced each other.
“Won’t Roth miss you?” asked Aspen.
“He knows I wanted to spend time with you too,” said Oriel. “He’s not jealous.”
Aspen hesitated as he thought of how Roth had held him before and tried to make him feel better on the ships. "Are we all gonna sleep together in the same bed later?"
“If you want. Whatever’s most comfortable for us all is what we’ll do. You can have your bedroom if you feel like you need space."
“Okay. Thanks for killing that lord."
"I'll kill anyone for you." Oriel sounded sleepy.
He fell asleep first, and Aspen lay awake for a while before he finally nestled closer and inhaled in his magnolia scent. He couldn't lose this again. Oriel needed to win so they could all make a home together.
Oriel had lost enough too. Aspen pressed himself closer, and after a bit, Oriel shifted a little to put an arm around him. Even in his sleep, he sought touch. Awake, he’d sought to punish someone who’d hurt them.
He'd told Nalha he wasn't the same person anymore, but in some ways he was. All of the good pieces were still there, and he still loved Aspen just like two years ago.
Oriel was up and gone in the morning since he had stuff to do. Aspen didn’t have a fleet of ships to command, and being the King of the Whores wasn’t a very demanding job.
