Page 153 of The King's Menagerie

"Dead," Ramsay said flatly, hands fisting as he was forced to hear his brother's name.

"Oh, Ramsay…" Jankin said, and all of a sudden Ramsay found himself embraced, pressed against the slender, well-toned chest he still remembered years later, only barely noticing the gasps of surprise from the others. "I'm so sorry, Ramsay. He was the sweetest little boy to ever live. No wonder you are here."

Ramsay trembled briefly, simply clinging, secretly grateful for the comfort. No one had held him when Colum had died. They'd murmured what a tragedy, what cruel fate, told him they were so sorry that had happened, but hadn't given him even a day to mourn before telling him that he must remember his duties.

He made himself push Jankin away after a moment and recovered himself. "Your Majesty," he said, not quite able to make himself meet Shafiq's gaze. "Your son is safe at my home for now. Given all that he told of his kidnapping, I determined there was some form of inside help. I did not want to risk telling the kidnappers that I had him. Already too many people know." He glanced around the harem, not trusting any of them, save Jankin.

"My harem can be trusted," Shafiq said firmly. "I will, in fact, send two of them to retrieve my son."

"I'll go," said the pretty man with the pouty lips. "I won't be missed for a few days, not the way the twins or Jankin or Berkant would."

"Two twins would be missed," said the twin wearing sapphires. "One will not, if the rest of you are careful and Ender plays me from time to time." He smiled at his brother.

Ender made a face. "Nadir—"

"Mazin and I have our knives," Nadir said, cutting him off. "We will be fine." He turned to Shafiq. "Yes?"

"Just be careful," Shafiq said quietly, reaching out to brush his knuckles across Nadir's cheek. Then he reached out to touch Mazin. "Both of you, be extremely careful. Bring Kaj home to me, and keep all three of you unharmed."

"Of course," Nadir murmured and closed the space between them to kiss Shafiq hard.

Ramsay tore his gaze away, feeling suddenly very much like an interloper. He did not understand harems at all, but it was obvious they were nothing as simple as concubines meant for pleasure and looking pretty. They seemed a mix of lover and friend and protector, though it made his head hurt trying to figure out how that worked with so many men.

He had the depressing, aggravating thought that when he was alone again, he would not mind at all trying to figure out all the different ways they might fit together.

Desperate for distraction, he glanced toward Jankin. "How is it you come to be here, my old wandering friend?"

Jankin smiled, looking fondly at Shafiq, the others, then finally back at Ramsay. "I found a reason to stop wandering. Though I admit I always thought fondly of you and missed you, Ramsay. It is good to see you again, despite the circumstances. I am truly sorry about your brother."

Ramsay looked away, hating the sudden sting to his eyes, fighting the tears that should have run dry months ago. "Thank you. I missed you too. It is good to see you happy."

It was good, even if it made him sort of sad too. His fate had been to protect people, and Holy Protectors spent their lives keeping others safe. It was a duty that always killed them. He had never known a Holy Protector to reach the age of retirement and finally live their own life. He would never have been given the chance to spend his days with someone like Jankin. Handsome, beautiful, elegant, golden Jankin, who danced and moved like something from a dream.

Though he would never have imagined it in a thousand years, somehow the harem life seemed well-suited to Jankin. Ramsay wished he fit somewhere half so well, but he had fled the only life he had known when the single, solitary bright spot in that life had been cruelly taken from him. Now he just wanted to see Kaj returned safely home before he crawled back to the solitude that seemed to be his true fate.

"We can leave whenever your men are ready, Your Majesty," he said when attention seemed to be turning his way again. "I certainly do not want to linger too long. It took me a day and a half to get here, and the longer he is alone, the greater the danger. I did what I could to hide our tracks, to cover the path to my home, but only a fool is arrogant enough to think he has thought of everything."

"This is very true," Shafiq replied. "Of course I want my son back as quickly as possible. I thank you for all that you have done for him. Without you, I sense my son would be dead. My debt to you is great."

Ramsay shook his head. "It is my Goddess-given duty to protect, as your sacred fate is to rule. One is owed nothing for doing as he should. I am honored to have been helpful to Your Majesty."

Shafiq smiled. "You are entirely too humble and gracious. Though I must say, you do not look like a guardian. I would imagine you have always used that to your favor." He glanced ruefully at his guards, who looked shamefaced as they picked each other off the floor. "Certainly my people underestimated you."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ramsay said, stifling a sigh. His looks worked well for him, but he had never enjoyed being thought of as lesser simply because he had been born small and slight and—worst of all—cute. 'Like a kitten' people had been fond of saying, always with that tone of condescension.

Jankin snorted softly. "I never understood why everyone mistook you for a harmless kitten, as they liked to say. Any idiot actually looking at you can see you are no idle threat. It's all in the way you hold yourself, the way you move."

"It is in every line of his body," Berkant said, startling Ramsay, "and in his eyes. Any fool who mistakes you for a kitten simply has never seen a lynx and thinks that all cats must be lions or tigers."

"Uh—" Ramsay could not think of a single thing to say. No one had ever said anything like that to him.

Shafiq smiled. "Let him be. Nadir, Mazin, slip away with him. Jankin, tell the guards outside that audiences are finished for today. Guards, keep your mouths shut about all of this. You're dismissed for the rest of the day, please visit the healer to attend those wounds. Ender, pour that wine, if you please."

Then he strode to Ramsay and took hold of his hands. Ramsay was startled to find Shafiq's hands, while soft and smooth, were strong, capable. Not the limp hands of a monarch who'd never struggled a day in his life. These were the hands of a man who understood the burdens put upon him, and carried them willingly. "Thank you, master Ramsay. Nothing I do or saywill ever be enough. You have saved my son's life, and that is a debt even a king can never truly repay."

Ramsay shook his head but did not draw away from the hands holding his. "You may thank me when you hold your son in your arms again, Your Majesty. Until that moment, I have accomplished nothing."

"You have accomplished more than anyone else."

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