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Caelan shrugged. “Rayne is probably worried about his contact and whether Caspagir has some elaborate scheme to kidnap me and sell me to New Rosanthe.”
“And Eno?”
He smirked. “Eno is probably happy to have us out of his hair for a few hours.”
Drayce chuckled, bumping his shoulder into Caelan. “Yeah, because we’re not tired of him and his early morning calisthenics.”
“Or his snoring.”
Drayce groaned and then laughed harder. “Yeah! We are definitely not swapping rooms. You can’t stick me with Eno.”
“That’s a hard choice. Eno’s snoring or your kicking.”
A wide grin spread across Drayce’s lips and waggled his eyebrows. “You could always sleep on the floor. Then you don’t have to deal with my kicking or Eno’s snoring.”
“Nah. I think I’ll just start kicking back.”
They laughed their way down the street, and for a moment, Caelan felt as if he were home again. No, Sirelis wasn’t anything like Stormbreak, and even the clothes people wore were different, but he was with his best friend in the world, and they were giggling like lunatics. Drayce could always make him laugh, and right now he needed that. He just wanted to forget who he was for a while.
But even if he couldn’t forget, at least he got to be alone with Drayce for a few hours. Things had been so insane recently, he hadn’t had the chance to simply enjoy the man’s company. It was strange to miss his crazy stories and outrageous demeanor when they’d been together nonstop for the past week. He was glad to have even a small taste of normalcy with Drayce.
“So, now that we’re free of the fun police, what did you have in mind?” Drayce asked.
“What makes you think that I wanted to do more than wander around the city?” He was trying for nonchalance, but there was no point. Drayce could always see right through him. No one knew him as well as Drayce.
“Because you’ve always got something in mind. Cael doesn’t just have fun. He always has a plan.”
Caelan snorted. He didn’t always have a plan. Sometimes it was just an idea. But yeah, he did have something in mind, and this was so very big. He hesitated, trying to figure out how best to explain it. Drayce wasn’t going to react well.
“There’s something in the air here,” Caelan whispered.
Drayce looked at him and inhaled deeply before leaning close again. “I don’t smell anything weird.”
There was no stopping his smile. Thank the gods Drayce had come on this journey with him. “Not what I meant at all.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“I’m not sure. It just…there’s like a faint tingle in the air.”
Drayce’s eyes went wide. “Like magic?”
Caelan hit his arm. “Keep your voice down.”
“Oh yeah, ’cause that doesn’t seem suspicious at all. Two guys, clearly from out of town, whispering and being all secretive. The police have already pegged us as spies.” Caelan opened his mouth to argue that they didn’t look like spies at all, but Drayce was already talking again. “Do you know what would make us appear normal? Beer!”
“It’s like ten in the morning. If we walk into a pub or a bar now, all we’re going to look like are alcoholics.”
Drayce stopped walking and his face scrunched up. “Okay. That’s a good point.”
Caelan stood beside him, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. They’d wandered a few blocks from the hotel and were in a major shopping area. Even the street was closed off to all but pedestrians. Quaint shops with fancy colorful signs and extravagant displays offered clothing, soaps, handmade jewelry, and furniture. Everything about the place was cheerful and lively.
Well, everything except for the people.
The shoppers were all quiet and somber. Their heads were down, and they hurried about their business. The few people who were talking did so in hushed tones as if they were afraid of being overheard. While Caelan hadn’t been to Sirelis before, he had to admit that this was not what he’d expected.
He’d known a few people who traveled to Caspagir on vacations. The country was famous for its skiing resorts, and everyone always returned talking about how welcoming and happy the people of Caspagir were.
These people did not look happy. Rather than being surrounded by colorful buildings and cheerful flowers, Caelan felt as if the world should be washed in shades of gray.
He needed to talk to Rayne. His advisor had at least lived here for a while. Rayne would know what normal behavior should be. At the very least, he needed some warning prior to leaving for his meeting with this contact of his.
Which was another nerve-wracking problem.
Why wouldn’t Rayne tell them the name of his contact? Of course, he’d always known that Rayne had his secret “sources” for information, and they’d always helped him in the past. He never felt the need to push Rayne over it.
