Free A Lotus for the Regent by Adonis Devereux Page B

attack. He was glad
that someone had gotten the blaze under control and saved the city. The first
order of business was to confirm the safety and well-being of the King, but Kamen's
heart thudded in his chest when he realized what awaited him.
    Mirsa's Crown lay gleaming in the harbor, her majesty rivaling the Aramina's ,
her masts every bit as tall, her hull every bit as proud. Darien was back. The
bowsprit of the Admiral's ship was the figure of Mirsa herself coming up out of
the water, a living extension of the sea. How long had it been since Kamen had
seen the Mother of the Sea? How many months had Darien been away?
    Kamen shook the
flaccid nerves out of his hands and began to pace. He wanted to see Darien, but
he did not want any of the awkwardness. He loved Darien like a brother; he had
once loved him as much more than that. But now his thoughts dwelt on Ajalira.
He wondered how he would feel once he saw Darien again. The Aramina slid
into dock next to Mirsa's Crown , and the first thing Kamen heard was
Darien's booming voice. Kamen smiled.
    Darien stood on
his quarter deck with arms crossed and a beaming smile. Feelings stirred in
Kamen as he looked on his oldest friend. Darien was taller than any Sunjaa
Kamen had ever seen, and he was broader in the chest and shoulders than the
strongest of men. Darien was a lion, and all the men who scrambled around him
doing his bidding were mere cubs. His confident beauty and his easy manner were
what had first drawn Kamen to Darien, but what made him love him was Darien's
goodness. He was the most good-hearted man Kamen knew.
    Kamen's thoughts
flitted to Ajalira. Truly she was beautiful, too, but it was her goodness that
had conquered Kamen. Kamen smiled back at Darien and waved. Darien waved back
and moved to come down the gangplank. The flagship had returned bearing the
Regent.
    Kamen was by no
means a short man, but standing before Darien, he felt like a child. He
remembered Darien's touch, how Darien used to mount him and spray his cum
inside him. And Darien's kiss had been like honey, and Kamen wanted to hold him
again. But he betrayed none of his feelings. Their embrace on the docks was a
firm yet brief clasp of upper arms.
    “ Welcome back, Regent.” Darien looked into Kamen's eyes.
    Kamen slapped
his friend on the shoulders twice. “It's been too long. How are you?”
    Darien glanced
over at Mirsa's Crown , the ship he captained as Admiral, even though the
Crown had offered him the flagship, the Aramina . “She's kept me afloat.
She's the terror of the sea, and I've still not grown tired of watching pirates
come full about at the sight of her.”
    Kamen remembered
his days of sailing aboard her. “As Regent I must publicly prefer the Aramina ,
herself a fine ship, but as Kamen, nothing will ever compare to the Crown .”
    “ I know.” Darien sighed and put his hands on his hips, still smiling.
    “ And how are Saerileth and the children?”
    “ All thriving, gods be praised. The little ones would like to see
their papa more often, of course, but one day, when they're strong lads, I'll
take them to sea with me.” Darien's smile vanished as he paused. “And Saerileth
is well, of course.”
    Saerileth, the
point of uneasiness between them. Saerileth, the woman who had stolen Darien
away from Kamen. No, not stolen. Kamen needed to stop thinking that way. Though
he and Darien had fucked each other after the fashion of Sunjaa sailors, there
was nothing more to it on Darien's part than recreation and naval tradition. He
loved Kamen as a friend and brother-in-arms, but nothing more than that, and
Kamen could not fault him for the way he felt. He could not make his heart love
him.
    “ And you, my friend,” Darien said with a cheerful smile, drawing
Kamen out of his dark thoughts. “I hear you're having to deal with those damned
horned Ausir now.”
    Kamen nodded.
“But they're already planning to betray us.”
    Darien bristled,
reminding Kamen that a dangerous warrior