Brayan rode at Maric’s side as they made their slow way out of the city, one eye on Maric and Dara and the other on the crowd. Dara was visibly shaken, his head down and his arms wrapped more snugly around Maric’s waist than they needed to be. What would people think of this strange young slave, dressed as a stablehand and riding double with the prince? It was hard to say when Brayan wasn’t even sure of his own thoughts on the slave.

At this very moment, he seemed frightened and timid, but the things he’d had to do to get back to Maric suggested levels of tenacity rare even in trained soldiers. He seemed to fluctuate between wildly different states, and it was becoming increasingly clear that docility didn’t come naturally to him.

They rode in silence until they were well away from the city. When the paved road had given way to dirt and there was nothing but farmland on either side of them, Brayan signalled the rest of the men to hang back so that the three of them could speak privately.

Maric reached his hand back and gently squeezed Dara’s thigh. “What happened, Dara? Did someone hurt you?”

Dara’s head jolted up. “No! Absolutely not, your highness. Paige was very kind to me. I feel guilty for leaving her when she needs help so badly.”

“Then why are you here, Dara?” Maric asked, his hand bunching in the fabric of Dara’s pants. “We tried so hard to find the perfect place for you and I thought we’d succeeded. What is it that you want from me that she couldn’t offer you?”

From the way Dara’s shoulders hunched, it was clear he thought Maric was cross, but he couldn’t see the vulnerability on Maric’s face, didn’t know him well enough to detect the heartache in his voice.

“I—” Dara was silent for a long moment. He let out a slow, shaky breath. “Would it be okay if we talked about this privately, your highness?”

Maric ran a hand over his hair. “Yes, yes, that might be better.”

“Would you like me to…?” Brayan asked, pointing his thumb back towards the rest of the men.

“No, that’s okay, Brayan,” Maric said. “I think we need to have a proper conversation. One we can’t have on a horse. I don’t want to get too far from the city before we have it, though.”

“You’re going to send me back?” Dara asked, and Brayan couldn’t make sense of how upset he sounded.

For that matter, he couldn’t make sense of why Dara would go to such lengths to return to Maric’s side. From what Brayan had seen, their time together hadn’t exactly been fun for Dara. He hoped it wasn’t because Dara had realised how much power he had over Maric.

“I’ll do what I think is best,” Maric told him. “If you can convince me that you staying with me is what’s best, so be it. Otherwise, yes, I will send you back.”

“There’s an inn just down the road,” Brayan contributed. “We left much earlier than we needed to, so we could take a break there for a few hours while we work things out. Even if Dara stays with us, someone will have to ride back and tell Paige what’s going on. I assume you didn’t speak to her before you left, Dara?”

Dara hunched down and made a face. “No. I really do feel bad about leaving her like this, but I didn’t want her to try to stop me or to get in trouble because she didn’t. I’m sorry I’ve caused so much trouble, sir.”

“I no longer feel like I understand this situation well enough to have an opinion on your actions. Save your apologies for Maric.”

“Don’t assume I have any use for them,” Maric told him.

The rest of the short ride to the inn took place in silence. It was a far smaller, shabbier place than Brayan would usually arrange for them, but it would do the job of providing a private room for Maric and Dara to talk and a passable breakfast for the men while they waited.

The staff didn’t seem to be sure whether they were thrilled or terrified by the prospect of serving royalty, but they certainly weren’t prepared for it. Brayan made sure they got started on cooking up some porridge and then got the key for a room on the second floor. He could see the door from the bar by looking up across the landing, allowing him to make sure they were safe and uninterrupted without standing directly outside and compromising their privacy.

He led Maric and Dara to the room and left them to it while he went to make sure everything else was in order.