Ryan reached out and dropped a hand on Caleb’s shoulder, causing him to fall silent. “It’s okay.”
Caleb reached up and wiped his eyes. His hands were shaking, and I could see his shoulders trembling. “Y-you w-would do that? For h-her?”
“Sure, kid,” I said, oddly touched by the whole situation.
“That… th-that would be an honor. I-if you could spare the t-t-time.”
“Would tomorrow be all right?” Ryan asked. “Give you enough time to clear it with your parents?”
Caleb nodded.
“When do you finish your page work?” I asked him.
“Five, sir.”
“And where do you live?”
“Midtown.”
“Not too far, then,” I told Ryan. “We could spare an hour or two. Morgan won’t mind. And we haven’t heard anything from Randall, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“We can meet you at the front gates at quarter past?” Ryan said to Caleb. “If that would work for you.”
“Y-yes. Oh, my lords. T-thank you, th-th-thank you. She will be so h-h-happy.”
Ryan chuckled. “It’s our pleasure. You said you had a letter for Sam?”
“O-oh! R-right. I’m s-so s-sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving a hand at him. “It’s probably something boring anyway.”
He handed over a thick sheet of paper, folded and closed with a wax seal. He bowed again so low that my own back twinged at the sight of it. He took a few stumbling steps toward the doors to the stable but stopped when Justin called out to him.
“Page, what did you say your last name was?”
“I d-didn’t, Your M-Majesty.”
“Ah. My apologies. Tell me, please.”
I frowned.
“It’s Marlowe, m-my P-Prince.”
“Thank you. That will be all.”
The page left with one last look at us, his gaze stuttering when he looked up at Kevin, but then he was gone.
“That might have been the most adorable thing that’s ever happened,” Gary said. “And trust me, I know adorable. I mean, look at me.”
“Who’s the letter from?” Ryan asked.
“Mama,” I said. “It’s her seal.” I showed him the large phallus embedded in the wax.
“Subtle.”
“Yeah. That’s Mama for you.” I broke the seal and opened the letter. The paper had been dusted with the scent of roses, sweet and sublime. Mama’s immaculate handwriting curled seductively along the page. “She’s just checking in… apologizing for Feng… ah. She says that she’ll make it up to us any way that we desire, be it boys from the Tilted Cross to participate in a gangbang with Ryan at the center—”
“I am so fucking down for that,” Kevin said.
“—or any other favor that our hearts desire,” I finished.
“Mama never offered to let me be the focus of a gangbang,” Gary muttered.
“Me either,” Tiggy said with a pout. Then, “What’s gangbang?”
“Well, kitten, it’s when eight or nine mens love each other very much and want to deposit as much sperm into a single person as possible to—”
“Why’d you ask him about his last name?” I asked Justin, who was staring toward the door the page had disappeared through.
“You seriously can’t be that stupid, Sam.”
“Well, five or six people would probably beg to differ. But why don’t you fill me in anyway.”
He rolled his eyes. “I want to confirm he is who he says he is. You’re not just going to go traipsing off without confirmation. Don’t be foolish, Sam.”
“Oh my gods,” I whispered. “You love me.”
“You’re about to get hugged,” Ryan warned him. “That’s his hugging face.”
“Sam, you stay the fuck away from me, I swear to the—oof!”
“Shh,” I told him. “It’s already happening.”
Justin sighed. But he didn’t push me away.
CALEB WAS waiting for us the next evening, wringing his hands nervously, looking slightly pale. His eyes widened as he saw us approaching.
I’ll admit we were probably going a little bit overboard. Ryan was fully knighted out, wearing some of his best armor, his shield strapped to his back, his sword in its scabbard at his side. His short hair was slicked back, his jaw freshly shaven. He looked every bit the knight I’d known the first time I’d seen him in Castle Lockes.
Not to be outdone, I’d put on my ceremonial robes, the ones Morgan couldn’t get me into no matter how much he begged. They were a bit stifling, given how heavy they were, but the dark greens and golds contrasted with my dark skin, and Gary said they made my eyes glitter.
Morgan had glared at me when he saw us until we told him we were trying to impress a sick eleven-year-old girl. Then he’d softened, just like I knew he would.
“We won’t be gone long,” I told him. “It’s just Midtown.”
“And you know who this is?”
“Justin’s already checked into him. Caleb has been in the page program for almost four months. It’ll be fine.”
“You can’t be too careful these days,” Morgan said.
I grinned at him. “I’m Sam of Wilds. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You could be abducted by villains who either want to kill you, ransom you, or sleep with you.”
“Sometimes all three,” I agreed.
“I hate those ones,” Ryan mumbled next to me.
“We’ll be fine,” I assured Morgan. “We’ll be back before nightfall.”
“Caleb,” Ryan said now. “All right?”
Caleb nodded, head snapping up and down. “I-I didn’t expect y-y-you to look like that.”
“You mean amazing?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
He squeaked. “Y-y-yessir.”
“Thank you.”
“Are your parents okay with us coming to see your sister today? And she is in good spirits? What was her name again?”
“C-C-Christie, Knight Commander,” Caleb said, wiping his brow. “And it’s fine. She d-d-doesn’t know you’re c-coming. It’s going to be such a s-surprise.”
“Lead the way, then,” I said. “Let’s see if we can make a little girl’s day.”
And he did. We followed Caleb through the gates and out into the streets of the City of Lockes. We were stared at as we walked amongst the people, some smiling at us, some glaring. A few gave us a wide berth, actively avoiding having to walk by us. Still others stopped us and asked for autographs. A woman got a little handsy with Ryan, her generous bosom spilling over the top of her dress, pressing up against him as she stroked the metal of his breastplate. He laughed and chuckled and winked, and they swooned over him, as his fans were wont to do. I was used to people fawning over him. He’d always gotten it more than I had, and while I wasn’t actively ignored when they came up to him, it was obvious that they couldn’t care less I was standing right there.
It was fine.
Everything was fine.
“All right,” I said, pushing off the rather buxom woman as she started to describe how she’d just yesterday discovered that she’d gotten over her gag reflex. “That’s enough for now. While I’m sure the Knight Commander appreciates the fact that you can deep-throat, you should probably know that he can do the same and does so quite regularly. On me, if that wasn’t clear enough.”
The woman scowled at me.
Ryan looked amused, even as he blushed.
I thought Caleb was going to pass out in the street.
We moved along.
“D-does that h-happen a lot?” he asked.