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“Good ribs,” Eno replied with a happy hum.
“And cheap beer. Rayne wasn’t happy, though.”
The warrior beside him snorted. “Not to find Cael there, no. The Pink Pig was also a known illegal gambling den.”
“Not that known. I hadn’t heard that. We were just there for the food.”
“Yeah, but I knew and let you and Cael talk me into it. That’s why Rayne was so pissed when he showed up. Not the kind of place Cael could afford to be spotted in.”
Drayce shrugged. They’d had a damn good time that night. Snagging a booth near the rear of the place, they’d eaten until they nearly exploded and finished with a nice buzz from the beer. Even Rayne had relaxed a bit and remarked on how good the food was once he’d stopped worrying about a police raid or the media discovering Caelan there.
“But as I was saying…are you sure?”
“Yeah, of course. Why?” Eno stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to change in their favor to safely cross. It gave Drayce a chance to catch his breath and stop chasing after the freaking gorilla.
“Because we’re getting damn close to the harbor.” Drayce dropped his voice to a harsh whisper, praying that no one was listening to him.
“So?”
Drayce’s mouth fell open and he just sort of stared at Eno. The man knew exactly where he and Caelan had been grabbed and labeled as spies. Was Eno that dense?
Eno’s serious expression broke first, and the bastard laughed. Drayce punched him in the shoulder but only ended up hurting his knuckles. Clearly, Eno was made of stone or steel.
“Asshole!” Drayce snarled, still keeping his voice low. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get labeled as a freaking spy again. Once was more than enough.”
“Couldn’t have been that bad. Rayne said you and Cael were cuddled up together, sharing secrets.”
Drayce ignored Eno’s playful tone and worried more about the flutter in his heart at the memory. Yeah, he had been terrified when they were locked up in that cell together. Their phones taken away. No one to call to verify their identity and then there was the question of whether to admit to their true identities. Would that have gotten them killed faster if Caspagir was aligned with New Rosanthe?
But for a short time, that fear had slipped away and Drayce had only been aware of Caelan leaning on him. When he’d turned and fallen against Drayce, his heart had stopped. His chest had felt permanently scorched where Caelan’s hand had burned through his shirt. It was the best kind of torturous heaven.
And once again, he’d found himself wanting to pull Caelan in closer, pressing their lips together. He wanted to know what it felt like to kiss his best friend. He needed to hear Caelan’s breath catch, to taste his mouth, to know that Caelan wanted him back.
Insane. All those thoughts were insane. Wrong and insane. Stupid, too.
Caelan was his best friend in the world. Caelan was the prince—no! King of Erya. At least, Caelan would be king after he completed the official ascension ceremony in Stormbreak. He had much bigger worries on his mind than his weird friend who was starting to think about him in ways that had nothing to do with friendship.
“We’ll be fine,” Eno said confidently. It helped to settle some of his twisting nerves, but not all of them. He was also worried about Caelan’s meeting with Queen Noemi Thrudesh-Vo. Everything seemed civil and supportive right now, but Drayce had no illusions on how quickly that shit could fall apart.
Eno slowed his steps at the next corner and gave a little sigh. “There.”
Drayce gazed up at the street sign that read Hope Pass. Yeah, it looked like hope had passed this place a long time ago. The sidewalk was broken, and weeds filled in the cracks. Most of the buildings were dark, and the shades were pulled over all the windows of the houses. Few people were out, and they kept their heads down. No one wanted to meet his eye. No one wanted to be noticed, which was fine with him, because it was best if he and Eno weren’t noticed either.
“Follow my lead in there, and lower your voice,” Eno instructed, his tone already dropping to a low rumble.
“Gotcha. You want me to hang back? Cover you?”
Eno shook his head. “No. We can be cautious, but I don’t want to hide your presence from them. Don’t mention Cael first. Let me feel them out.”
Drayce nodded. He understood that one with no problem. He was not going to be the idiot giving away Caelan’s secret, even if they were members of the royal guard.
Eno stopped in front of a building with darkened windows and an old-fashioned wooden sign hanging over the door. “This is the place,” he murmured as he reached for the door.
