By the time the food is ready, everyone sits around the fire to share the meal. But unsurprisingly, Alastair disappears in his truck.
Jess pushes a second bowl into my hands. “Bring him some,” she says with a secret smile.
I sigh and stand up. For some reason, the closer I get to the truck, the more my heartbeat speeds up. Jude’s words echo in my mind, ‘or he likes you’. I shake my head, unsettled by the absurdity of such a statement. Alastair has a thing for smaller men with beautiful features like Jude and Perri, not tall Scandinavian hunks.
I find him sitting on a rock behind his truck, near the river. His pale eyes glow uncannily in the dark as I approach. I hand him the bowl without saying a word. He smiles and accepts my offering.
I take a seat on another boulder in front of him. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” he asks.
“Bringing you here.”
He hums, then says, “I wouldn’t be a king if I couldn’t handle a minor discomfort. I learned to compromise from an early age, and finding Perri is more important than petty grudges.”
I blink, impressed by how level-headed he is. I’ve heard how he devastated entire camps after traveling merchants were killed. He’s known to be ruthless and dangerous when triggered.
“Thank you,” is all I find to say.
He smiles, eyes lingering on me. “The pleasure is all mine, Stellan.”
I avert my eyes, mind buzzing. I stay and keep him company while we eat our dinner.
Pretty quickly, exhaustion catches up to me. I’ve been worried about Perri for days, and now that I know he’s safe and cared for, the lack of sleep and exertion hit me like a freight train.
“Go to sleep, Stellan,” Alastair says, grabbing my empty bowl and spoon. “I’ll do the dishes.”
Am I imagining things, or did he nod towards his bed in the open camper behind us? Does he think I’m sleeping in his bed again?
I scowl, pissed off for some reason. “Yes. Good night then,” I say before walking away.
I swear I can feel his eyes on my back all the way to my mothers’ RVs, but I refuse to turn and meet his gaze. I kiss my family, then fall asleep with my clothes on as soon as my face hits the mattress.
I dream of Perri curled around me, warm and safe, his breath tickling my neck, and the world feels right again.
When morning comes, I wake up to an empty bed beside me. Perri isn’t here, and I have to whisper, “He’s fine. He’s fine…” a few times to make it feel real. We’ve never been separated for more than a day or two, and his absence creates a physical ache in my chest, as if my ribcage is about to cave in under pressure.
I jump off the small bed, angry. Perri always says I’m a morning grouch, but it’s never been more true than when he’s not with me. His bright smile is usually the first thing I see when I open my eyes every day.
I overslept; the sun is already too high. The sooner we leave, the faster we’ll be reunited with Perri.
My mothers are already outside making breakfast over the firepit when I emerge. Jude and Oliver are nowhere to be seen, and neither is Alastair.
“Morning, sunshine,” says Jess. She has been calling me that since I was a little kid, even though I grew up to be the opposite of someone with a sunny disposition.
I kiss her on the cheek. “Mornin’ Mom. We’ll eat breakfast and then be on our way.”
“Already?”
I nod. “We have a long way to reach the coordinates.”
“Margaret refilled your gas tanks, just in case you need to push farther than planned.”
“Thank you.”
Gas is more precious than gold in the world after the Rise, so their gesture is not lost on me.
“Go get our boy,” she says, pinching my cheek. “But first, bring breakfast to the King, then you can go wash before leaving. Sorry, son, but you reek of wasteland grime.”
