Rufe hated this intrigue. Even more so, he hated the threats to Niam’s family.
Light snow had fallen overnight, dusting the ground in white, but not deeply enough to impede walking in normal boots. Rufe found Delletinian thick-soled padded boots uncomfortable. Still, the mostly deserted garden offered a peaceful respite from a far too turbulent palace.
Footsteps sounded on the stone walkway from someone who made no attempt to tread lightly.
Vihaan rounded the corner into view, stopping at Rufe’s bench. Unlike Cass, he didn’t fake a leisurely stroll. “The boys are safe with their grandmother. May I sit?”
Rufe nodded.
Vihaan sat. “Nice morning. Delletina is beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to be here during a bad winter.” He exaggerated a shiver. “The locals claim this one to be mild.” He pulled his fur hat farther over his ears.
“I’ve been here for a deep snow in the pass.” Rufe didn’t addand barely survived.“I must say, I’d rather be in Cormir for the weather.”
Vihaan grinned, waggling his brows. “But here for everything else?”
How could Rufe’s cheeks possibly be flaming after all he’d seen and done in his lifetime? “Delletina has its charms,” was as much confirmation as he’d provide.
Vihaan leaned back, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “That it does. Can I ask you something?”
“Depends on the question.”
Vihaan’s cheeks tinted pink this time, barely visible above his full beard. “You’ve got a reputation for bedding women and men, but, well, is it true?”
“The reputation is earned, I can assure you.” Why did Vihaan want to know something so personal?
“Did you always want both men and women or was it a certain person who made you rethink your preferences?”
Interesting question. As a boy, Rufe admired the sturdy village blacksmith and the local Earl’s comely daughters. Never one more than the other—until he’d met Niam. “I’ve always found the bodies of both men and women fascinating, although now I have had all my words to the contrary thrown back in my face by finding one person who has my full attention to where I want no one else.” Few others would hear such a confession, but Rufe fully trusted Vihaan.
“I’m older than you. I’ve found such a person several times in my life, and sometimes our relationship lasted a while, sometimes it didn’t.” Vihaan stared out at a group of snow-dusted pines. A bright red bird hopped from branch to branch.
“You’re asking all this for reasons, I assume.”
“Yeah, well…” Vihaan scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, but with the hat, his glove never reached skin. “I’ve always liked women. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a nice-looking man, but I’ve never thought about them as more than fellow men.”
“And now you’re thinking differently.”
Vihaan stayed quiet for many moments, the only sound distant talking and something scurrying in the nearby underbrush. “Seriously thinking about it. Like, every hour of every day thinking about it.”
“Oh, I see.” Rufe attempted to be the voice of reason, saying what he thought level-headed Yarif might say. “I know Jayra’s death came suddenly, and you had an attachment to her—”
Vihaan lifted one massive gloved paw. “She and I tried being lovers once, but I wanted to keep things exclusively between us, which went against her Southern Island upbringing. They think mainlanders are ridiculous to talk monogamy when so few of us keep our vows. She and I decided we were better as friends, though I still cared for her. We hadn’t been lovers in many seasons, so if you think this old ship is seeking any port on the rebound, you’re mistaken.”
“Casseign,” Rufe said.
“Casseign,” Vihaan agreed. “There’s something about him—I don’t know what, but for someone so much younger than me, he takes care of himself quite well and is easy to talk to. I don’t tell him everything, and he doesn’t push, but we can talk for hours. We share many interests, and I want to bring him to my ancestral home and show him around.” He remained quiet for a few moments. “But it’s more than that. I can’t look at him without wanting more than simply his friendship. The night we lay next to each other in the cabin nearly did me in. Iwanted to reach out so badly.”
Knowing the behavior Niam and Rufe engaged in on that same floor earlier likely didn’t help matters. “How does he feel?”
“I’m not sure. Like I said, this is new to me. I mean, Jayra was one of only a handful of lovers in my life, as I’m not attracted to many people. I have to know them first, like them, before I go any further. Most folks I meet don’t even want your name.”
Wow. This was so far away from what Rufe believed about most soldiers. “I don’t know what to say. I’m actually happy for you. It’s not every day you meet someone special.”
“Yeah. But I’m older than him, and we’re from different kingdoms. There’s been animosity between Glendor and Delletina in the past. I don’t want to start something doomed to failure.”
“I think you really need to sit down and talk to Casseign. Do you even know if he already has someone?” Never would Rufe have thought of offering such personal advice to anyone, especially not when he’d entered a relationship doomed to failure himself.
“He doesn’t. I don’t know. I’m just being foolish.”
