48. Brett

He didn't want to stay.

It took every bit of self-control I had not to crow about it. Paris wanted to come home with me, back to Nemeda. Back where we both belonged.

Well, where I wanted us both to belong.

Maybe when he calmed down, he'd change his mind. He'd want to find a way to fix things with his... fuck me, that had been his prince?

That man had been no more worthy of Paris's affection than a rat. No, that wasn't true. That was an insult to rats. Rats were fine creatures, and just trying to survive.

I held Paris there for a long time, him crying into my chest, then after a while, just holding onto me as tight as he could.

That man—the prince—was supposed to marry Helena, I remembered suddenly.

The king had ordered that he and Helena marry, and there he was still trying to sleep with me and then Paris, and when we both said no, both of us at once. Was that a thing, in Urial? Couples with three people?

I cocked my head. It wouldn't be a couple anymore then, though, would it? What the hell was that? A triad? A triple?

More than I wanted, that was all that mattered to me. I supposed it would work well for some people, but it felt like a lot of work.

All I wanted was Paris. Soft, sweet, kind, thoughtful Paris, who was still right there in my arms.

I didn't want to be in Urial at all, but I'd stay there for him, I realized. I'd deal with their king, whose behavior was childish. petulant, and half-mad. Their prince, who seemed to be sex-crazed and demanded things from strangers no one had a right to demand.

By and large, the people of Urial didn't seem all that different from Nemedans. They liked the cold better than we did, and were clearly better prepared for it, but they were nice enough, once they stopped thinking Killian and I were wild men who wanted to eat raw meat with our bare hands.

Maybe, despite it all, Paris's coming to Nemeda hadn't been a waste.

Well, of course Paris coming to Nemeda hadn't been a waste. He was Paris, and as far as I was concerned, he was ours now. I was going to get him home as soon as possible, bringing along anyone and anything he wanted to bring, and never letting him feel so lost and worried again.

But maybe the new connection between Nemeda and Urial wasn't entirely a waste. Maybe we had more in common with Urial than we'd realized, and the countries actually had things to offer each other. Oranges, Paris has said. And now sleighs and how to properly heat a home in the snow. And those hardy horses that the Montagues and Vulture Clan shared interest in, I remembered from the trip.

But everyone had gone about it all wrong. Sending Paris to us had been a punishment for him or an attempt to get rid of him in order to marry his sister, not a true attempt at diplomacy. And Nemeda sending him to me had been expedient for us, not sensible. The sensible thing would have been to send him to the Vulture Clan, who actually understood Urial and its people, at least a little. Who believed that they had something to offer us.

I'd just thought his presence was something I was saddled with until he returned to Urial... until I'd realized that his presence was a gift, the likes of which I'd never before received.

The door between the room and the sitting area cracked open slightly, and Helena peeked in. When she met my eye, she tossed her head in the direction of the main door of the suite.

Someone was knocking on it, I realized. Killian was standing there with his hand on the knob, looking to Helena for confirmation. When she nodded to him, he opened it.

Tybalt burst through, almost falling into Killian, who just lifted a brow at him. When he righted himself, he took a step back rather than assaulting Killian as he had me. I was jealous.

Killian was at least as attractive as either me or... okay, well maybe not Paris, but Tybalt had seemed to want me. Mostly, he seemed nervous about Killian.

"Did you know your friend is fucking our diplomat?" Tybalt finally demanded of Killian, crossing his arms defensively. "This could destroy any diplomatic relationship between our countries."

Killian just stood there a moment, staring at him. Then he laughed.

I winced, ready to step in, but before anyone could say anything, Helena spoke up. "Unless I'm greatly mistaken, you just tried to throw yourself at one of the Nemedan visitors. And my brother. Who's trying to ruin diplomatic relations? Nemeda is perfectly happy to work with Paris. They just don't want to fuck you. Can you blame them, when they're literally staying in the home of the woman you're pretending you're going to marry?"

For the first time, I realized there was something more to this Tybalt than brash demands for sex with as many people as possible. He swallowed hard and looked away from Helena. "You know neither of us want a marriage. You don't want me, and I don't want you."

"I do, but you know it's horrid of you to disrespect every single person in this room the way you have. I think many things of you, Tybalt. Admittedly, not many of them are kind. But tonight, you've managed to disappoint me."

He winced and looked away, expression almost like a kicked dog. "I... was lonely."

"You're never lonely," she shot back. "There's always someone."

In my arms, Paris flinched. He'd imagined himself and the prince in love, and to learn that the prince had treated him so casually must've hurt. I wished I could tell him that it wasn't a reflection of his value, but of Tybalt's idiocy, but those felt like words best spoken in privacy.

Killian cleared his throat, and Helena looked at him. "Always with someone doesn't mean he's not lonely." Tybalt looked to him in shock, but when Killian turned back to face him, his eyes were still hard. "I'm sorry if you feel empty and need something to fill the hole in your soul, little prince. I've had a hole in my soul. I promise you, using people and discarding them is never going to fill it. Keep using people and discarding them, and you'll just get emptier and emptier, and eventually, you'll run out of people to use. Then you'll truly be alone."

As Killian spoke, Tybalt got paler and paler, till I thought he might disappear altogether. When Killian finished, he turned and fled.

Helena stared after him, mouth open.

Killian simply closed the door, then came over, gave me a nod, and closed the door between us as well, leaving me once again alone with Paris. I wasn't sure how much attention Paris had paid to the scene but I... frankly, I found myself pitying the prince.

The lot of us were going to go home. If they wanted, we'd bring Helena and Hector. They would be welcome in Nemeda, as Paris's family, since he was one of us. We would be warm and safe and fulfilled, assuming we could escape Urial with our skins.

Tybalt didn't have that promise.