Basileus stood at the front of his ship, arms crossed, as he watched the dark expanse of space pass by through the window. Theron, the Basilian who had tried to pursue Varya in the garden previously, was piloting the spacecraft. They had two weeks' worth of travel behind them, and the assigned sector of the Ptoman Empire was approaching quickly.
The prince couldn't deny that Theron was one of the best pilots of the imperial army, and he had to be loyal to Basilian blood, having so few of his people left. When he requested Theron's presence on the trip, the warrior was apologetic, but Prince Basileus put it behind him. He blamed himself entirely for being the reason he hadn't seen what Varya meant to him much earlier.
Deciding to leave the past as it was, he told Theron to join him on his new assignment, promising him a higher position for his loyalty. With the higher position came more money and more influence so the warrior readily accepted the offer.
