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“No, we’re all good. No injuries,” Eno answered.
“Can’t say the same for Drayce’s kidnappers,” Adrian snickered.
Davi nodded and bumped his shoulder against Adrian’s. “Yep. If they weren’t shot, they were flambéed or crushed under the falling building.”
Not pretty, but it got the job done and his people back to him safely.
“What about you? Any problems?” Eno inquired, his gaze darting from Rayne to Caelan and then to Rayne again. His bodyguard seemed like he very much wanted to pull Rayne into his arms and hold him, but he was showing more restraint than he and Drayce had managed.
“No problems, per se,” Rayne admitted slowly.
“What? It wasn’t the prime minister?” Adrian asked.
“No, it was him. Our problem is that we don’t think that he’s particularly trustworthy,” Caelan explained. “He told us he was away from Parliament Plaza when it was attacked and he’s been in hiding for the past month. He says that he can’t bring in any forces to oust the Empire without risking the lives of his people. He doesn’t want a slaughter like what Stormbreak suffered.”
“Bullshit,” Davi snarled. “Everyone knows that Ilon has ample special covert forces that could infiltrate Parliament Plaza and take out the Empire’s men.”
Caelan grunted in agreement. “Even if they couldn’t kill Safa, the regular New Rosanthe troops shouldn’t cause a problem for them.”
“He also claims that Safa and her men have killed at least half the members of Parliament. After she’s done, Feroz could turn that kind of tragedy to his advantage and seize even more power,” Rayne explained.
“And if he’s aligned himself with the Empire in the first place, he could look to Emperor Naram Suen to simply install him as the new puppet dictator of Ilon.”
“How…how could he do that? How could he betray his people like this?” Davi raged, his fists balled and trembling at his sides.
“He’s using the excuse that he doesn’t want the people of Brightspire to suffer like those in Stormbreak,” Caelan murmured.
“Fuck that! We’d rather fight than give in to the Empire!”
“Stop,” Adrian snapped sharply. He took a step closer to Davi, his face twisted with pain and anger. “It’s easy to say you’ll fight when you have no idea what you’re going to face. You weren’t there in Stormbreak when the Empire moved in. They fucking killed Queen Amara and her bodyguard. They killed hundreds of soldiers and just as many innocent civilians. And then even more suffered during the occupation, their homes raided and food supplies dwindling to practically nothing.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t fight them if you had the chance?”
Adrian shook his head. “No, I would, but I wouldn’t be so quick to throw my fellow citizens into danger without at least first considering their welfare and what they’d suffer.”
Caelan watched Adrian, his heart aching for the man as well as the people he’d been unable to save because he was in Caspagir trying to bond with the God of Storms. But there was no undoing the past. They’d returned as fast as they could, saved as many people as they were able.
“I don’t understand,” Drayce broke in. He piled his hands together on the top of his head and slowly paced around them as he talked. “If this prime minister is sided with New Rosanthe, why didn’t he grab you and Rayne tonight? That’s what Safa wants, right?”
Rayne immediately shook his head. “He likely suspected that he was being watched and knew that we wouldn’t show if there were any Empire soldiers close by. There was just Feroz and his assistant in the apartment when we met. Even if Safa didn’t warn him about Caelan’s abilities, he’s seen the videos out of Sirelis. Feroz wouldn’t have acted against Caelan unless he was one hundred percent sure he would succeed.”
Eno at last closed the final few feet separating him and Rayne. He captured Rayne’s hand in his and Rayne flashed him a small smile. Caelan tore his eyes away and smirked at the ground. He wanted this for Rayne, for both of them. His role as king forced him to keep his eye on the bigger picture, which was saving all of Thia from New Rosanthe and the goddess. But the part of him that was still human and loved his friends desperately wanted to get them back to Stormbreak so they could live happy, normal lives together.
“What’s his plan, then?” Eno inquired.
“He wants me to remove Safa and the Empire from Parliament Plaza,” Caelan replied.
“It was the one thing that he kept pressing for,” Rayne added.
“Safa came close to killing me once. I’ll be better prepared for another encounter, but I’m in no rush to meet her. At least not until I’ve bonded with the God of Wisdom first.”
“Did he tell you the location of the godstone? Is it underground?” Drayce demanded.
Caelan shook his head. “He didn’t say, but he’s promised to take us to it when we are ready.”
“He was rather strange about it, though,” Rayne murmured, sounding like he was talking to himself.
“Sounds like everything out of the bastard’s mouth was strange,” Davi grumbled.
