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“Not as much as you.”
A fairy with black cat ears and a tail bared his fangs as they passed. “Bite me, Daddy.”
“Maybe next time,” purred Roth.
A stable outback held a few horses. After Roth tucked his hair back and made sure none was showing, they saddled the two horses at the end and rode out into the night. Oriel’s mount plodded after Roth’s like this was a big bother to him, and he tried to calm his heart. They’d gotten this far and had more time. Roth’s guard would never guess that they left the city.
“I haven’t been to Lord Mather’s house in ages, and we didn't stay long, but the way isn’t hard,” said Roth. “We’ll be alright.”
Oriel's heart still thudded when they left through the city gates, but the guards said nothing. The road went straight, over a few hills, past a tiny inn, and through some fields. He couldn’t believe he was out here, and his heart threatened to beat its way out of his chest when a house came into view in the starlight. He couldn’t make out too much with the wall and it being dark, but a light was on upstairs, and no guard sat at the closed gate.
Oriel dismounted first to check, and it wasn’t even locked. He led his horse in, and Roth followed before he slipped down with a faint grunt.
“You brought the cream, right?” whispered Oriel.
“Yeah, I’ll put some more on in a bit. Let me knock.”
No servant came even when Roth knocked a second time. Impatient, Oriel tried the doorknob, and it swung open.
“The servants must be lax if they don't even check that the doors are locked.”
“Hello?” Roth called as they stepped into the darkened hall. A lantern guttered on a side table, and Oriel snatched it.
“Come on. If they’re around, screw it.”
Oriel tried not to hurry too much up the stairs since movement had to be a bitch for Roth no matter how well he hid his pain. His mouth had gone dry, and he had no idea how Aspen would react now. Unless he was dead. A broken bottle lay in the hall on the top floor, and he saw a cracked open door with a light.
Chapter Thirteen
“Aspen!” Oriel rushed forward and barged in. He had to be there.
The sitting room was a mess like nobody had bothered to straighten up, but Oriel only had eyes for the rumpled, thin figure on the couch. Aspen’s hair was askew, and he was pale. For a horrible moment, Oriel thought he was dead, but when he checked his pulse with a shaking hand, it was there. A whiskey bottle sat on the table in front of the couch.
Oriel set the lantern next to the bottle and sank to his knees. “Aspen?”
He shook as he wrapped an arm around the limp figure which smelled like roses, although it was tainted with alcohol. He wasn’t dead, but why was he passed out and completely left alone?
Roth slipped in. “Is he…?”
“He’s alive, but he’s drunk and completely out.”
Roth eyed the bottle and the room. “Did he have a problem with alcohol before?”
“No.” Finding him passed out from alcohol was beyond foreign to Oriel. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d never even seen him tipsy before.
The unspoken truth loomed. Maybe he had a problem now. After what he’d been through, maybe this was how he’d been numbing himself. If he couldn’t go elsewhere in his head like he did on the boat, maybe he’d found a different path.
It was another thing to add to Oriel’s list of faults. He buried his face in Aspen’s shoulder, trying to hold back tears.
Roth came over after a minute and knelt by him to rub his back. “Let him sleep it off. He’s on his side, so he won’t throw up and choke on it. When he wakes up, we can figure out what to do.”
Oriel lifted his head. “All right. Um…”
“We could check the house and take stuff with us later. There’s probably food left, and we'll need that even though I have money. We shouldn't stop anywhere for a bit."
Roth’s logic calmed him since he had a purpose and something to do. Oriel stuck a pillow behind Aspen so he wouldn’t roll on his back in case he threw up. Roth hadn’t taken a lot with him since looking like he was running away would have been a bad idea.
To be sure, they checked the house and found no servants. Once they made sure all of the doors were locked, they found a few old packs stored away in a spare bedroom and stuffed them with clothes and various supplies. Another bedroom looked like it had been recently vacated and was oddly sparse. A portrait showed a boy with black hair, and Oriel gazed at it for a couple of moments.
