Treasure by Megan Derr

without another word.
    "I actually believed you when you said you wanted him as a secretary," Kin said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "You want him less for his secretarial abilities, I think, and more to see what he can do in bed."
    Raiden chuckled. "He's beautiful, I admit it, but as I will shortly be his boss, he will want nothing to do with me. Still, I will admire the view the entire journey."
    "I already wish the journey was over," Kin groused. "Dawn! Why dawn, and at that storming temple. Royalty! Watch him show up late and then be completely useless. I am going to get some rest while I can, since obviously I will not be getting much of that once we set sail. I will see you shortly before dawn, Raiden. Try to stay out of further trouble until then."
    "Sleep well. I will try, but I cannot, in good conscience, make any promises."
    Kin snorted. "You don't have a good conscience anyway." Then he was gone, leaving Raiden alone in his office, anticipating all that could and would happen over the course of the next three months.

Chapter Five: No Going Back
    Taka wanted badly to go back to bed. "Why did you have to arrange this damnable meeting for dawn?"
    "Because once the morning bells ring, the palace will be bustling with the departure of Prince Culebra and Lord Krasny. I will not be able to get free tonight, either, not when there is a supper in my name and too many people will be paying me too much attention. I cannot begin to tell you, Taka, how grateful I am that I am travelling on the Kumiko and not on one of the royal vessels."
    "I do wish you would tell me where we are going and what we are doing," Taka complained, even though he knew it was futile. "All this mystery is not helping anything."
    Kyo only shrugged and sipped at the tea they had brought along, sitting at the low table with morning sunlight spilling across the open space. The temple was made of cream-colored marble, rough in some places, smooth in others, evidence of all the centuries it had endured. It was open on all four sides, with only columns to support the roof and a prayer room that overlooked the sea far below.
    Dressed in dark blue, his white sash decorated only with abstract swirls in various shades of blue, Kyo might have been a high-ranking priest. As a royal prince, he was, by default, a priest as well, but he was the only one in the royal family who practiced the priesthood in any capacity. Even his hair was unadorned, thought that was mostly because there had been no time to decorate it.
    Taka yawned and drank more tea and hoped Raiden and his captain showed soon. He had no idea how he was going to stay awake all day; one of the few luxurious of being a royal secretary was that he did not have to rise at dawn like most servants. He kept Kyo's hours, and while Kyo himself did get up far earlier than any noble or royal, his office hours did not start until late morning and so Taka was permitted to sleep in a bit. "I still think you could have picked a time a bit later than dawn, and at the very least you could have the decency not to look so storms-forsaken awake."
    Kyo laughed. "Do not be petulant, Taka. I—" He broke off, and a look Taka had never seen before flitted ever so briefly across Kyo's face. It made his gut twist, that look:  longing and pain and resignation. Taka turned to see who he was looking at, but saw only that their guests had arrived.
    Raiden was flamboyant as ever, and like Kyo, he looked entirely too awake for the hour. They all did, which just made Taka want to hit them. Raiden wore a pale green robe with accents of yellow and dark blue and a sash of yellow with all colors of fish embroidered on it. He was a gaudy eyesore, but the most annoying part was that he carried the look off, right down to the scarf over the top of his head that matched the ridiculous sash. He also had three earrings in each ear:  gold hoops at the very bottom, then jeweled studs in the remaining holes.
    The man beside him was bold