Page 1 of Love Me Forever

Chapter One

Sébastien jerked awake, kicked at the blankets, and nearly knocked the crystal lantern off his bedside table as he scrambled for it. Light blossomed from the crystal shards inside and revealed the bedroom. It was empty except for him, he wasn’t at Arquous, a certain person didn’t exist anymore, and his heart pounded while he tried to convince himself that it had only been a dream.

The Regent was dead, and he was alone. He’d always preferred sleeping alone until he’d gotten used to Remus being beside him. The empty side of the bed was too vast now.

Remus’s wolf sword leaned against the wall by his chest of drawers. Sébastien hadn’t yet fully grown used to thinking of it as his sword. The wolf ornament on the hilt glinted in the light of the lantern. What a pity it couldn’t protect him from the occasional nightmare.

He pushed away the blankets and picked up the crystal lantern to go downstairs. The house was quiet, as it should be, and he knew two guards stood on duty outside his locked front door. A few trusted men had been assigned as his guards, and no one had bothered him so far.

The stone house was large and the sort a commoner with a good income would buy. Sébastien had grown up in far larger and fancier accommodations. Since the Palace inBelle Âmewas gone, and he’d never step foot in the old family home in Arquous ever again, he didn’t have a lot of options. Castles and Palaces aren’t built in a day, and he wasn’t sure where he’d have a home built yet.

He’d come to like his new house anyway even though it could feel empty at the wrong times. Since the servants went home inthe afternoon, and the cook left after dinner, he had peace to read which he liked. It also gave him plenty of time to worry, not that he’d ever dare say so out loud.

Once he settled at the work counter in the kitchen with a glass of water, some of the earlier tension ebbed. It didn’t mean he’d forgotten the nightmare. Usually, he didn’t have that kind too much, and anger flared in his chest as he drank.

The Regent was dead, and it was almost like he still had power over Sébastien in some ways. He didn’t get the prickle of pain over his heart anymore since the cuffs and Satan were gone, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t grow angry. Or furious. He’d watched the Regent die, and his body was ash and dust. Sébastien shouldn’t have to see his face ever again.

The dream about the hunting lodge had felt entirely real. Sébastien hunched over the work counter and stared at the water in his glass. Going to a different room and finding something to drink had helped, so he’d remember that for the future. It was better than laying in bed and staring at the dark.

What else could he do by himself? Remus wasn’t around, and he likely wasn’t coming back. He’d said he was, but now that it was spring, Sébastien told himself to stop hoping.

They’d spent winter in their prospective Kingdoms since their rule had been far too new to do entirely by letter. Both had things to do in person. According to Remus’s first letter, he’d practically had lords pasted to his side the second he got off the boat in Norraco. Everyone had wanted something, even if it was just to know what had recently happened and the state of their Kingdom regarding Soleil.

They’d both written to each other all winter, and Sébastien knew Remus had taken the cuffs and sword hilt back to Prince Angelo’s tomb in South Sea. A High Mage from the Temple in Norraco had opened the stone coffin where Angelo’s skeleton had lain inside among the mostly rotted remains of a shroud andwhat possibly had been a robe. After that many centuries, it had been nearly impossible to properly tell.

Bones separate after a time with no tendons or muscles left to hold them together. Those of his hands and arms hadn’t been laying right according to the High Mage’s opinion. It looked like someone had moved them, which proved their suspicion that the cuffs had been robbed from his skeleton.

The High Mage had appeared horrified.

No blade or anything else lay inside. The High Mage had replaced the cuffs, placed the angel wing hilt by Prince Angelo, closed the lid, and prayed to Elira over it.

When they exited, the men who had come with Remus got to work on blocking off the entrance to the tomb. Cart loads of rubble had been brought ahead, and the men mixed fresh mortar.

Nobody would ever walk into that tomb again unless they were willing to chip their way through several feet of stone and hardened mortar to get to the stone coffin within. Prince Angelo’s tomb was safe from robbers.

The job was done. The letters continued with Remus saying he couldn’t wait to come back. They’d lessened a little as spring approached, and in his last one, he’d said he was about to leave.

With good wind and a decent ship, it only took a few days to go around Midland and get to Soleil from Rowland. Sébastien had, unfortunately, made the trip directly, although he'd been locked in a brig and unable to enjoy the voyage.

Remus should have already arrived a few days ago. His last letter had been rather short and rushed.

Through winter, doubts had crept in. The truth was that he wasn’t coming. He’d said so to be nice. Later, Sébastien might get another letter that Remus had changed his mind about sailing back. Or he’d postponed the trip, except he’d never arrive.

After being away for months, he’d surely realized that life was easier without Sébastien. There were other men to pick from, and they weren’t weighed down with baggage. It’d be a lot easier to find someone else to be with who didn’t have a dirty past. He’d enjoy being in his home Kingdom and let their correspondence stop.

Years later, he’d hear of Remus being married, and Sébastien, once he finally got around to having a new Castle or Palace, could sit and rot alone since he couldn’t see himself letting anyone else get that close. He’d be a memory and a notch in the Rowland King’s bedpost.

At least he’d have Whisper.

***

In the morning, Remus wasn’t there. Obviously. Sébastien tried to convince himself he wouldn’t care if Remus never wrote to him again and didn’t return. It didn’t matter if Remus saw him as used goods and something to try out. Or if he simply realized he’d be happier with another. It was better that way because overall, Remus was too good for him, and he didn’t need a damaged man.

The wolf sword Sébastien now wore at his side didn’t mean shit either. Remus had given it to him as a last present. It wasn’t like he needed it anyway. He could use his Father’s or have a weapon made.

He was in a particularly foul mood as he sat in his office and tried to convince himself that he didn’t need anyone, least of all Remus. Sébastien couldn’t stand himself at times. Since he had no Judgment Hall for petitioners, they had to come into his office. A guard accompanied the person and escorted them out of the house afterward.

If a criminal was brought, they were sentenced to jail if the crime was severe enough. Slavery was no longer permitted. A baker had been caught adding sawdust to his flour to stretch it.

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