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Shey chuckled. “It must have come as an even bigger shock when you discovered who he is dating now.”
Unfortunately, Caelan had been in the middle of taking a sip of his wine. He gasped, inhaling a swallow. He leaned all the way forward, choking and coughing on the wine. Shey placed his glass on the small table between them, patting Caelan firmly on the back.
“I’m so sorry. Are you all right?”
“Fine. I’m fine,” Caelan wheezed, trying to clear his throat. He wiped the tears from his eyes and took a tiny sip of wine. “But what you were saying? Rayne is seeing someone now?”
The prince winced. “You didn’t know?”
“No! I had no idea. Getting Rayne to talk about his personal life can be like trying to pull secrets from the gods.” Caelan made a noise. “No, it’s easier to get dead gods to talk.”
Caelan slouched in his seat and stared out at the city without actually seeing it. Rayne was dating someone? How? When? It felt as if Rayne spent his every waking moment in Caelan’s presence. When would he possibly have a chance to see anyone socially?
The only people he ever saw Rayne with were himself, Drayce, and Eno. Rayne and Drayce? No. Absolutely not. Well, maybe. Drayce did listen to Rayne a lot better than he did to Eno. And Drayce was pretty good at getting Rayne to laugh when no one else could.
But if Drayce and Rayne were involved, then that moment when they were in the jail cell wasn’t what he thought it was.
On the other hand, if Rayne wasn’t with Drayce, did that mean he was dating Eno? Nope. Not a chance. They were total opposites. It had to be someone Caelan wasn’t thinking of.
“Who?” Caelan inquired, his voice still rough from nearly choking on the wine.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty—”
“Just Caelan, please.”
“Caelan,” Shey agreed with a small nod. “I don’t want to betray Rayne’s privacy. I discovered the truth quite by accident.”
Caelan let him off with a wave. He was right. Part of him might be dying to know who had captured Rayne’s eye simply because he couldn’t imagine Rayne interested in anyone. “I appreciate your respect for Rayne’s privacy. I hope he confides in me because I’m curious, but he deserves to have some privacy.”
Shey smirked. “It’s not like we can expect much,” he muttered with a wave toward the rest of Sirelis.
“Very true.”
“And as a side note, if our mothers had arranged for our marriage, I would count myself very lucky.” Shey tipped his glass at him and Caelan could feel his cheeks heat. Shey Thrudesh-Vo was a very handsome man who’d played a part in some of Caelan’s fantasies for a time, but he just wasn’t Caelan’s type. The compliment was nice all the same.
“I appreciate that, but I’m sure that Rayne has explained that I’m not the greatest catch. Moody, slow to get moving in the morning, and I’m a king without a kingdom.”
Caelan’s cheerfulness fell away, and he stared out at the city. Sirelis was beautiful, but it wasn’t his home. He needed to return home, claim what was his, and help his people.
“I’ve spoken with Queen Noemi. Caspagir will give any help that we can to rid Erya of the Empire and reclaim the Godstone. We’ve begun preparing a fleet to send across the sea toward Erya. Our admirals are pulling together proposals for attack.”
Shey’s words should have been comforting, given him some hope, but an attack by Caspagir’s navy wasn’t enough. Not if the Empire had a weapon strong enough to destroy his mother and claim the Godstone.
“Forgive me, but did you not know that Sirelis was the home of a godstone until Queen Noemi told you?”
Shey picked up his wineglass and drank half the contents before placing it on the table again. “I did not, and there is a part of me that wishes that she never told me.”
His words felt like a slap to the face. Caelan couldn’t believe Shey felt that way. “Really? I don’t understand.”
Shey looked over at him, his eyes narrowed and head tilted slightly to the side as if he were truly seeing Caelan for the first time. “Maybe you wouldn’t. You’ve grown up knowing a godstone lay just outside your door. All that power sitting there. What kind of risk is that to all your people? And it has made Erya a target for centuries.” Shey stared at his empty hands between his legs and shook his head. “I don’t want to bring that kind of danger to my people. What if the Empire knows that our godstone exists?”
“Then you use it to protect your people. You use it to make their lives better.”
Shoving to his feet, Shey paced over to the stone railing at the edge of the balcony and stared at his kingdom, arms folded over his chest. Caelan studied him in the waning light. Even when he was relaxed, his posture was straight and unyielding. His frown brought out little lines of worry about his mouth and eyes. Everything about him screamed soldier while Caelan had largely spent his existence as a diplomat. The difference between them felt so very stark.
