Page 43

Seventeen months later

Noe couldn’t be more excited or filled with apprehension than he was in this moment. The Emperor and Empress of Shiirei had come through yesterday and officially signed off on the fortress. There had been a formal banquet, a formal thank-you to Noe personally as well as Luca, and everyone was officially dismissed for home.

Frankly, Noe couldn’t be more thankful for the timing. As soon as he got to his new home, there would be a shit ton to do.

Ren and Arman had left last year, the lucky bastards, with their daughter in tow. After they’d left, there had been a few attacks from the Mongs, but nothing major. The fortress had held up well without any real setbacks, just a few minor repairs, which proved the sturdy design. With the weather finally warming enough to get mortar to set, the rest of the build had blazed along, and the fortress was perfectly finished now.

Even the Mongs must have realized they wouldn’t do any good beating their heads against these stone walls, as the attacks had stopped completely some two months ago. All had been quiet and everyone was thankful.

The student exchange program was well underway, too, and going very well. The dry run with the Scovian engineers had proven to be smart, as they’d worked out the kinks before the bulk of the students arrived. Noe felt like it was all in good hands and would only produce exceptional people and good relations between countries in the future.

The only thing marring Noe’s day was that Giric had left the day before for home. Noe might call his friend in to help build his new home, but Giric had plans of his own, and Noe couldn’t monopolize him all the time. It was a soft pang to his heart, but they’d stay in touch, as they’d promised.

Right now Noe stood on the docks, watching as Luca said a formal goodbye to the mayor of the city. The man was nearly in tears, he was so glad the fortress was up, guards stationed, and his city was at least well prepared for an attack if the Mongs tried again. Which they might, but their crazy ship building had died down considerably. Captain Meier had mentioned spotting “fishermen” spying on the fortress a few times, but apparently the Mongs were deterred by the defenses going up. They weren’t ready to attack something so well fortified.

Frankly, Noe prayed it stayed that way. He did not want his husband heading back to Shiirei for another war. For that matter, Luca didn’t want to return. They had quite enough work on their hands as it was.

Ewan sidled up next to him and leaned in a little. “Ye look tired already, and the journey not even be properly started.”

Noe grunted in acknowledgment. “The only reason why I’m not crying on the outside is that at least the foundation will be built by the time we get there. As it is, we’ve got two—three if we’re lucky—months to get temporary structures built before winter hits.”

“It was smart of ye to leave Nathan and Lady El there.”

“It was stupid to do anything else.”

Four months prior, when only the finishing touches had been left on the fortress and Noe’s expertise wasn’t needed, he’d taken a trip to his new home of Rannoch. It had been very much as Luca described it—a desolate grassland that was rocky soil and open road and not much else. It had a stark beauty to it, especially in the evenings as the sunset swept over the land, but still—not much there.

He’d taken Elsbet and Nathan with him for two reasons. One, they were engaged, and trying to separate the two for more than a few hours was akin to pulling limbs apart. Two, he’d needed Elsbet to help translate for the two of them, as his Bhodhsan wasn’t quite up to speed just yet. But the main reason was to leave them there to start the work. He’d submitted a plan for the fortress already to his new king and gotten it signed off on, which meant they had all the funds necessary to build the place. Nathan and Elsbet were both trained and certified architects at this point, and he’d immediately put them to work.

Noe had only gone with them to collect the funds (only he and Luca could), double-check his plans against the land just in case the survey was a little off, and give the right orders to get everyone started. Plus allocate where the defensive wall would be built, and the fields, and all that. Not that he was a farmer, but he had people coming in with him who were good at it, and he trusted what they told him.

Anyway, when he’d left, they were already hard at work digging out the foundation, so it was hopefully done and the framing up for the main structure. Noe had designed the fortress so they could build one section at a time, finish it out, then move on to the next. That way they had somewhere comfortable to live even as they worked on the rest. Luck be with them, he and Luca would be able to live on the top floor, El and Nathan on the second, with the kitchens and main living areas on the ground floor. Before winter hit, that was.

Ewan grunted and said, “Himself has finally won free. Let’s board.”

Noe waited until Luca caught up with him before going up the gangplank. “What did he say?”

“Just that we’d always be welcome here, how happy he was to see me again, that sort of thing. I think he’s a little sad to see all of us go.”

“Well, that’s understandable. We made a lot of friends while we were here.”

“True, but we really need to get home. There’s too much to do.”

“Trust me, I know.”

The second they were on board, the ropes were cast off and they started to make way. Noe found an out-of-the-way place to stand on the deck so he could watch Mizuno Harbor slowly become smaller. It was a bittersweet feeling, leaving it. So much had happened here. He’d fallen in love here. Gotten married. Gained family of choice in Ren, Arman, Sakura, El, and Nathan. Not to mention made new friends with the people he was now lord over. Hell, he’d become an aristocrat here.

So very much had happened here, and he’d always cherish this place because of it.

An arm slipped around his shoulders and he glanced up to see Luca looking down at him with some concern.

“I’m all right,” Noe promised him. “It’s just a bittersweet feeling, leaving. It’s only because of this place that I met you.”

“Ah, true. I feel the same way toward it. So long as it’s not regret leaving it at all.”

Noe snorted because he knew precisely why Luca said that. “No, despite the mountain of work awaiting us. It’s not even just us going to Rannoch. We have to buy all those supplies on the way in. And hire wagons and drivers to manage the transport. That’ll take days.”

“At least.”

Because nothing was established at Rannoch, there was no food source until you went into the next town, which was a two-day trip. They couldn’t do that kind of travel in winter. Well, you could, if you were willing to get stuck and risk life and limb. Noe wasn’t, thanks for asking.

Which meant they had to buy the majority of their food storage, building supplies, and medicinal herbs as they traveled to Rannoch. It would be expensive as hell, but Noe and Luca had factored it into their budget. Noe had tacked on an extra twenty percent contigency fund, just in case. He trusted nothing when it came to building. Things always went wrong at some point in the project.

“It’ll be fine. We’ve had plenty of practice on this fortress, so we know better what we’re doing.”

Noe had to agree with his husband there. The experience would come in handy. “Plus Brahms Fortress has already promised help if we need it.”

“We’ll likely need it at some point.”

Ren had been kind and written home to explain what they were doing. His father-in-law had written Luca personally, promising help if he needed a hand. Friends within range bolstered Noe’s nerves.

Still, he trusted the people going home with him, too. They were veterans after all of this, having done it right alongside him.

Luca mused, “You really think it’ll take three years to build the fortress and walls?”

“That’s the bare minimum of what it’ll take. We have to quarry all that stone, remember.”

“Eh, but we have a large workforce.”

“You mean we stole most of your parents’ workforce.”

“Yes, that.” Luca’s grin turned a bit evil. “I wonder if they’re still throwing a fit about it.”

“I’m sure they are.”

Luca’s certainty about his parents not trying a scare tactic had unfortunately proved correct. They hadn’t tried to withdraw his disinheritance—or even tried contacting him—after that. After Hamish had come back with the king’s ofifcial order, he’d updated them. Apparently, on his way back to Shiirei, Hamish had also delivered the news to the parents before resigning his place among their people and announcing he’d be joining the new Duke of Rannoch. Luca’s mother had dropped into a dead faint and not come out of her room since. His father had screamed, thrown things, and had a full-blown tantrum. Hamish had said it was a miracle the man hadn’t given himself a heart attack with the way he’d been carrying on. But neither had backed down or tried to make amends, either.

Noe said good riddance to people like them. He didn’t want their negative influence in his life, or Luca’s, and especially not in their future children’s lives.

The mass exodus of their people from their territory was icing on the figurative cake. Hamish had told everyone about Rannoch while he’d packed up and word had spread very quickly. No one had moved immediately—after all, there was nowhere to move to—but the second they had walls up, people would. They’d already promised as much. As bad as Luca’s parents had been in the past, since their son had been promoted above them, they’d become worse. Much worse. No one wanted to stay and weather their bad tempers any longer.

Was it wrong of Noe to celebrate taking people away from such horrible human beings? Even if it was, he wasn’t too bothered by it.

Anyway. He still had three years of building to do before he could even think of adopting children. He wasn’t about to take anyone in when their defenses were full of holes.

“We’ll need to build greenhouses too,” Luca mused. “Plus homes for everyone else, and barns, and…Ye gods, I can see why you say three years. Even with everyone working nonstop, it’s a lot of work.”

“And your long winters are not going to help the situation.”

Luca side-eyed him. “They’ll be your winters too from now on.”

“Don’t fucking remind me,” Noe groused, then sighed. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.”

“My cuteness will help you through the winter, eh?”

“That and that fine ass of yours. We’ll not have a lot to do while stuck indoors, after all. If we build the storage warehouse first, we can work indoors, at least. That’ll help things along. We can get a lot prepped and stored so that when the snow melts, we can get right back to building.”

“It will speed the matter along, for sure. Well, we have a week’s break as we travel home, so best make the most of it, my love. We won’t have another until winter hits.”

“There’s truth.”

Noe lifted his face a little, breathing in the smell of brine and sea air, as this, too, was something he’d not experience much of after he reached Bhodhsan soil.

The practical part of him bemoaned the amount of work, but the engineer in him was excited. Something new to build awaited him. Something he could build precisely how he wished, with only Luca to answer to.

And honestly, it sounded like grand fun.