Page 128 of Suffer No Fools
"Are you ready?" Hugo asked. "Vadim's family is probably already looking for him."
"Klaus might kill you if I'm gone too long." Vadim shrugged.
Tovey took a deep breath and held it. He didn't like traveling through the gateways. It always made his stomach feel twisty with the way the light bent and shifted from one tree to the next. They had been facing the willow in the palace courtyard, but now they stood before the giant sentinel oak on Aquarion. Even the shade sweltered with the day's heat. Tovey was already sweating.
"Welcome back," Beatrice said. "Welcome, Emperor Hugo." She bowed to him, but he pulled her in for a hug.
"Thank you for letting us borrow your best pirate crew for a week."
"It was the least we could do. You've increased our tourist traffic tenfold. Nola and Yvette have already had to expand their houseboat into a full hotel on the water."
"Houseboat?" Tovey pulled Stan toward the pool. "I can't wait to see it."
They paraded along the path past their house, gathering townsfolk as they went. Everyone wanted to thank Hugo for getting rid of Coryn.
"That's not a houseboat," Stan said.
"I said they'd converted it into a hotel," Beatrice chided. "Jermain and Trin updated the old barracks."
A three-story building sat where the squat barracks used to be. The first floor had a wrap-around porch, while the others had covered decks.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Trin asked. She walked up beside Stan and looped her arm through his. Tovey hated himself for the wave of jealousy that strangled him and made his face feel hot. Trin wasn't a threat and Stan was loyal to a fault. The man had even stayed true to Tovey's own lies about him.
"I love how jealous you get,"Stan said through their bond. He took Tovey's hand as Hugo danced ahead, greeting Nola and Yvette and a few of their guests seated on the veranda.
"I don't,"Tovey huffed."You deserve better. I trust you, especially around children."
Stan dropped his hand to pull him into a side hug instead, draping his arm over Tovey's shoulders as they walked."Your jealousy was a sign you'd always come back,"Stan shared after a moment."I knew you couldn't bear the thought of me with someone else."
"Until Hugo."
"Until Hugo." Stan grinned, and Tovey felt like he was floating, even though he could feel the sand sinking beneath his boots.
Trin ran off to join Renald and Jasmine, who were preparing a fishing boat for a voyage. Trin pointed to them, and they waved, but they were too busy to stop their morning activities. Tovey didn't blame them. They were finally enjoying their childhoods, no longer burdened with the possibility of war or being sent to Stony Eel Island.
AboardStarlight Specter,Tovey felt adrift. Like the children, he felt lighter than he had in months, but he alsomissed that defining purpose. He'd been an air weaver on a pirate ship for fifteen years. Now, he was soon to be guard-consort to their emperor, which was a title more than a job. Hugo's guards did the actual work of keeping fanatics and assassins alike from the palace grounds. Vadim was the most formidable. Tovey had seen a man run up to them, sword in hand, and fall dead at Hugo's feet before he'd raised his weapon, all while Vadim was thousands of miles away.
Tovey didn't feel worthless, but he wanted something to do with his time. Even now, they were passengers aboard the ship they used to sail. He held his hand over his eyes to block the sun's glare and watched for the distant shore.
When they arrived, Tovey wanted to leave Hugo and Stan at the docks while he searched for his family, but a familiar face beside the sovereign stopped him in his tracks. His brother Cenric was there, along with their parents.
"I believe I've found the settlers you requested," the sovereign said with a bow and a wave toward his family.
Hugo grinned at him. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
It wasn't proper for the emperor to kiss his guard before the sovereign of Glamiere and his retinue, but it wasn't the first time. Tovey crushed Hugo in a hug and kissed him until they were both panting.
"Thank you."
"Thank you for the kiss." Hugo laughed. "Now go."
Tovey hugged his mom first. She was shorter than he remembered, and her hair had turned from peach to pure white since he'd last seen her.
His papa shook his hand and pulled him in for a hug, clapping him on the back. "We've missed you, son."
"I missed you, too, Papa."
"Looks like you're still a pirate," Cenric teased.
