Chapter One

Sébastien jerked awake, kicked at the blankets, and nearly knocked the crystal lantern off his bedside table as he scrambled for it. Light blossomed from the crystal shards inside and revealed the bedroom. It was empty except for him, he wasn't at Arquous, a certain person didn't exist anymore, and his heart pounded while he tried to convince himself that it had only been a dream.

The Regent was dead, and he was alone. He'd always preferred sleeping alone until he'd gotten used to Remus being beside him. The empty side of the bed was too vast now.

Remus's wolf sword leaned against the wall by his chest of drawers. Sébastien hadn't yet fully grown used to thinking of it as his sword. The wolf ornament on the hilt glinted in the light of the lantern. What a pity it couldn't protect him from the occasional nightmare.

He pushed away the blankets and picked up the crystal lantern to go downstairs. The house was quiet, as it should be, and he knew two guards stood on duty outside his locked front door. A few trusted men had been assigned as his guards, and no one had bothered him so far.

The stone house was large and the sort a commoner with a good income would buy. Sébastien had grown up in far larger and fancier accommodations. Since the Palace in Belle ?me was gone, and he'd never step foot in the old family home in Arquous ever again, he didn't have a lot of options. Castles and Palaces aren't built in a day, and he wasn't sure where he'd have a home built yet.

He'd come to like his new house anyway even though it could feel empty at the wrong times. Since the servants went home in the afternoon, and the cook left after dinner, he had peace to read which he liked. It also gave him plenty of time to worry, not that he'd ever dare say so out loud.

Once he settled at the work counter in the kitchen with a glass of water, some of the earlier tension ebbed. It didn't mean he'd forgotten the nightmare. Usually, he didn't have that kind too much, and anger flared in his chest as he drank.

The Regent was dead, and it was almost like he still had power over Sébastien in some ways. He didn't get the prickle of pain over his heart anymore since the cuffs and Satan were gone, but it didn't mean he couldn't grow angry. Or furious. He'd watched the Regent die, and his body was ash and dust. Sébastien shouldn't have to see his face ever again.

The dream about the hunting lodge had felt entirely real. Sébastien hunched over the work counter and stared at the water in his glass. Going to a different room and finding something to drink had helped, so he'd remember that for the future. It was better than laying in bed and staring at the dark.

What else could he do by himself? Remus wasn't around, and he likely wasn't coming back. He'd said he was, but now that it was spring, Sébastien told himself to stop hoping.

They'd spent winter in their prospective Kingdoms since their rule had been far too new to do entirely by letter. Both had things to do in person. According to Remus's first letter, he'd practically had lords pasted to his side the second he got off the boat in Norraco. Everyone had wanted something, even if it was just to know what had recently happened and the state of their Kingdom regarding Soleil.

They'd both written to each other all winter, and Sébastien knew Remus had taken the cuffs and sword hilt back to Prince Angelo's tomb in South Sea. A High Mage from the Temple in Norraco had opened the stone coffin where Angelo's skeleton had lain inside among the mostly rotted remains of a shroud and what possibly had been a robe. After that many centuries, it had been nearly impossible to properly tell.

Bones separate after a time with no tendons or muscles left to hold them together. Those of his hands and arms hadn't been laying right according to the High Mage's opinion. It looked like someone had moved them, which proved their suspicion that the cuffs had been robbed from his skeleton.

The High Mage had appeared horrified.

No blade or anything else lay inside. The High Mage had replaced the cuffs, placed the angel wing hilt by Prince Angelo, closed the lid, and prayed to Elira over it.

When they exited, the men who had come with Remus got to work on blocking off the entrance to the tomb. Cart loads of rubble had been brought ahead, and the men mixed fresh mortar.

Nobody would ever walk into that tomb again unless they were willing to chip their way through several feet of stone and hardened mortar to get to the stone coffin within. Prince Angelo's tomb was safe from robbers.

The job was done. The letters continued with Remus saying he couldn't wait to come back. They'd lessened a little as spring approached, and in his last one, he'd said he was about to leave.

With good wind and a decent ship, it only took a few days to go around Midland and get to Soleil from Rowland. Sébastien had, unfortunately, made the trip directly, although he'd been locked in a brig and unable to enjoy the voyage.

Remus should have already arrived a few days ago. His last letter had been rather short and rushed.

Through winter, doubts had crept in. The truth was that he wasn't coming. He'd said so to be nice. Later, Sébastien might get another letter that Remus had changed his mind about sailing back. Or he'd postponed the trip, except he'd never arrive.

After being away for months, he'd surely realized that life was easier without Sébastien. There were other men to pick from, and they weren't weighed down with baggage. It'd be a lot easier to find someone else to be with who didn't have a dirty past. He'd enjoy being in his home Kingdom and let their correspondence stop.

Years later, he'd hear of Remus being married, and Sébastien, once he finally got around to having a new Castle or Palace, could sit and rot alone since he couldn't see himself letting anyone else get that close. He'd be a memory and a notch in the Rowland King's bedpost.

At least he'd have Whisper.

***

In the morning, Remus wasn't there. Obviously. Sébastien tried to convince himself he wouldn't care if Remus never wrote to him again and didn't return. It didn't matter if Remus saw him as used goods and something to try out. Or if he simply realized he'd be happier with another. It was better that way because overall, Remus was too good for him, and he didn't need a damaged man.

The wolf sword Sébastien now wore at his side didn't mean shit either. Remus had given it to him as a last present. It wasn't like he needed it anyway. He could use his Father's or have a weapon made.

He was in a particularly foul mood as he sat in his office and tried to convince himself that he didn't need anyone, least of all Remus. Sébastien couldn't stand himself at times. Since he had no Judgment Hall for petitioners, they had to come into his office. A guard accompanied the person and escorted them out of the house afterward.

If a criminal was brought, they were sentenced to jail if the crime was severe enough. Slavery was no longer permitted. A baker had been caught adding sawdust to his flour to stretch it.

"Are you struggling?" asked Sébastien.

"No, Your Majesty." The baker's sullen expression had settled on the desk as if it were the furniture's fault. Maybe he didn't want to look at Sébastien.

Since the Kingdom knew of the Regent's crimes, and there had been statements to back it, Sébastien's abuse was common knowledge. It was why no one believed the Regent's lies about his nephew committing treason. Sometimes, he was sure people looked at him as dirty, used goods, and the very thought made his skin crawl.

"Do you like eating sawdust?" Sébastien asked the baker.

"No, Your Majesty."

A blue dove flew through the open window to one side and landed on the desk. "Sébastien."

He glanced at the dove's leg where a letter had been tied. His name had been written in small letters, and Remus's was above it and slightly to the side.

The roll was so thin, it likely had one or two lines. I've decided to stay here.

I'm busy, but I'll write another time.

Maybe I'll come by in the summer.

I've decided it'll be easier to stay here.

So much for joining their Kingdoms. Sébastien almost didn't want to take the letter. Having his hopes up months ago had been foolish. How stupid that he hadn't learned. The Regent was dead, but that lesson would never vanish.

"Do you think people want to eat sawdust in their fucking bread?" Sébastien snarled. "Do you think a Mother wants to give her children bread that's partly worthless and might make them ill? Last I checked, sawdust isn't fit for consumption."

The baker suddenly looked quite terrified even though the Soleilian King's new rule hadn't started with an iron fist. "No, Your Majesty."

"Then why are you cutting your damn flour?"

The blue dove, standing on one leg, shook the other he was holding out. "Sébastien. Letter."

"How about if you go back and tell him I don't need bullshit excuses?" Sébastien hissed at it.

The dove blinked his beady eyes in confusion since they couldn't pass verbal messages, and their vocabulary was limited. He shook his foot with more insistence. "Take."

Sébastien untied the note and flung it down. "Didn't I just ask you a question?"

"I-I was trying to save money," said the baker.

"The price of flour went down last year."

"But my daughter will be getting married this summer, and she wants a grand wedding. I-"

"Reply?" queried the dove.

"I haven't even read it yet! Find something else to do with yourself." Sébastien waved at the dove. "Besides losing your bakery, you'll spend three months in prison if this ever happens again. It's your first offense so you'll pay a fine, and a guard will come to your bakery tomorrow to ensure none of your supplies are cut. Don't let it happen again. I'm sure your daughter would love to get married while you're staring at the wall in prison. You'll pay a fine, and you have one month to bring the money to the office at the guardhouse."

Once the baker received a slip with the amount written on it, the guard led him out. Sébastien glanced at the list for that morning. No one else needed to see him, and he could work his way through other things on his desk. The Regent had called him lazy. Sébastien had no trouble with settling down to work and getting shit done.

The dove stomped his little feet as he turned and angrily pecked at the twine around a stack of packets Sébastien needed to go through. The letter taunted him. He'd read it later. Or he could toss it in the fire and not bother looking at whatever excuse was in the thinly folded note. He'd be fine by himself. He was used to being alone.

The dove turned to look at him expectantly. They could read minds to a limit, and that was how they knew where to go. The sender had to picture the place and the recipient so the dove could pick it up. With the way it was staring at him, he had the feeling it could see things he didn't like people knowing.

Great. The dove probably thought he was dirty too.

"Your Majesty?" A guard knocked.

"What?"

The man poked his head in. "You've got one more petitioner."

"Nobody else is on the list."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. It's a last-minute thing."

"It better be important."

"It's very important. He's committed a serious crime."

Heavy footsteps thumped in the hall as Sébastien huffed. "Hurry up, and bring him in here."

The guard opened the door more. "His crime is being late."

"What?"

Remus suddenly stepped through with a smile, and Tom followed with a shit-eating grin. "I'm very sorry for being late, Your Majesty. Tom had to arrest me."

Tom gave a quick chuckle as Sébastien sat frozen at the desk. Remus looked very much like a King in his red coat with gold thread that brought out the warmth in his brown skin and bright, yellow eyes. Sébastien had missed his eyes and smile and hoped to see him again all winter before doubt dug its claws in too deeply for him to loosen. The fact that he was standing there was almost too much to comprehend.

The guards hurriedly left as Remus strode around the desk. Sébastien didn't even know what to say or do especially since he'd been having very unpleasant thoughts toward Remus only a couple of minutes ago.

He'd barely stood when Remus grabbed him in a hug and lifted him right off the floor. His lips were suddenly on Sébastien's, and he kissed back, partly thrilled that Remus had returned like he'd said.

Remus put him back down but didn't release him. They hugged, and Sébastien breathed in his familiar rose scent.

Sébastien couldn't help the words. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I'm sorry I was late. I had to do something last minute, and a storm came up a day after we left. The ship was fine, but it slowed us down quite a bit and blew us off course. I sent a dove out."

Sébastien cast a glance at the dove who was bobbing his head as he strolled across the desk. "He must have been turned around a few times in the storm because he just arrived."

"I'm sorry." Remus picked up Sébastien enough to plant his rear on the desk.

"I thought you weren't coming back."

Remus frowned. "I told you I was."

"I know, but…"

How was Sébastien supposed to explain how he was afraid Remus would change his mind? With months alone, any man might start having different thoughts. Lust can cool, and the initial feelings might weaken. Sébastien already knew what it was like to be dropped like a whore once he was of no use, and he'd been the object of lust from men who would have used him once and discarded him without a second thought.

What if he'd met someone else in Rowland? Plenty of people would be happy to have the attention of a King and might try to get close if he had no spouse. People without a troublesome past. Ones who hadn't tried to kill Remus. It didn't matter if they were past that.

Remus lightly gripped his waist. "I was afraid you'd worry even though you didn't say so. I was late because I got on the ship when I originally intended to leave, and I realized I'd forgotten a crucial thing for you."

Sébastien squinted. "I have my trunk."

And nothing had been stolen from the inside. He even had the picture drawn by the little girl in his sitting room.

"Not that," said Remus. "I had to get off to get it fixed, and by the time that was done, and I left, the storm came a day later at sea. We could have escaped that if I'd thought of a particular thing and left on time. I would have been here days ago."

"What are you talking about?"

Remus reached into his coat pocket. "I figured I'd ask you in private anyway, although I'd intended to wait a few days. But if you still doubt that I'm sticking around…"

He pushed a little velvet box into Sébastien's hands.

"I wouldn't be giving this to you-"

Sébastien's chest squeezed

"-if I didn't want you to marry me." Remus smiled, although it was a little tense like he thought Sébastien would say no. "When I mentioned us joining our Kingdoms together, I meant it. Now that we have peace, I want nothing more than for us to be husbands."

He was asking. Sébastien hadn't ever dared to imagine anyone asking him to marry. Not with the Regent alive and so heavily shadowing his life. His fingers threatened to shake as he opened the box. Tucked in the center of a piece of tightly coiled silk lay a gold ring with a thin band. The diamond on top twinkled in the light from the window.

Remus's sword had been one thing. A ring meant they'd truly stay together. Sébastien wasn't a notch in the bedpost or thing to play with and discard. At least not in Remus's eyes. Maybe he could hope for once and not endure the opposite.

He noticed Remus was wearing a plain gold band.

"Yes," he forced out even though he almost expected Remus to take away the box and say it had been a joke.

"I'm not leaving you again." Remus took the ring out of its silk bedding. "It was my Mother's. Father said I could give it to whoever I married in the future, and I could wear his. I remembered at the last minute that her hands were thin and delicate, and it wouldn't fit you. I couldn't come here with a ring that was too small. It needed to be resized, and I had to guess."

Sébastien's throat tightened as Remus slid it onto the proper finger. It fit. It wasn't just any ring either, and he couldn't believe he'd been given an item with such sentimental value.

"She'd want you to have it," said Remus.

He was about to kiss Sébastien again when the dove fluttered to his shoulder and stuck out his leg. "Reply?"

Remus chuckled. "No." He held out a hand so the dove could hop onto his finger, and he held the bird close to his face for several seconds while he pictured where he wanted it to go, and the dove stared at his forehead. "Run along. Er, fly along."

The dove fluttered toward the window and disappeared into the spring morning.

"He can go back to Rowland. As for us-" Remus hugged Sébastien who felt something hard pressing against his leg.

"Is that your sword or are you happy to see me?"

Remus laughed. "I am happy to see you. I'm not going back to Rowland without you either. I'm staying with you, and later, we can figure out things like where we'll stay, joining the Kingdoms, if we're going to have kids, and things like that."

"It hasn't been that long. Are you sure Rowland doesn't need you?"

"I know, but I've got a Master Steward now at home that I hired, and he can deal with certain things. Nothing is pressing, the Kingdom is stable now, and he can send me things I need to do or sign. It's not entirely ideal, but it'll work in the meantime until we get more settled. I doubt you want to live in this house for the rest of your life, or even the next several years. We can plan that later."

With the way his hands were rubbing Sébastien's hips, it seemed like he had something else quite urgent on his mind. Sébastien rubbed his back.

"Let's go for a ride." Remus drew back to look at him.

"Right now?"

"Why not? We'll have time for plenty of rides, and we can start now."

***

Tom was by the door when they stepped outside, and he grinned. "Am I to take you to jail for being late?"

Remus put an arm around Sébastien. "I think he forgave me. We're taking Whisper out."

"Do you need me to come?"

"We'll be fine."

"I think Remus can protect me from outlaws," added Sébastien. Remus had saved him from Satan before. Bandits would hardly be an issue, not that Tom knew the truth about what happened when the Palace had collapsed.

Tom's eyes went down to the diamond ring on his hand, and the gold band Remus was wearing, and surprise flickered on his face. He had to have figured Remus and Sébastien were closer than friends. In fact, most must have guessed since Remus had stayed for so long, and before he'd left, they'd been sleeping in the same bed. The servants had surely blabbed when they noticed that. Perhaps Tom had trouble seeing Sébastien married.

Whisper had the fenced-in backyard to roam around in plus a stall with a covering for when it rained or snowed. He always came to the gate every day when Sébastien went to see him. A guard took care of his feed and water, but Sébastien didn't go a day without spending time with him, and he'd ridden him during winter since the snow hadn't been too bad.

At the sight of Remus, Whisper whinnied and pranced toward the gate.

"Aw, I think he missed me too."

Like Sébastien, Remus was pretty much the only man Whisper fully trusted, although he hadn't minded Lord Rochefort and Maxime. Sébastien was sure the unicorn viewed people in relation to how they acted toward his favorite fairy.

"We both missed you." Sébastien closed the gate after Remus stepped in and reached to pat Whisper's neck.

"That's why I'm not going anywhere."

Sébastien still almost couldn't believe Remus was here and not planning to go back alone. He wouldn't have to wake up in an empty bed anymore, and Remus was keeping his promise about them going for a ride.

Once they got Whisper saddled and ready, Sébastien led him through the gate so Remus could close it. Sébastien planted his boot in the stirrup to swing himself up with room for Remus. There had been a time when he never would have let any man sit so close behind him, but he didn't mind his future husband.

After Remus was settled behind him, Sébastien nudged Whisper into a trot toward the street. They'd ridden Whisper plenty of times before. He still couldn't help but think of this one as the first real one since he'd agreed to marry Remus.

Remus waved at Tom and the other guard as they passed by. Whisper tossed his head like he wanted to charge down the street, and woe betide anyone who got in his way.

"Calm down, boy. You can run in a bit."

"I'll have to get a horse so he doesn't have to always lug us both around." Remus tightened his arms around Sébastien's waist and bent his head to plant a kiss on the side of his neck.

It gave him pleasant tingles and almost made him want them to return to the house so Remus could do that again and let it lead to other things.

"There's a farm outside of the city with good horses. They sold a lot to the court. The owner's good, and he hired a few former slaves."

"How's that been going? Has there been anything like in Lapinville?"

"Not that I've heard. There hasn't been any news like that lately."

Sébastien hated that place for his own reasons thanks to the hunting lodge, and he clearly wasn't the only one there who'd experienced terrible things. His first real act as King had been freeing the Kingdom's slaves and outlawing the practice. Depending on the crime committed and how long the slave had left, some had gone to prison to serve out their sentence. A man with a history of assault and violence shouldn't be allowed to freely run around two weeks after his last arrest.

Others with petty, simple crimes had been released entirely. A man enslaved for poaching had gone back to his owner's home in Lapinville the day before the New Year and set it alight with them both inside. Neither had survived.

"I won't be surprised if there are a few revenge murders or assaults," Sébastien said as he guided Whisper down the crowded streets. People seemed to have gotten used to seeing him around more on Whisper, although quite a few stared since he wasn't alone now. Whisper snorted at someone as if to tell them to mind their own business.

He almost couldn't blame a person for revenge. Poaching was usually done for food, not for fun, and who knew what the former slave had endured with his owner? Sébastien couldn't personally help anyone through past events. He couldn't even make himself forget.

They passed the space where the Palace had once stood. The fence around the grounds had been torn down, and the rubble had been carted away over winter. They'd even dug out the remains of the foundation and filled it with dirt.

Several foul pieces of shit had died in there, including the Regent, and Satan's fire had turned them to ash. The empty space was comforting. Sébastien didn't have to return from a ride and enter a cold, empty Palace or live under the same roof as his abuser. Even though he'd already looked at the barren space over winter and watched the pile of rubble gradually grow smaller, it still gave him an eased feeling. Several foul stains had been erased from the realm.

Whisper sensed he could gallop and tore into a run. With the wind in his face and Remus's warm bulk at his back, he told himself he was free.

Whisper was so happy to run, Sébastien had to reign him in down a little-used path so he didn't wear himself out too fast. Words weren't needed as the unicorn carried them. It was nice to ride with only one man. He had nothing pressing to deal with, and he'd return to the peace of his house with Remus.

No matter what happened before, he was truly free.