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Rayne immediately shook his head. “The risk of drawing attention to ourselves and him is too great. If he’s safe where he is, leave him. His focus is where it needs to be right now. It will give me the night to consider what information we’ve gathered.”
“But you are going to tell him—”
His head snapped up and he glared at Drayce until the man looked like he was going to sink into the cushions. “Of course I’m going to tell him! My concern is whether he’s going to want to declare Ilon an enemy of Erya right away or try to at least use them as an ally to defeat New Rosanthe first, and then make them pay for their crimes against our people. Right now, our one solid ally is Caspagir. Is that enough to finally defeat Emperor Naram Suen?”
“We’ve got the Isle of Stone too,” Drayce offered up. “You know Omari Nori will instantly rally support for Caelan.”
A small grunt left Rayne, but he made no additional comments. He had not missed the little twitch of Vitor’s eyebrow as he caught Drayce’s mention of the home of the dragons. Few knew the king had traveled to the remote island and he doubted that even Vitor knew what was hidden there. For now, it was best if the spymaster was kept in the dark about those matters.
What Drayce said was right, though. Caelan’s grandfather would happily support Caelan, but did that mean the dragons would support Erya? There was a vast difference between the two, which could have a very large impact on who won this war.
Was it too much to hope that if Caelan defeated Safa and the Goddess of the Hunt, New Rosanthe would retreat within its borders?
“Lord Laurent, if you have no more immediate need of me, I’ll start making some dinner. We can talk more after you’ve had a chance to think,” Vitor announced, pushing smoothly to his feet.
“Yes, thank you.”
As the spymaster disappeared into the kitchen, they settled into their seats. He listened with half an ear as Eno and Davi traded stories of their youth. Davi had grown up in Brightspire, where he was largely trained to work in factories repairing machines. He’d been regarded as a sort of second-class citizen because he was an orphan and hadn’t been given the same schooling opportunities as other children.
Was that what happened to the stolen children who’d arrived in Brightspire? Were they stolen to become a forgotten labor class for the people of Brightspire?
How in the name of the gods was he supposed to convince Caelan to not destroy Brightspire when he learned the truth? Rayne wanted to see much of this beautiful city razed to the ground. But only after they located every child that had been stolen from their home—whether that child was from Erya, Damardor, or even New Rosanthe.
Inwardly he sighed at that idea.
What about those stolen children? Would that adult be happy to know they’d been kidnapped and brought here? What if they loved their life in Ilon? Considered themselves a proud Ilon citizen?
Rayne lifted his eyes to Davi’s animated features as he described some prank he’d played on a childhood friend.
“Davi,” he started suddenly, pulling the man’s startled gaze to him. “How did you feel about learning you were not born in Ilon?”
“Pissed,” the man said with zero hesitation. “I was angry and confused…and maybe a bit relieved. I never felt like I belonged here, and I liked the idea that it wasn’t necessarily my fault. That maybe it was because I wasn’t born here and there was somewhere else that I would fit better.”
Eno wrapped an arm around his shoulders and roughly pulled him close. “That’s because your ass belongs in Stormbreak.”
Davi smiled at his big brother, but it was a little crooked. “Soon.”
“What?” Eno gasped and released him.
“Soon. I promise. I need to stay here in Brightspire and help Vitor and Nina locate the other kids who were taken. We need to gather all the evidence we can to build a case the Ilon government can’t escape.”
Rayne watched a dark storm cloud fall over Eno’s features. “It’s not safe for you here.”
A loud bark of laughter jumped from Davi, and he dropped his head back against the cushion. “Seriously? You’re going to lecture me about safe, Mr. King’s Bodyguard? I heard about that fight in Sirelis. There were some scary-ass videos that came out of that. Were you in the middle of that? Or how about when Erya forces retook Stormbreak? Were you there for that too?”
Eno at least had the good grace to look embarrassed. He probably wasn’t helped by the great belly laughs that erupted from Drayce. The smaller man flopped across the couch cushions, as he chortled hard and loud.
“Holy shit! He’s got your number!” Drayce shouted.
“Hey! You wanna tell him about Mount Langbo?” Eno shot at him.
Drayce fell silent so quickly the quiet was almost deafening. Shining, emerald-green eyes locked on Eno, and Rayne swore Drayce paled. “Man,” he whispered. “Low blow. You know I didn’t mean to…”
“Eno,” Rayne said softly between clenched teeth, but it was utterly unnecessary. His lover was already on his feet and walking around the table. He dropped onto an open spot on the sofa and pulled Drayce into a partial hug and headlock.
Eno leaned his head down so that his nose was pressed to the top of Drayce’s head, his face nearly lost to his messy blond hair. “I shouldn’t have said that. I know you didn’t mean to,” he murmured.
“Sorry,” Drayce mumbled.
