agreed that was indeed cool, and was glad to see Ryan was comfortable in the club.
With a proper good-bye, he made his way to the exit.
***
Tess was pleased at their return and followed Ben everywhere, her tail wagging. He reached down and ruffled her fur. “Good girl. Do you fancy a quick snack while I make some tea?” He looked around guiltily. Dae thought Tess was getting a bit tubby, given Ben’s habit of feeding her snacks and—to Dae’s horror—pizza slices. Dae was still in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, so Ben slipped Tess a small piece of cold meat from the fridge.
He busied himself making their hot drinks then took the steaming cups through to the lounge. As Ben sat in his chair, Dae wandered through, dressed in his lounging pants and a loose long-sleeved top. He looked vulnerable, not like the sassy smart-mouth Ben was used to.
While Ben wanted to hear Dae’s story, the one thing he didn’t want was to cause the man undue stress or trauma, especially since he already had nightmares. “If you don’t want to talk, that’s all right,” he murmured, taking a sip of his tea. It was white and sugary, the way he liked it. “I’ve no claim on you or your story.”
Dae unrolled his long limbs gracefully onto the couch, pulling his shirt over his knees and then clasping his arms around them. He stared down at his hands, his hair obscuring his face. “I know that. You aren’t forcing me to do anything. I choose to tell you what I’m going to say.” He looked up. His beautiful purple eyes looked haunted. Ben noticed faint shadows beneath them. “You’d think I’d be over it all by now, but some things stick and won’t go away no matter how much I wish they would.”
He took a deep breath. “You need to understand my homeland, Quimaria, is a place of contrast. Our rulers are a mix of empathy and empirical arrogance. Lord Regent Dhimrin— whom you’d call a king here, I suppose, but we called him Lord—was tough, and ruled with an iron hand, but was open to change and progress. Lady Brinil, however,” he uttered a harsh laugh, “was not as understanding.” He stopped, staring down in contemplation at his feet. Ben waited patiently.
After a while, Dae carried on. “Their son, Master Regent Aether, was the joy of their lives. He was a year younger than me, and the people’s hero. Handsome, caring, and always ready to defend the underdog.” His lips twisted. “Except when it came to me. The man he should have protected with all his heart.”
“You loved him,” Ben said, wondering why there was a pang in his chest as he said it. “Did he love you?”
Dae’s lips thinned. “I thought so. We met at a lakeside festival when I was with my father. He had a stall selling leather goods and was one of the Lord Regent’s favourite leather smiths. Aether took a fancy to a leather bracelet and stopped to convince the Lord to purchase it.” Dae smiled at his memory. “I’d been aware of him for many years. He was my greatest fantasy. We got to chatting and arranged a meeting that evening by the lake. I was confused. Why would a Master Regent and heir to the Kingdom want to involve himself with someone like me?” Dae paused. “I went anyway, and it soon became clear he wanted to be more than friends. I didn’t resist, and soon meetings by the lake became a way of life for us.”
“You became lovers.” Ben placed his empty teacup on the side table, fascinated by the story. “Was it not permitted?”
Dae shrugged. “Same-sex relationships are the norm where I’m from. We’re pansexual, and choose the person, not the gender. That wasn’t the issue. The problem was that Aether had chosen a local boy beneath his station to dally with. He had to hide me from his parents.” He grimaced as he cradled his cup in his hands. “His mother, Lady Brinil, suspected something was up and had Aether followed. It wasn’t long before I was marched from my home under Regent Guard and taken to Ishvar, the Regent’s dwelling. I suppose humans would call it a palace.”
“What happened to you?” Ben asked. “Were they the ones who banished you to the lamp?”
Dae snorted, his face hard. “Yes, after they’d beaten me senseless. Any hope I had of redemption or rescue was cruelly quashed with every flick of