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When he crawled out of their tent—placed right next to Fergal’s own—Gregor sat in front of the tents, tending to a fire that radiated plenty of heat.
“Morning,” he said. “Coffee?”
“You’re speaking my language.”
Gregor poured Rhene a generous cup of coffee from a thermos and handed it to Rhene. “There you go.”
“Thank you.” Judging by the steam drifting up, it would be way too hot for him to drink, so Rhene curled his hands around it and sat on a chair next to Gregor.
“All meetings have been canceled for this morning,” Gregor said.
“By whom? I thought you guys were in charge.”
“We are, but I’m sure you’ve discovered by now that many powers are at work here, all vying for the top. The Murphys called it off, claiming King Ennis was unwell.”
“That’s a convenient excuse, though, in all fairness, the guy looks like he could keel over any moment.”
“He does.” Gregor sipped his coffee. “He’s aged considerably since the last time I saw him.”
“Well, that’s to be expected, no? I mean, you’ve been gone a while now.”
“I have, but I saw him four years ago. A man does not age that much in four years, especially not a dragon.”
Unease danced down Rhene’s spine. “What are you insinuating?”
“Nothing. At least, nothing for now. Merely making an observation.”
Rhene nodded slowly. “Observation noted. So there won’t be any meetings this morning? That’s guaranteed?”
“Yes. The first meeting is at one.”
“Good. That means Erwan can sleep in. Is Fergal up yet?”
Gregor snorted. “Are you kidding me? He won’t be up until noon, is my guess. Not if he doesn’t have to be.”
“So what are we supposed to do until then?”
“I’m not going anywhere. Fergal wasn’t joking when he said I don’t let him out of my sight.”
Rhene couldn’t resist. “Ah, okay. So that’s why you’re sleeping right next to him.”
Gregor let out a long-suffering sigh. “We both know that’s not the reason, but that’s all I will say. It’s complicated. Very, very complicated.”
“Say no more. You’re talking to a guy who fell for a dragon king when he didn’t even know dragons existed. Trust me, I’m intimately familiar with complicated.”
“Yeah, you would be. Anyway, I’m staying right here, keeping an eye on Fergal and your mate. Trust me when I say nothing will happen to him, not while he’s under our protection. So if you want, you can take a stroll around the camp. Maybe put your ear to the ground here and there and see what you can find out. When you showed up yesterday, we’d only just arrived ourselves, so we haven’t had a chance to explore either.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. Even though Rhene stood out like a sore thumb as the only wolf, he might still pick up some information that could come in handy. “Any idea where I can find some breakfast?”
Gregor grinned. “There’s a breakfast tent where you can order whatever you want.”
They chatted until Rhene had finished his coffee, and then he followed Gregor’s directions and found said breakfast tent with ease. It was quiet, only a few dragons occupying one picnic table, and after getting a bacon-egg-and-cheese muffin from an omega who looked terrified to be near him, Rhene sat right next to the men, ignoring their stares.
“Good morning,” he said as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m Rhene.”
One of the men made a strange sound, then chuckled. “We know. Trust me, we all know who you are.”
“Oh, good. That means I don’t have to introduce myself. You have me at a disadvantage, though, because I have no idea who you are.”
