“What do we do about him?” Drayce asked.
“What the hell?” Caelan muttered, but his companions were ignoring him.
“True. This is the last place he can be walking without a disguise,” Rayne murmured.
Eno rubbed his fingers across his lips, seeming as if he were trying to hide his smirk. “Everyone in Stormbreak knows that pretty face.”
“Fuck off,” Caelan snapped, which only got him an answering grin from his bodyguard. He turned his attention to Rayne and Drayce, who were looking far too serious about this. “I thought it was good if my people knew that I was still alive. They should know that I’m here to fight for them.”
“While a lovely sentiment, it might be best if we hold back on that reveal until there are enough of us to take on the entire New Rosanthe army,” Rayne replied in a dry as dust tone.
Fine. He had a good point, though he’d largely taken on the Empire’s navy on his own and come out ahead. Of course, he’d also spent the following twenty-four hours unconscious, and there was no time to be knocked out.
“We can still shave his head,” Drayce suggested. His expression was serious, but there was a flash of devilment in his eyes. Asshole.
Caelan turned away from them and marched to the trunk. “Pop it, Eno,” he barked.
The bodyguard smirked and used the key to open the lid. Caelan snatched up Drayce’s bag, causing the man to cry out. The prince glared at him and then dug through the contents. He pulled out Drayce’s favorite ball cap and a pair of sunglasses that hid a good portion of his face.
“Don’t lose that hat. It’s a limited edition, and they don’t make them anymore,” his friend snapped.
“It’ll be fine,” Caelan muttered. He looked over at Rayne. “Will this be okay?”
His advisor nodded, though he seemed reluctant. “It’ll do for now. I feel we still need to avoid crowds as much as possible.”
“Let’s get going, then. I want inside the city to assess the situation. Tomorrow we can start trying to contact people.”
They lightened their packs and left all their camping gear in the car, taking only a change of clothes, weapons, medical supplies, and a few rations.
Rayne took the lead. His ever-dapper advisor had lost his suit jacket, tie, and collared shirt, opting for a more casual pair of jeans and a plain pale-gray T-shirt. Of course, he had a couple of lethal daggers secreted somewhere on his person while his retractable bo staff was in a sheath under his shirt in the center of his back. Caelan only noticed it because he was walking behind Rayne with Drayce at his side and Eno bringing up the rear.
Despite the casual gear, Rayne still stood out to him. It seemed obvious that the man was not a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. This was bad camouflage.
But then, no one they passed gave him a second glance.
Eno drew more eyes, and he’d dressed as he normally would. Of course, Eno’s problem was that he was a scary beast of a man. He always drew attention no matter where he went.
“Rayne, did you have to buy jeans and a T-shirt just for this trip?” Caelan inquired, causing Drayce to snort with laughter beside him.
“No,” Rayne replied with an irritated sigh. “What do you think I wear when I’m not chasing down my wayward ward during my free time?”
Caelan smirked at the “wayward ward” remark since Rayne couldn’t use his title. “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t think you had free time.”
“He doesn’t,” Eno grumbled, flicking his ear.
Crying out, Caelan rubbed the tip of his ear and threw a dirty look at Eno, but his bodyguard glared right back at him. Okay, okay. He got the message. Rayne was overworked.
“Fine,” Caelan groaned. “I promise when this is all over, I’m going to send you on a nice long vacation where you can wear jeans and T-shirts all the time.”
Drayce snickered. “Or you can return to Sirelis and spend some time with Shey. I bet he wouldn’t expect you to wear anything at all. Hey! Ow!” Drayce grabbed his head and jerked around to glare at Eno. “What the hell was that for? We all know he was doing the nasty with—hey! Stop hitting me!”
Drayce darted away from Eno’s swings and ran ahead of Rayne, his hands on his head to protect him from more blows. Caelan lifted an eyebrow at his bodyguard’s somewhat excessive reaction to a little teasing from Drayce. So what if Rayne dated Prince Shey? Caelan trusted Rayne with his life. If Rayne wanted to have a vacation fling with his ex, it wasn’t a big deal.
Except Rayne was supposed to be dating someone new…
Caelan started to look at Eno again, a thought slithering through his brain, but Rayne’s crisp words drew him away from the idea before it could fully form.