Does It Matter?

Chapter 45

As Maric and Brayan headed inside and upstairs together, Maric focused on setting his mind to the task ahead of them. In the past, he had been immature and temperamental in his approach to Dara and it had hurt their relationship. That couldn't happen this time.

Maric knocked on the door to Brayan's room and a few seconds later, Dara answered it. The smile he greeted Maric with slowly dropped off his face when Maric didn't return it.

"Is everything okay?" Dara asked.

"Yes," Maric said as he and Brayan entered the room, "but there's something we need to talk about. All four of us."

"Oh," Dara said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, next to Bug.

Bug's gaze leapt to Brayan, seeking reassurance. After what Brayan had told him, Maric now understood why Bug had been so quick to trust him.

Maric took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Brayan has come up with a way for the two of you to be free."

Dara glanced at Bug before looking back at Maric. "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course," Maric said. "But you can't be free here. Not yet, and maybe not ever. He's come up with a way to get you back to Ticia."

"Oh," Dara said. It was hard to tell how he felt about that.

"Um. Y—your highness?" Bug asked.

"Yes?"

Bug twisted his hands in the bed sheets and kept his eyes aimed firmly aimed at Maric's collarbone. "Would you be able to come with us?"

"No, it's not safe for us to cross the border," Maric said. "Which brings me to my next point. This is a decision the two of you will need to make together. I own a property near a path up into the mountains, and you can get through there into Ticia with a day's riding. However, the area you end up in will be remote. You will need Dara to be riding Farah to keep you safe from the wolves and Bug, you've been a slave a far shorter time than Dara. Dara was a child when he was enslaved. You will have knowledge he doesn't, and it will almost certainly be easier for you to find people you know to take you in."

Bug nodded. He wouldn't look at Maric at all now. "I have family, your highness."

"We would provide an extra horse for Bug, supplies, coin, whatever you might need."

Dara looked deep in thought. It was hard to tell what was going through his head. Finally, he got up from the bed, walked over to Maric, and wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you. I don't know what our decision will be, but you're a good man and I love you."

Maric kept his arms locked behind Dara's back. "And I love you. No matter what you decide."

"Can I have some time alone with Bug to talk this over?"

"Of course," Maric said. "It's a decision you need to make together, after all. We'll be downstairs if you need us."

Dara gave Maric a kiss on the cheek, and then Maric released him and left the room.

He'd almost forgotten Brayan was with him until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. "Breakfast?"

"Mm," Maric said. He didn't think he could eat.

#

Bug sat on the bed, staring at his hands. He took a deep breath in and let it out. There were so many emotions mixed up inside of him. "What are we going to do?"

Dara let out a long sigh as he sat back down on the bed next to Bug. "I hate and love both options in equal measure. I want to be free, to see my family again, to go home, but I don't want to leave Maric. I want to stay with him, but if that means being a slave forever, never having freedom or seeing my family again... I don't know."