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Technically, Drayce was never part of the royal guard. He didn’t actually answer to Tomas.
But when he and Caelan were spending nearly every day together after their first year of friendship, Eno and Tomas had secretly pulled him aside. The talk had been brutal, but they’d laid it out in very plain terms. If Drayce wanted to remain close friends with Caelan, he needed to finish a series of secret and intense training courses. Being Caelan’s friend came with serious responsibilities, and the first was to always keep Caelan safe, even if Eno was right there with them. As the one most likely standing closest to Caelan, Drayce would serve as Caelan’s final line of defense.
While it had never been explicitly stated, Drayce was sure that if he’d not completed his training to Tomas’s liking, he would have been quietly separated from Caelan and they would have never seen each other again. An ugly thought, but he wouldn’t have been able to fault Tomas for it.
Eno reached around Drayce and shook Tomas’s hand like they were old friends. The warrior smiled broadly at him, while Tomas managed a semi-friendly-looking smirk that didn’t quite reach his gray eyes.
“We just ordered breakfast and coffee,” Tomas said, motioning for them to slide into the booth with them.
Melita moved to scoot into the booth beside Tomas while Drayce slid inside after a poke from Eno to wake him from his locked thoughts. Which, of course, put him directly opposite Tomas. Caelan would definitely have been laughing at him, but then Caelan had never worried about their friendship ending because Drayce didn’t know enough ways to keep him safe. One dark look from Tomas had made that abundantly clear.
Drayce snagged the menus and slid one over to Eno. A Bloody Mary would have been welcome, but not with Tomas sitting across from him. Coffee probably would have been a bad idea too. He was already wired. Juice. And a burrito. Maybe some potatoes. Oooh…and they had fresh strawberries and cream. Maybe that was real strawberries he smelled.
“I’m not carrying you out of here,” Eno said with a smirk.
“How did you know I want everything?” Drayce asked, glancing over at Eno.
But it was Melita’s throaty chuckle that drew his gaze across the table. “Because you’ve been humming to yourself and bouncing in your seat for the past minute.”
“I’m hungry,” Drayce mumbled.
Eno laughed. “You’re always hungry.”
The barman with the handlebar mustache brought them four coffees in white mugs and then took his and Eno’s orders. Drayce reluctantly limited himself to the burrito and strawberries. The potatoes, while extremely tasty, would have put him in a food coma for the next few hours. He needed to stay sharp.
If Caelan had been there, he could have stolen a few of his potatoes while Cael raided his strawberries. He missed Cael. Well, that was a crazy thought. Drayce nearly sighed at himself. He’d see his friend soon enough, and hopefully he’d have news for him.
Conversation stopped while they waited for the bartender to drop the order off and return to the bar. Over hidden speakers, there was a low chatter from what sounded like a talk news radio station. Drayce wanted to explore, but it wasn’t possible. The booth was taller than his head, and Eno had given him the inside seat. They were also positioned with their backs to the door. Not a settling feeling.
But it was okay. It was Tomas and Melita. They wouldn’t betray the queen and Erya. They couldn’t. His very soul rebelled at the idea. Besides himself, Eno, and Rayne, he couldn’t think of anyone more dedicated to the safety of the royal family.
Still…if that were true, how was Queen Amara dead while they were alive? Shouldn’t they have died fighting to protect her? Not that he wanted either of them dead.
“Is it safe to talk?” Eno murmured.
Tomas grunted. “We’ve been here for the better part of an hour. No one has taken notice of us. How long have you been in Sirelis?”
“Not long,” Eno replied immediately. Tomas’s frown deepened. Yeah, not the most helpful answer.
Tomas turned his threatening gaze on Drayce and Eno chuckled. “Not going to work. He’s not saying anything. You have to talk to me. What happened in the capital?”
Tomas’s glare snapped back to Eno. “How did you come to be in Sirelis?”
Drayce peeked at Melita to see the woman roll her eyes as she lifted her mug of coffee to her lips. She winced at the first sip and Drayce grabbed the sugar container on the table, sliding it closer to her.
“You can not trust each other all you want, but this is Drayce,” Melita said. She snatched up the sugar and poured some into her mug. “He’d die before he betrayed him.”
There was no question who the “him” was. It warmed Drayce to think that she believed in him that much.
