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Katrín waved a hand toward the living area. “I know it’s not my home, but let’s have a seat.”

“Ma’am?” Katrín’s assistant walked into the room and tilted her head.

With a sigh, Katrín put Eleanor down and reached for the toddler now snuggled deep in Josiah’s arms. “Never mind. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to talk more soon.” She nodded her head toward Bekah. “It was lovely to meet you, albeit briefly.”

“Same here.” Bekah curtsied toward Katrín, though Josiah didn’t think his sister-in-law noticed.

A moment later, it was just the two of them in the living area. “She’s not wrong about having a seat.” Josiah walked toward the sofa. “How are you?”

“Overwhelmed.” She sat on the chair nearby. “This place is very cool, but it’s not overly homey. How do you grow up in a place that’s so... museum-ish?”

Josiah shrugged. “It’s all I knew. Growing up was tough in general. I know it is for most people, just in different ways. My father died when I was young. My brother became king. We didn’t have a good father-figure at all until recent years. My mother mourned my father for a very long time. Being raised in the fishbowl of the palace isn’t easy at the best of times, and they definitely weren’t the best of times. I remember my father, not very well or very much, but I remember it was better when he was here.”

“That’s tough. At least I had both of my parents who loved me very much. I always thought they treated Ginny a bit differently, but that’s understandable now that I know who she really is. Even then it wasn’t too bad, just annoying sometimes.” She yawned.

“Why don’t you go get some more rest? I’ll make sure to wake you in time to meet my brother, unless he says you can stay asleep. He may not need to meet with both of us at this point.”

She rose, looking a little stiff. “I’m sore from the accident. Do you mind if I take a shower?”

Josiah shook his head. “Go ahead. What’s mine is yours. I can see if Katrín has something you can wear.” They were close enough to the same size, weren’t they?

“Thanks.”

He stood and walked her into his room, showing her where the bathroom was and how to access the closet. He’d go through the other door and leave clothes in there for her.

Plush towels waited on the rack and someone had already brought his favorite toothpaste and toothbrush brands and left them in there, along with extras for Bekah - several different brands of each since no one knew what she preferred.

“Text me when you lay down and when you wake up. I’ll do my best not to bother you in between.”

Bekah’s smile looked more tired than it had earlier. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Josiah left and texted Katrín. He didn’t want to invade their private quarters without talking to her first. He didn’t get a response immediately, but after a few minutes received a message from her assistant that the queen was otherwise occupied for the foreseeable future and would get back to him when she was available.

Great.

He sent another text, this one to Bekah, giving her an update and telling her to borrow anything of his that she might want, though he didn’t know if anything would fit well enough.

With that, he laid down on the couch and was reminded why he never did. It felt like it was made out of a giant rock. His apartment didn’t have another bedroom, and he wasn’t going to encroach on Bekah’s space, even if she - legally - was his wife.

Toeing off his shoes, he closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. This time of year, darkness was hard to come by in Akushla. They were much too far north for that. He knew he should get up and close the curtains a bit more tightly, but that seemed like too much work.

Instead, he let his arm flop over his eyes to keep more of the light out.

Eventually, he started to drift. Praying the nightmares would stay away, he finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

WearingJoe’s clothes was far more comfortable than Bekah would have expected. Soft flannel pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt - at least on her it was oversized and very cozy.

The shirt was clearly one of his favorites. Faded and soft, it bore the emblem of a sports team. At least that’s what she thought it represented anyway.

It felt weird crawling under the covers of Joe’s bed, even though he didn’t live there anymore. It only took a few seconds to discover it didn’t matter. The sheets, the mattress itself, the pillows... all of it combined to be the most comfortable place she’d ever tried to sleep.

The sandman soon overtook her. Voices in the other room drifted into her consciousness as her eyes fluttered open again sometime later. Yawning and stretching, she wondered again at the comfort level far beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

Who could Joe be talking to? His brother maybe? The one who was king.

She stretched some more, visited the bathroom, and looked around for her clothes - or anything else to change into that wasn’t Joe’s flannel pajama bottoms and an old shirt to potentially meet another king.