Page 90 of The Warrior Priest
“Let’s discuss happier things,” Andreas said. “When will you two marry?”
“Very soon.” Rhys’s voice rumbled through his chest against my back.
I told them about my uncle’s death and inheriting his house, and that we’d decided to sell it and find a cottage, perhaps on the river. Rufus and Andreas offered suggestions for streets where we should make inquiries, but Vizah didn’t seem to be listening.
He must miss having Rhys around. I wondered if he was having second thoughts about staying in the order too. Like Rhys, he’d come to Merdu’s Guards as a youth in desperate need of a father figure. Master Tomaj had provided that. But being brought into the comforting fold of the order at such a young age meant they hadn’t fully understood what they were giving up for a future as a warrior priest. Now, as men, the life they wanted for themselves was becoming clearer. They understood the consequences of their choice. For Rhys, what he wanted for his future had changed altogether.
“Are you all right, Vizah?” I asked gently.
“At the governor’s house, I overheard you telling him that you would have cared for him in his old age, but he’d rejected you and chosen to be alone. It was one of the saddest things I’d ever heard.”
I threw my arms around him and hugged him. “You’ll always have Rhys. And me. We’re your family, Vizah.”
Andreas gently punched Vizah in the arm. “As are we,” he said with a nod at Rufus.
Rufus threw his arm around Vizah. “We don’t abandon our brothers.” He gave Rhys a flat smile. “Even the ones who no longer sleep in the next room.”
Vizah sniffed and turned his face away.
“Are you crying?” Andreas asked.
“It’s the pollen in the air today,” Vizah said, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
Rhys drew the bigger man into a hug. “Don’t worry. Jac and I won’t move too far away.”
“What will you do for work?” Rufus asked him.
“I haven’t decided. I’ll find something.”
“I hear the position of governor is open.”
Rhys laughed.
No one else did.
“You’d have to start as a councillor first,” Andreas said. “Knowing you, you’d move up the ranks quickly. Running the city will be easy after running this place.” He jerked his thumb at the temple gates.
Rhys pressed his fingers into his forehead and groaned. “I have no money. I don’t even own these clothes. We can’t live without money, Jac.”
I cupped his face with both hands. “Take a breath, Rhys.”
He drew in a breath and released it slowly.
“You have time to think about your future,” I went on. “I inherited my uncle’s propertyandhis wealth. It will buy us more than enough time.”
“Right. Of course. I forgot about that.” He circled his arms around my waist. “If we have too much, do you want to set up an orphanage? Or a school?”
“I would like that very much.”
He kissed me lightly and the world disappeared. In that moment, it was just us.
Until Rufus cleared his throat. “I think it costs a lot of money to run an orphanage, but we can help build it. It’ll give the brothers something to do.”
Rhys clasped his arm. “Thank you.”
“How much money is needed to set up an orphanage?” Andreas asked.
We all shrugged.
