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He thought they would have already been moving and on the way when he dragged himself out of bed, but they must have had a lot to do with new ships in the group. He was sitting on the quarter deck and nibbling toasted bread when he heard boots and tensed at the maleness of the tread. Kalen paused at the top of the stairs.
“Do you mind if I come up here?”
Aspen’s first thought was to say no, but this was the King who was helping Oriel and had loaned his whole army for the cause. Besides, Oriel would never let anyone harmful near Aspen.
“It’s fine.”
Kalen came closer but not too near, and he sat on the deck. “That’s a hell of a pair of future husbands you’ve got there.”
Aspen froze with his toasted bread. Oriel had talked about them living together and figuring out sleeping arrangements. Of course, they’d get married after this. It was more proof that the Crown Prince hadn’t lied years ago. They’d have an extra person that they hadn’t planned on as teenagers, but he wanted to be with Aspen forever.
Kalen’s pale hair, silvery in the sunlight, blew loose in the breeze. “Did he tell you about Taggert?”
“Yeah. Yesterday.”
“I don’t find torture amusing or fun, but even I certainly wasn't sad about his treatment after what that fucker did,” said Kalen. “I won’t pretend to understand exactly what you went through, but I have a special hate for those who…take away the control that a person should have over their body especially in a sexual way. Rhys does too.”
Aspen had heard a bit about him being locked up for a decade to find love, and he never thought that made sense. He didn't want details, but he had a feeling that Kalen understood a few things in a way. Someone had taken control from him in some form even if he hadn't gone through what Aspen did.
"I'm guessing you didn't choose to be away for so long?" he slowly asked.
“No,” Kalen said shortly. “Taggert was a bastard and deserved what happened to him.”
Aspen felt a little stab of savage pleasure at the thought of that bastard being burned. “Oriel said it was terrible. I didn’t want the full details of what the people did to him, but I’m glad that fucker is dead too.”
“Oriel’s a good man. Roth is too. You’ll be safe with them, and they'll have the same with you.”
“I wish I could say that,” said Aspen, and Kalen raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have their training, and I’m not even fighting in this war. In a real fight, I’d probably get my ass kicked.”
“Sometimes, safety can come in other forms. Rhys has proven that to me without fighting, and I always feel safe with him. You came all this way for them, didn’t you?"
"Yeah."
"Sometimes, it’s just being there when needed. I went a long time without that, and it felt almost foreign to have someone that cared and was willing to stick with me.”
Even if Aspen couldn’t fight, he could start by being around for them. With the future fast approaching, he imagined Oriel dying and wished he hadn’t since his stomach threatened to lose the toasted bread. Maybe it was better if he at least stayed with them for now. During the actual battles, he could wait on Kalani’s ship since they wouldn’t be fighting.
“Could I come on your ship for now anyway?”
“If you want, go ahead,” said Kalen. “It’s reserved for royalty, a few trusted Commanders, our guards, and that’s it besides those who sail it. You count as royalty since you'll be with Oriel and Roth. We don’t have a bunch of rough soldiers hanging around on it or anything like that.”
“Can you get Oriel or Roth for me?”
“Sure.”
Kalen's eyes were rather icy in color, but he didn’t seem perturbed about fetching someone. Aspen waited by the gangplank as he eyed a few men up in the rigging. Some of the ships had arranged themselves and had their gangplanks down to form a sort of trail so one could move between them. Oriel might have gone to speak to other Commanders about certain things. On another ship, he spotted female soldiers and sailors. There were more men than women.
It wasn’t too long before Roth came across to him. “Kalen says you want to stay with us?”
“Yeah.” Aspen remained rigid. “Can you just pick me up and force me across?”
Roth cocked an ear. “If it makes you feel that bad, there’s nothing wrong if you stay on this one. It’s mostly men on ours.”
“I’d rather spend more time with you both.”
Roth’s tail lazily swished. “We could come over here.”
“Or I can come over there and save you the trouble. It’s easier if you want to talk to Kalen or something. Now pick me up, kitty boy.”
