Chapter Ten

Three days' worth of traveling later and Vincent was confident his decision to marry the quiet, but handsome, Prince Orion of Tyrion was the right one. Orion was intelligent, which Vincent had guessed, and yet he had a quiet sense of humor as well that made their afternoon chats in the carriage interesting, and often left them both laughing with each other.

Mornings Orion said, he'd prefer to ride a horse for part of the way, and as Vincent wasn't a fan of sitting in the carriage with just Morgan for company, he rode as well. Vincent usually rode on his many trips, but it wasn't as easy to talk to Orion when they were on the backs of separate horses, but Vincent saw what Orion was doing for what it was. A compromise. And that was a gift all by itself.

If Vincent was going to make one complaint, and it was only a tiny one, it was because at the end of the day, including their wedding day, Orion would excuse himself and go to his own room , leaving Vincent to sleep alone. The first night, when he'd grumbled to Morgan about it, Morgan reminded him that Vincent had said himself, that if his marriage to Orion remained platonic, he would still be happy and remain faithful to him.

Muttering something about how a rider should at least try riding the horse before condemning him to a solitary stable, Vincent slept alone that night, and the next, and the next. Orion turning up to join him for breakfast each morning, looking refreshed and rested, didn't help with Vincent's issues.

But Vincent was confident that things might change in Carntan. Orion had already spoken fondly about seeing his sister, Olivia, again. Apparently they hadn't seen each other since Olivia traveled to Carntan to get married. Vincent was friendly with her too, since she'd married Crown Prince Jaxon. Jaxon and he had been friends since well before Jaxon got married, and initially Vincent didn't understand why his friend had gone that route.

But if anything, Jaxon seemed extremely happy with his choice of bride, even confiding to Vincent one night over a few whiskeys too many, that he adored his wife with his entire body, heart, and soul. Vincent was hopeful if Orion saw the affectionate closeness Jaxon and Olivia enjoyed together, he might get some ideas of his own – at least, that's what he confided to Morgan, who just smiled and nodded before going back to pressing Vincent's shirt.

It never failed to fascinate Vincent how a traveler could always tell what country they were in by the scenery around them. Tyrion was land of hills, with a range of mountains over the back border that formed a formidable physical barrier to countries to the north of them. In contrast, Carntan was a land of rolling grasslands. Most of their industry revolved around farming and food production and as they rode through, Vincent could see nothing but greenery and yellow flowers for the most part.

Carntan castle was set into the side of a hill, the sandy yellow stones glowing in the sunlight. Like many castles in the north, Carntan had high walls that surrounded the living quarters and the court area as well as the large courtyard. Jaxon and Olivia were already waiting for them on the steps as their horses and carriages rolled up.

"It's unusual to see the crown prince and his wife waiting for my arrival," Vincent noted to Orion, who'd been quiet the closer they'd gotten to the castle. "Usually I don't see them until dinner."

"I think you'll find they're not waiting for you, for a change." Orion smirked as he opened his own door, hopping out of the carriage as soon as it came to a stop. Vincent had barely gotten out of the carriage before Orion had sprinted up the steps and grabbed his sister in a huge hug.

"I can't believe you're here!" Olivia was laughing and crying all in the one go. "I can't believe you married Vincent. Congratulations, Vincent," she called over Orion's shoulder. "Come with me. Quick. Quick. I've heard so many stories. You have to tell me what's been going on. How're Onyx and Evangaline? We'll see you two later, bye."

Before Vincent had a chance to say a word, Olivia and Orion disappeared. "I wasn't expecting that," he said to Jaxon, who was watching his wife disappear into the shadows of the castle entranceway. He took Jaxon's hand, air kissing on either side of the man's face as was customary among equal ranks, and then Jaxon shoulder bumped him, which was the more common way Jaxon greeted his friends. "Should I be concerned that your wife has run off with my husband?"

"Idiot." Jaxon took his arm as they went inside, leaving orders for his footmen to assist Morgan and John take care of their things and get Vincent's drivers and guards settled. "Olivia's been worried sick about what's been going on at Tyrion. Is it as bad as we've heard?"

"Depends on what you've heard. King Oscar banished me from the Tyrion Court on our wedding day." Vincent followed Jaxon into a small sitting room, glad there was some coffee already on the table along with some small sandwiches. Lunch had been a few hours before.

"Olivia didn't hear that, but she did hear that you won my brother-in-law in a card game. Vincent, what were you thinking? Couldn't you have married any one of a hundred people who'd say yes the moment you asked?"

Orion was right in saying that's all anyone is going to talk about. Sipping a large mug of coffee, Vincent explained to Jaxon about King Oscar's gambling and drinking and how the marriage contract between him and Orion had been written up. "I'd been considering marrying Orion for months – following your excellent example - but it wasn't like I could ever have a serious conversation with King Oscar about it."

"I've heard similar stories for months. Olivia wants to visit Onyx and Evangaline, and her mother, but I keep putting it off." Jaxon glanced at the door as if he was worried his wife was listening in. "Faast is farther away so you might not have heard, but apparently King Oscar's ramblings when he's drunk are getting more difficult for Onyx to hide, and there have been a couple of times King Oscar has promised things to individual society families - promises that would've caused so much division among other ranking families it could cause a revolt."

"I wanted to complain to the World Council about the king's treatment of me, but Onyx talked me out of it. He cited you and Olivia's reputation as one of the reasons he didn't want me to do it."

"Onyx is trying so damn hard to keep everyone happy, he's going to worry himself into an early grave," Jaxon said grimly. "Has Orion mentioned anything to you about a secret project him and Onyx have been working on?"

"Not yet." Vincent shook his head. "At the moment, according to Morgan, I should be grateful Orion is talking to me at all, given the whole card game fiasco. I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing. Do you know what this project is?"

Jaxon shook his head. "Olivia doesn't know either, but a bundle of messages arrived from Tyrion yesterday for Orion, so if it's project related he might confide in us sometime tomorrow. We've got your celebratory reception tonight. I have to ask, have you prepared Orion for what is likely to happen at the reception tonight. A number of your old acquaintances will be here."

"Is that going to be a problem? It will be nice for Orion to make some new friends, wouldn't it?"

"You think your new husband is going to want to be friends with people who can tell him about the birthmark you have on your butt cheek?"

"Why would that even come up? Orion hasn't seen my butt cheek. He sleeps in a separate room from me at the moment. We've only been married three days." Vincent was still thinking about the secret project that people seemed to know existed, but no one knew what it was.

"Oh, dear." Vincent looked up to see Jaxon shaking his head. "If I were you, I'd ensure that you make a huge point of showing everyone how important Orion is to you at this reception tonight. In case someone takes it into their heads to let him know they were a darn sight more intimate with you than he is."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Once they see how happy Orion makes me, my friends will be happy for us, too." Won't they? Vincent wasn't so sure when Jaxon laughed.