Chapter 12
Early the next morning, Tovin sat astride his horse, the same steed he’d ridden into this courtyard not a week prior amid trumpeted fanfare. Now the sky was dank and gray, as if the clouds themselves wept at the regent’s “death.” Around him, his three friends had gathered—three strong men made weak with the loss of Amery. Part of Tovin wanted to tell them his lover lived, if only to relieve the ache he saw in those closed, hard faces, but there would be too much explaining to do, and word might leak out, putting himself and his lover in danger. Better that things should end this way, he believed. At least then there was some sense of closure.
Blinking back tears, Lohden patted the horse’s neck and suggested, “You could stay.”
“I cannot.” Tovin held the reins tightly, causin
