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“What’s the problem?” Eno demanded when he returned Rayne’s call the second they were out of the SUV. He grunted at whatever Rayne said and switched his phone over to Speaker.
“We have a new problem,” Rayne announced, his voice dark and a little unsteady. “The Lord High Commander of the New Rosanthe navy has been in contact with Queen Noemi. The Empire is demanding that Prince Caelan Talos be handed over to their custody in the next five hours. If he is not handed over by the deadline, Sirelis will be leveled.”
“They don’t want the stone?” Caelan demanded.
“There has been no mention of it,” Rayne replied.
“How the fuck did the Empire even discover he was here?” Eno snarled. He started to pace away with the phone tightly clenched in his fist, but Caelan grabbed his arm, holding him in place so he could hear Rayne’s response.
“We don’t know.” Rayne sighed heavily. “Shey is livid, but he is the first to admit that there are Empire spies running around the city. We haven’t been as cautious as we should have been about disguising Cael.”
“What do we do?” Eno asked.
“Queen Noemi has already replied to the Lord High Commander. She has not only denied that you are here, but she has also stated that even if you were in Sirelis, there is no way in hell she would ever hand you over after the Empire’s heinous attack on Erya.”
Caelan cursed softly and spun around to pace. He needed to think. This was spiraling out of control. He couldn’t let Noemi place the city or kingdom in danger to protect him. They needed to act.
And that meant using the power of the God of Storms that he’d been gifted.
Spinning back toward the phone, he leaned close. “Where are you and Drayce?”
“We’re heading toward the harbor now.”
“Shey with you?”
“No. He’s still in the palace, organizing their defenses. He said that he’d be meeting us at the harbor later.”
“We’re going to the harbor now. I want you to find a meeting place for us to plan. Away from the Caspagir forces. We need to make our own plans. I’m not letting Noemi put her kingdom in danger for me.”
“Keeping you out of Empire hands protects all of Thia, Caelan,” Rayne growled. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Caelan glanced up at Eno and found an answering smirk.
“Crazy probably, but never stupid,” Eno said.
“Get moving. Call or text your final location.”
Eno ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. “This is going to get stupid, isn’t it?”
“I really hope not, but we’ve got to stop the Empire. Sirelis is in danger, thanks to us.” Caelan shook his head. “These people aren’t going to die for us.”
“If anyone dies, it’s because the Empire is full of fucking assholes. Not you.”
Caelan tried to find some comfort in Eno’s words, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he held the safety of all the people of Sirelis in his hands. He needed to do something about the Empire.
But in the end, he knew it wasn’t just for the sake of Caspagir. He also wanted to strike at them for all the people who died in Stormbreak. He wanted to rip the Empire to shreds for the death of his mother. She had welcomed an envoy from the Empire for peaceful talks. They’d used that as a way to gain entrance and kill her. He was not going to let that go unpunished.
“Let’s head toward the harbor and see if we can find a good vantage point from which to view the layout of the potential battle ahead of us.”
Eno glanced up at the sky and frowned. The sun was sinking below the horizon fast, casting the city in long, deep shadows. “I doubt we’re going to be able to see much. The Empire is obviously waiting for full dark before it strikes.”
Caelan took the lead, jogging only a few steps ahead of Eno. The streets were emptier now than they had been. He wasn’t sure how long it had taken them to reach the Godstone, speak with Kaes, and then organize things with the demolitions team, but it had been enough to get people largely out of their way. A few shops here and there had been boarded up, but for the most part, places were closed and windows were pitch-black. It was a good bet that people had either left the city entirely or retreated to the southern half of the city, which was farthest from the harbor and the Empire’s looming threat.
“Do you think the Empire will limit the attack ships it’s bringing against Caspagir?” Caelan tossed over his shoulder after they’d gotten a few blocks.
“No, I—” Eno’s response was broken off when a man dressed entirely in black jumped out of the thicker shadows of a nearby alley with a wicked blade in hand.
