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Each soft bear that Mother sewed when they were little was stuffed with wool, and each had a tiny vest made with cloth from an old shirt of Father’s. Oriel had gone to sleep for years with his toy, and so had his brothers. The bears had gone in the box once the triplets grew too old for toys. They had figured that perhaps their future children could play with those things. Oriel hadn’t thought about them for years.
Kalen let him be at his request. Oriel only wished for one more thing, and that was Father’s sword. It was likely gone. Perhaps King Taven had it to keep as a trophy. Or had it been thrown away and was lost forever.
Even without that, he had to keep moving, and he had one more thing to do now for Aspen.
Rhys came along as extra protection, not that the citizens would hurt him. In fact, the mood somehow seemed lighter with the presence of the enemy soldiers gone. It was strange to ride down the street and see typical activity going on. Life had gone in some way, and people needed to work to eat.
It still wasn’t the same. The past was gone.
The docks were full of soldiers as he searched. A soldier might want a quick fuck later if nobody in the ranks caught his eye or was willing to get naked. A new face and body might be tempting.
The pinkish hair was probably also rather interesting to some since it was almost as rare as red. Aspen had said it was likely he’d be hanging around with such an opportunity for money.
“Hey.” Oriel paused the horse. “Vima?”
The man leaning against the side of the dirty dockside tavern looked up with faint surprise, but a second later, he smirked.
“Oh, you do have a thing for street whores, don’t you? I’ll have to charge you extra.”
“I’m not here for your services,” said Oriel.
“From what I remember, you didn’t seem interested in Aspen’s either for a while. You preferred playing on the beach.” Vima’s face darkened. “Any idea where he’s at?”
“He’s on one of the ships, and he’s with me now. He was taken prisoner that night.”
Vima’s face showed true surprise for a moment, and that blossomed into further shock before he looked away and laughed. “Oh, that lucky, lucky little whore.”
Oriel dismounted. “He’s not a whore. He told me yesterday that he wanted me to find you and make sure you’re okay. You helped him a lot.”
Vima’s face twisted for a moment. “Considering that you’re here, I was also wrong about things. All my experience meant shit when it came to you.” He pushed himself away from the wall. “Listen, Your Majesty. I’m glad he’s all right, or at least to some extent he is. And he’s with you, so that’s good. I knew he’d fallen for you ages ago, and I told him not to believe anything you said.”
“Yeah, I know. Royalty and a street whore don’t often mix well, get married, and live happily ever after. He believed you, not me, and then I further ruined it after he agreed to be my Father’s pleasure slave along with my brothers.”
“Aspen wrote to give me his few worldly possessions and money that he had hidden in his hidey spot, and he said to write if I never needed anything. Since you got him now, it seems there was more.”
“I’m marrying him.”
“I should have kept my mouth shut and let him frolic with you on the beach without my beliefs whispering in his ears.”
“We’re past that. Stuff happened that we can’t change, but we have the future.”
Vima gave him a look, and he probably assumed what happened to Aspen in the Castle that night.
“He’d like to see you,” said Oriel. “If you want, you can go to the ships. Ask for Captain Kalani. She’s guarding him now with a couple of her women.”
Vima nodded. “All right.”
Oriel held out his forearm. “Thanks for helping him in the beginning instead of thumping him when you found him in your area.”
Vima clasped his forearm. “It’s no fun thumping the innocent ones.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You made it,” said Aspen.
Vima looked so out of place in the cabin. It was small, but it was clear it wasn’t for a simple soldier. Vima was still thin, his hair was practically the same, and he had the same hard look about his eyes. More lines had been added, but he’d lived.
“Like a rat. I survived.” He didn’t ask but plopped on the bed next to Aspen.
