by Shannon West
As for the Farlian king, Larz had one further request. Turn over all the slavers in his kingdom immediately, along with their crew members. Each of them would be closely questioned for any information they could provide about their customers—the ones who bought and traded young men and women. In particular, he was determined to search the records of the slaver who had intercepted his ship and kidnapped all the young men aboard. He had meant what he said about tracking down each and every Tygerian who had been aboard his ship the night they were attacked. He wouldn’t rest until he had brought all of them home.
Blake had warned Larz before he left for home to keep his friends close and his “enemies” closer. He glanced over at the sleeping man beside him and smoothed a hand over his hip. It was excellent advice, especially if they were one and the same. Janos turned toward him and smiled sleepily at him. Larz had kept him up late the night before, making love to him.
“Is it time to get up?”
“Not yet. I can send you up a tray later. I have meetings all day though, and I promised Taran I’d have first meal with him before he goes to his tutors today.”
Janos gave him the sweet, slow smile he loved so much. “He’s actually going? How did you manage that?”
“I bribed him. I promised him a gold coin for each week he goes and listens to what they have to teach him—which is a lot.” He laughed softly. “What about you? What will you do today?”
“What am I allowed? Your father made you my custodian.” He gave a little shrug. “I think it was a bit of payback for keeping you as my slave for so long. Now the table has turned—isn’t that what your omak said to me before he left?”
Larz bent to kiss him until they both were breathless. “You’re my mate and my nobyo, and my omak knows how much I love you. You’re the most necessary and important person in my life, and you’ve apologized for keeping me away from my family. I understand why you did it. Or, maybe not quite. We have more talking to do, but I’m trying to understand. And I know this must be hard for you.”
“Not as much as you’d think. Perhaps I was never cut out to be a king, and I doubt I was ever a good one. Perhaps I should have let Tibiel have the throne after all instead of trying to rule when I got out of prison. I was still too damaged by what happened to me there. Perhaps I should have stepped down.”
Larz shook his head. “Tibiel will never be king. He would have killed you if he’d had the power. He’s dishonest and devious, and if he and his aide, that Rasc Centarlo, hadn’t escaped on that Farlian trading ship, he’d be in prison now. I have a feeling we’ll catch up with them, though. I’ve sent one of my best soldiers, Colonel Kroman, after them. And I’ve given certain instructions for what he should do when he finds them.”
“What kind of instructions?”
“First of all, there’s Rasc Centarlo. His transgressions are not as great as your brother’s, but they still need correcting. Since he likes slaving so much, I’ve told the colonel to make him a slave-soldier in his army, like I was. Perhaps he could make him his aide de camp. No raping him, of course. Just hard work and lots of it. The colonel is a hard task master, and a little Tygerian training might do him a world of good. I told him not to spare the lash either. If he doesn’t obey, he has my full permission to make it so he can’t sit down comfortably for a while. Knowing Rasc, he may have to learn to eat standing up.”
Janos gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, but Larz simply smiled. “My father kept mine and my brother’s bottoms red when we disobeyed. I think it did me good. We’ll see if it works for Rasc. As for your brother, I’ve learned from the Farlians that he was behind my kidnapping—and the hijacking of the ship that was taking me to my training camp. Things may have gone well enough for me, and if it hadn’t happened, I’d never have met you. But some of my crew were killed. Father told me before he left that they’d found a few of the missing boys who were with me, but others haven’t been located. One boy killed himself after he came back home. Tibiel’s crimes can’t be easily overlooked.”
Janos squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry, Larz. You believe me when I tell you I had nothing to do with that, don’t you? I swear it.”
“I believe you, nobyo. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. It’s going to take time to find them, but I made myself a promise that I’d track down every one of those boys and get them back home. That was one thing that Mikos and I did agree on before he left.”
“I was the cause of that rift with your brother. I’m sorry for that.”
Larz shrugged. “It’s not the first time I disagreed with one of my brothers and probably won’t be the last. It doesn’t mean I don’t love him. He’s my brother.” Dropping a kiss on Janos’s forehead, he stood up. “I have to get dressed and meet Taran downstairs before he comes tearing in here. I’d like it if you rested, love. Then meet me for midday meal. I’m sure I’ll have some things to discuss and questions to ask you. The topic of our first meeting this morning is Athelon and war reparations. It’s not going to be pleasant.”
“I’ll help if I can. You know that. I love it that you ask me, almost as if we were partners.”
“You are my partner. My friend…my lover.”
“Especially that. But I’m also your captive. We can’t forget that.”
“Sorry, love. I can’t and I won’t change that, because I have no intention of letting you go. Not ever.” Larz kissed him once more, and this time, the kiss was a promise. One he intended to keep forever.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shannon West lives in the southern United States, and is a lover and avid reader of M/M romances. Shannon began writing gay romance a few years ago, and now has over ninety short stories, novellas, and novels to her credit. Her stories have been translated into French, Italian, and even one Japanese Yaoi. Her favorite genre is paranormal and most of her characters don’t get really interesting to her until they grow a tail. Shannon loves men and everything about them, and writes Romance (with a capital R) unashamedly and unabashedly. She believes, in the words of Helen Steiner Rice that “love is the answer that everyone seeks, love is the language that every heart speaks.” But she also believes wholeheartedly in the words of Woody Allen, that love may be the answer, but “while you’re waiting for that answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions.” Shannon mostly spends her days at the keyboard, ably assisted by her cats, Scarlett and Taz, and eluding housework, which stalks her relentlessly.
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