I swear it to the man who holds my heart next to his own.
“Don’t leave me.”
“Never.” This had to be the easiest promise he’d ever made. Nothing would ever tear him from Caelan’s side.
20
Rayne Laurent
The storm had slowed to a gentle drizzle when Rayne and Eno slipped down the alley that ran along the backside of his parents’ street. The heavy cloud cover created the illusion of it being dusk rather than early afternoon.
The entire morning had been spent running, dodging, fighting, and eventually trying to lure Empire soldiers toward them rather than leaving them to search for Caelan and Drayce. Rayne was sure he’d never been so blood splattered and exhausted in his entire life.
He braced a hand on the side of a garage and shifted all his weight to his left leg. His right knee was throbbing in time with his racing heart, the pain bad enough to make it impossible to catch his breath. He’d twisted it in their escape from Uni Gardens and had been hiding the limp from Eno for blocks now.
“Is it the knee or ankle?” Eno inquired softly as he peered at the neat and tidy alley. The broad path was largely a series of garages and gates leading to backyards. Old trees stretched thick limbs out, providing a green tunnel and some added relief from the rain.
“I’m fine,” Rayne bit out.
Eno spun on him, his fierce expression made worse by the shadows. “I didn’t ask if you were fine. I know you’re not fine. You look like a ghost, and you’re shaking with pain. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice?”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
I didn’t want you to leave me behind. But he couldn’t say that.
His companion softly grunted and turned his attention to their surroundings. “When we get to your parents’, you can put your leg up and we can bandage it. Cael should be able to heal the worst of it.”
Rayne hated to admit that he was counting on Caelan being able to heal his damaged knee. As it was, there was no way in hell that he’d be able to keep up with them as he was.
Eno grabbed Rayne’s right arm and pulled it across his broad shoulders while wrapping his left arm around Rayne’s slender waist. For a heartbeat, he thought of fighting Eno, but there was no sense in it. Eno knew he was injured and in pain. There was no point in trying to hide it any longer. With a relieved sigh, he allowed Eno to carry most of his weight and they slowly continued down the block.
Of course, now that he wasn’t thinking about his knee, his brain had the spare capacity to worry about something far worse.
“My parents,” he started and then paused to lick his lips, mentally trying out and tossing aside a variety of comments before finally settling on. “Please don’t take to heart anything they might say. In fact, it might be best if you ignore them completely.”
Eno grinned at him, though it wasn’t easy to see through water-splattered lenses. “I am smart enough to know that you are not your parents.”
“I know that.” The words came out testier than he’d meant to and sighed again. “I’m sorry.” Gods, he was exhausted to his very soul. He wanted to sleep for one night where he wasn’t worried about someone trying to kill Caelan, Eno, Drayce, or himself.
With his free hand, Eno reached up and ran rough fingers across his cheek, cupping the side of his face. “Stop worrying, baby. This is just a place to rest and wait for Caelan and Drayce. That’s all. Once we’re together, we’ll plan our next step. Your parents don’t figure into any of that.”
Eno might be right about all of that, but anytime his parents were involved, life always became messy and complicated. Two things he definitely didn’t need right now.
Turning his face and closing his eyes, Rayne allowed himself a couple of seconds to soak in Eno’s reassuring touch. Everything felt a little easier when he was smart enough to remember to simply lean on Eno every once in a while. “Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary.”
“Just…don’t mention Shey, please.”
Eno snorted and dropped his hand back to his side as they continued down the alley. “I have no desire to discuss your ex, the prince. I’m assuming they don’t know that you were involved.”
Rayne shuddered at the thought. “No, they don’t know that I am acquainted with him at all, and I would prefer to keep it that way.” Especially from his father.
At a tall iron gate, Rayne stopped them and had Eno shift a heavy concrete flower pot to pull out the key he’d hidden there a few years ago. He’d been to this house only a couple of times since his parents had moved here. While his father was in service as an advisor to the minister of the interior, his parents had kept a lovely town house in King’s Square.