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Roth narrowed his eyes, but his lips twitched in a smile as he picked Aspen up. “Okay, brat.”
“I’ll put a bell collar on you while you’re sleeping.”
Roth froze for a second on the gangplank as Aspen clutched at him. “If Oriel told you that, you’ll both get it later.”
“He didn’t say anything, but now I know he did.” Aspen allowed himself a quick smirk. This was definitely something he would have to bring up to Oriel in private. He could just imagine a pretty pink collar with a bell. He’d poke it and make it go tink tink, although Roth would probably shrivel him with his lofty glare.
He forgot about pink collars and bells when they reached the deck, and he heard other male voices. His chest tightened as he hid his face in Roth’s shoulder although he could still see that one, swinging lantern.
He was aware of Roth shifting him a little. They were in a cabin, and he’d sat on a bed to hold him. “This is our room. No one comes in here, and if Kalen or Rhys want us, they knock. Nobody barges in, all right?”
Oriel came in later when the ships were underway, so that meant he’d probably have some free time.
“Captain Kalani said you’d gone over here.”
Aspen was in the bed with Roth and snuggled against his side. “I wanted to spend more time with you.”
Oriel sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
He felt a little better with their presence and since no one would come in here. “I can manage. Can I sleep here?”
“Yeah, if you want.”
That was more time spent, and if felt overwhelmed, he could get on the floor to sleep alone or go back to Kalani’s ship.
He leaned forward to tug on Oriel’s sleeve. “Hey.”
”What?”
“When we have time, we need to get a collar with a bell and-”
“Oh, for Elira’s sake,” Roth said as Oriel’s face broke into a smile.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Oriel had decided they would head for Lork and take back the capital first.
When the ships grew close enough to where he could see the city, it didn’t feel like he was coming home.
Aspen wouldn’t come out of the cabin, and he probably had no desire to see that place, or at least not right now. Oriel didn’t blame him. He almost wanted to order the fleet to go elsewhere. Anywhere but the place where he’d lost his parents and his old self.
But he also wanted to take back Lork since it had started here.
Basic orders could be passed with simple, colored flags lifted to certain heights or combined with others. Everyone was ready and knew what they were doing, and while some citizens by the docks seemed to flee in terror at the sight of approaching soldiers, others lingered. Clearly, they wondered at Kalen’s and Asara’s colors. They must not have received word from anyone else yet.
Oriel spotted a few guards who hauled ass. Lork hadn’t been set up for battle and properly protected, so this wouldn’t be a difficult place to take. The nearest ships were able to dock with little issue. Once there was hardly any space left, others pulled up as close as they safely could and gangplanks were lowered so soldiers could go through the maze of ships and get to land.
Kalen’s ship had properly docked, so Oriel and everyone disembarked.
“It’s Prince Oriel!” someone shouted.
“He’s back!”
The docks shook as soldiers rushed forth to start sweeping through the city. Oriel was sure he caught terrified screams deeper in as the clueless citizens tried to figure out what was going on.
A couple of soldiers brought a few citizens forth to speak to Oriel, and he asked what the state of this place was. What had happened since the betrayal?
Several citizens had been taken prisoner that night, and they knew many of their own had been sold as slaves for labor and sex. Plenty of those left behind had written to various lords in Meadow Kingdom.
