Eno opened his mouth to check on Rayne as he stood over the unconscious woman. He was leaning heavily on the staff and panting hard. The emotions flashing across his face were difficult to read. Anger, frustration, pain, fear. All of it mixing together to create a potentially dangerous combination.
An explosion rocked the city and Eno lunged for Rayne, covering his body as best he could. He wasn’t sure where the attack was coming from, but he had to be sure Rayne was safe. One of Rayne’s hands wrapped around his forearm, fingers digging deep as he huddled close for a moment, eyes scrunched shut.
But nothing hit them. A thick cloud of dust rolled over the city, leaving them coughing and gasping for air. They both pulled their shirts up over their faces.
“What was that?” Eno demanded.
“I don’t know, but Caelan is still alive. Look!” Rayne pointed up at the sky. The bright morning blue was quickly being covered by angry black clouds. Thunder rumbled and the wind picked up, blowing away the dust and dirt from the air.
“We need to get back now. If he’s using the God of Storms, he’s going to need someone to protect him when he passes out again.” Eno’s arms slowly slid away from Rayne as the man released his hold on him. Rayne might smell of sweat and dirt, but he would have been happy to just stand there holding him for however long they could steal.
“I can’t.” Rayne shook his head. Eno didn’t know if it was his knee bothering him or just exhaustion that tore that confession out of his lover. “I can’t run back. You go. I can carry Croft.”
“I’m not leaving you alone,” he growled and turned away. He scanned the street and locked eyes on a later-model car that would be perfect. “We’ll toss Croft in the trunk and drive to the Towers. It’ll be faster.”
Hurrying over to the car before Rayne could argue, he tried the doors but no luck. With the hilt of his sword, he broke out the rear window and carefully reached around to unlock the driver’s side door. A few seconds later, the trunk was popped.
“I’ll put her in. You hot-wire it!” Rayne shouted.
Eno caught a glimpse of Rayne hefting the woman onto his shoulder as he ducked under the dashboard. He made quick work of ripping away the plastic covering and pulling out the wires he needed. The old car grumbled and coughed, but finally rumbled to life as Rayne was opening the passenger side door.
Jumping into the seat, Eno shifted into drive and pulled into the empty street. The thunder was growing louder and the sky had become a strobe of lightning strikes. They needed to get to Caelan fast, though he wasn’t even sure what they could do once they found him. Their friend and leader was caught in the grips of a violent god. Would they even be able to reach him?
Eno glanced over at Rayne to find him attempting to clean the lenses of his glasses with the least dirty part of his shirt. It wasn’t often he got to see the man without his glasses on. The things were part of his armor, making him that much more untouchable. Somehow, when they were off and his gaze was slightly unfocused, he seemed more vulnerable.
“Will you ever forgive me?” Eno found himself asking before he could catch the words.
Rayne’s fingers froze for a couple of heartbeats and started working on the other lens. “I don’t know,” he admitted in a low voice. “I’m not sure I can.”
“It wasn’t just about protecting you. I thought it was what was best for Erya.”
Rayne made a noise and slipped his glasses back on his face. Eno had liked it better with his guard down. “There is no Erya if Thia falls to the Goddess of the Hunt. I know my skills and expertise can best help Caelan right now, not Erya.” He stopped and shook his head. “Besides even that, I feel betrayed. Prior to leaving Stormbreak, you promised me that so long as I could keep up, you wouldn’t leave me behind. You looked me in the eye and swore to me.”
“I’m not questioning your skills, Rayne. You’re as capable a fighter as me or Drayce or Caelan. I know you can protect Cael,” Eno argued but Rayne was still shaking his head.
“You didn’t even think to discuss this idea of leaving me behind,” Rayne grumbled. “It’s enough that Caelan has the power to decide my fate at the drop of a hat and there is nothing I can do about it. I cannot hand that power over to you as well.”
“I’m sorry, Rayne. I should have spoken to you first,” Eno agreed. He might still long for Rayne to remain here in the relative safety of Stormbreak, but the man had a good point. If the Goddess of the Hunt was determined to destroy their world, what was the point in protecting Erya? Rayne was needed to stop the goddess, even if the idea scared the shit out of him.