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He glanced over at Rayne, his heart pounding in his chest, fearful of what he would see on his lover’s face. Rayne looked conflicted.
“I see where they are coming from in terms of dedicating themselves to their art and work, but…” Rayne paused and shook his head. “I can only draw from my own experiences. I learned a lot from my father over the years—good and bad. I also don’t see the time I spent helping to raise Zephyr as time wasted.”
Drayce clicked his tongue and placed both hands behind his head as he strolled down the street ahead of them. “Insane. Clan is your family. You learn a lot and dedicate yourself to learning the skills of your clan, but it’s also about family. Even if you’re sent to another clan, you still get to see your blood family on holidays and visits.”
An unexpected bit of joy bubbled up in Eno’s chest to hear Drayce so casually talking about the place where he’d grown up. After years of getting vague nonanswers from Drayce about his family, it was interesting to receive real details. The difference in his tone and manner was also striking. There was pride and confidence that he’d never heard from Drayce. It was like watching a missing piece of the man fall into place. Just a shame that Caelan wasn’t there to see it as well.
Rayne shook his head, a strange smile lifting one corner of his mouth. “I was initially invited to study in Brightspire for a couple of years. I almost took it, but a spot unexpectedly opened up for study in Sirelis, so I chose that instead. Travel and study in Caspagir represented a unique opportunity. I thought it would make me more valuable to the crown as compared to Ilon since it’s our open ally.”
Eno stopped walking and jerked Rayne into a hard embrace, squeezing him so tight that Rayne squeaked.
“What the—” Rayne started, his voice muffled against his shoulder.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be grateful for the time you spent in Sirelis or even for the time you dated Shey,” Eno grumbled. If Rayne had studied in Brightspire and been influenced by all these crazy ideas of not dating so he could better study his craft, would they have even had a chance?
Rayne must have followed his train of thought because he hugged him back, chuckling softly. “Even if Brightspire had brainwashed me, I don’t think I would have been able to resist you.”
This discussion wasn’t over, but Eno at least felt a bit better that Rayne didn’t have any lingering doubts about them. With a final squeeze, he released Rayne and turned to find Drayce grinning like a lunatic at them both.
“Oh yeah, you two wouldn’t last a month in Brightspire,” he taunted.
“And you would?”
Drayce snorted. “Not even five minutes.”
They continued through the Bazaar District, comparing and contrasting the different cultures they’d encountered on their travels so far. Eno had never really expected to see so much of Thia in his lifetime. Traditionally, the ruler of Erya didn’t travel all that far from Stormbreak Point. Queen Amara had always chosen to remain close to the Godstone, preferring to let dignitaries and diplomats be her voice in the various capitals of the world. Eno had always assumed that Caelan would be the same after he bonded with the Goddess of Life.
Of course, it had never crossed his mind that they’d be sent to remote locations by the gods on a quest to save Thia. In less than a year, they’d traveled through the Ordas, to Caspagir, Zastrad, the Isle of Stone, and now Ilon. The only significant one missing from that list was New Rosanthe, and that dark shadow lay just at the edge of the horizon. Assuming they could stop the Goddess of the Hunt from breaking free, what would happen next? Did they take the fight straight to New Rosanthe? Would Emperor Naram Suen automatically retreat within New Rosanthe’s borders defeated and broken?
Did any of the countries dare to leave Emperor Suen on the throne so that he could try this all over again?
Eno shook his head. This was why he was glad to be a simple soldier. He didn’t want to be the one responsible for making these decisions. Of course, he was now dating the man who would have a large hand in guiding those future decisions. He might not be able to help Rayne, but he could be there for him as he waded through that morass of weighty information and complicated emotions.
A couple of blocks over from the main Bazaar, they located an inn called the Tranquil Vista Inn, which seemed to be a bit of a stretch. The street it was on was anything but tranquil and there was no vista to be found—only a narrow avenue of tall, closely set buildings and many, many cars.
The exterior was somewhat shabby with faded blue trim and dull brass door handles, but the front steps were swept clean of any trash. It was the right kind of place to be anonymous within the city. Now they just had to pray the place had at least one vacancy.
Drayce led the way up the short three stairs and was reaching for the door handle when a gruff voice barked out an order.
“Hey, there! Halt!”
A chill ran along Eno’s spine, and it was hard not to let his hand inch closer to the blade concealed at his side. The man hadn’t said “Stop!” No, it was “Halt!” Like that of a Royal Guard or…
He slowly pivoted on the balls of his feet, his hands open and out to his sides. His eyes slid across four soldiers in Ilon uniforms. Weapons weren’t drawn yet, but two of the four had their hands resting on the butts of their sidearms, waiting for an excuse to pull them free.
With his hands raised to shoulder level and an easy smile, Rayne took one step forward so that he was in the front. “Good evening, officers. Is there any way that we can help you?”
“Papers,” one of the soldiers snapped.
Rayne’s eyebrows jumped up and he allowed a look of open confusion to fill his face. “I’m sorry. We’ve just come into town to purchase some supplies. We haven’t even gotten lodging for the night yet. We were unaware that papers were required to enter Brightspire.”
“All non-Ilon citizens need permission to travel into and around Brightspire,” the officer growled.
“Isn’t that amazing?” Rayne turned his gaze to Eno, eyes ridiculously wide as he kept up his act of innocence. “Did you know about this new rule?”
“First I’ve heard of it,” Eno mumbled.
“News to me,” Drayce called out from where he was still standing on the stairs.
