“So, what’s our next step?” Drayce inquired. “Do we locate the chancellor and spring the king and Rayne?”
Eno gazed around the room at the tired but hopeful men closely watching the conversation at the breakfast table. The air smelled heavily of sweat and fear. There was no way this was the only room just like this in Stormbreak. Pockets of soldiers and desperate citizens were gathered throughout the city, trying to find a way to break the Empire’s hold on their home. Or simply find a way to survive. Eno didn’t want to abandon them.
He also believed what Melita said. Right now, Caelan was worth more to Chancellor Croft alive than dead. They were safe with the chancellor for now.
“We stay and take back control of Green Gate. King Caelan ordered us to free it, and that’s what we’re going to do. He wants his people to be fed,” Eno declared. He looked over his shoulder to see the worry in Drayce’s eyes, but the young man pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded.
“Thank you.” Melita sighed.
“We’ll fight with you. Can you get word to Tomas about what’s going on? See if he’s got any more soldiers or even weapons to spare? I think I’ve got an idea for how we can break through the Empire’s hold.”
She nodded. “I will. Tomas said that he also had a spy among the chancellor’s people. She’s holed up in the university president’s mansion right now, as far from the fighting as she can get while still remaining in Stormbreak proper.”
“Good. We need an update on the king, and see if we can possibly sneak him any messages,” Eno murmured. “In the meantime, our focus is on Green Gate.”
“Yass! We’re gonna kick some New Rosanthe butt!” Levi shouted.
Over his head, Drayce reached across the table and high-fived Levi. Eno only wished he could be as optimistic as these two idiots. Taking Green Gate was still a long shot with their extremely limited resources, but the people of Stormbreak needed this. And Eno had a dark feeling that Caelan might need this to sway more people into supporting him if he was to successfully reclaim his throne from two different attackers.
15
Rayne Laurent
Caelan was a raging, irrational mess when they were locked in a formal bedroom suite together. Not that Rayne could blame him. His own mental state wasn’t all that sound. Fuck, he’d nearly allowed Caelan to fry Octavia Croft with a bolt of lightning. He refused to think of her as Chancellor Croft any longer. No, she was Traitor Croft.
But while tempting, killing Traitor Croft was not likely to solve their newest set of problems. They had no idea how large her base of support was. Had she actually won over all the ministers? The people? The military? They needed to plan and proceed with care if they were going to survive the next few days and possibly even reclaim the throne for Caelan.
“Are you even listening to me?” Caelan snapped in the middle of his current diatribe.
“Of course I am,” Rayne replied crisply as he moved from the final window to poke his head into the connected bathroom on his check of their new prison. They were on the second floor at the rear of the house, but there were guards stationed at regular intervals back there. A single door allowed entry and exit to the suite, giving them limited options for escape. “I’m just waiting for you to say something sensible.”
“Sensible?” Caelan repeated, his voice growing in volume. “That woman has not only tossed out thousands of years of Erya tradition, but she’s handing the fucking goddess over to our enemies. She’s selling me out to the Empire. How am I not being sensible by demanding her execution for treason?”
Rayne turned into the room, frowning. “I did not say that you don’t have a right to be utterly furious and outraged, but I also don’t recall you saying anything about an impartial tribunal trial for treason. What I recall were demands to have her dragged out into the street where the ghosts of your ancestors are summoned so that they can kill her through the death of a thousand cuts.”
Caelan spread his legs a bit and crossed his arms over his chest as if bracing himself. Yes, his expression was still mutinous, but he wasn’t shouting. This was why Croft had left Rayne alive. She needed Caelan for something, and an agreeable Caelan was easier to work with than this explosive version. Rayne was the only one who had a chance of talking sense into Caelan.
He slowly closed the distance between them. Caelan’s ragged breathing was the only sound. When Rayne spoke again, his voice was low and calm. “Kill her too quickly, before we have an understanding of what is happening in Stormbreak, and we risk turning a revolutionary into a martyr. If you create a martyr, it will be that much harder to win the people to your side.”