“Allow me, sire.” Stas started walking.
Ivo hurried to keep up.
“Did you mean it, sire?”
“Mean it?”
Huh?
“About being your personal adviser?”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, Stas.”
Stas cast Ivo a look that said he was terrified he was about to have his head cut off. “Sire, you need to know, I am married to a commoner.”
“Okay.” What did that have to do with anything? “What’s her name?”
Stas winced. “Fredrick.”
“Okay.” Same-sex relationships didn’t really seem to be much of a problem in the Vítkovský Clan. It was the whole class thing that was driving Ivo insane. “Do you have kids?”
Stas grinned. “Two.”
“I want kids someday.” It was a farfetched dream, but still a dream. Being gay didn’t mean he couldn’t have kids, just that it would be a little more complicated. “What’s Fredrick do?”
“He’s a baker in town, sire.”
“Is he any good?”
Stas’s grin was pure pride. “He’s the best, sire.”
“Nice. I’d like to meet him.”
Stas’s thick, bushy eyebrows shot up his face so fast, Ivo wondered if they were going to slide into his hair. “You want to meet my husband, sire?”
“Sure. Is he at work now?” It was a fantastic excuse to get out of the castle for a little while.
“Yes.”
“Will he get in trouble if we go see him?”
“No. I go see him all the time, but sire, you can’t leave the castle without your guards.”
Ivo opened his mouth to argue with him, but then he realized Stas was probably right. Someone was out to get him. Frankly, he was a little confused as to how he had been able to make it out of the council chambers without Vitki fast on his heels.
“Yuval or Miro should be around here somewhere. One of them can go with us.”
Stas pulled out a cell phone. “I can have Miro meet us at the western gate, sire.”
Ivo beamed. “Fantastic.”
Stas dialed while they walked. Once he hung up and slid his phone into his pocket, he gave Ivo a questioning look. “Are there any questions I can answer for you, sire?”
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, Stas. I’m not sure I’m king material.”
“Sire—”
“Do you know what I did before I came here?”
