“Charming,” Rayne muttered above Drayce’s snicker.
Vale started to walk away and then turned back suddenly, eyes narrowed on Caelan. She pointed at him, her finger swirling through the air in his direction. “So, you like…got gods in you right now?”
“More like a direct connection between myself and two gods,” Caelan hedged, hoping that it sounded less crazy and terrifying.
“Yeah. Fantastic.” Her tone made it sound like it was anything but fantastic, though.
Vale and Rayne disappeared down the street. Eno walked away from the car to watch them leave, his arms folded across his chest.
Drayce leaned against the trunk, beside Caelan, bumping his shoulder into Caelan’s. His stomach still twisted with worry, but his friend’s familiar smirk helped to ease his fears. They still had a damn long way to go and had no idea what they’d face when they reached Temit. There was plenty of time to figure some shit out. And it didn’t hurt that he had three good friends along the way to help find some answers.
EIGHT
Eno Bevyn
For four days they made good progress across Zastrad on horseback. The weather was holding for them, and the terrain had been cut with well-worn paths. Other than some soreness from long hours in the saddle, Eno was willing to chalk it all up to being a good adventure with friends.
His companions would not agree with him.
Caelan had started grumbling on day one, and even the normally quiet Rayne was cracking under the strain of the trek. Oddly enough, Drayce’s only complaint was that they’d traded in their two tents for a single yurt with a heavier material to protect against the cold and wind.
Eno wasn’t excited about giving up his private tent with Rayne, but he still managed to wrap himself around the grumpy man in the darkness. In the name of keeping warm, of course.
At least Vale was steadily thawing toward them. The first couple of nights, he’d honestly worried that she’d simply ditch them while they slept. She would have been well within her rights—or at the very least, it would have been a sane move on her part. In the evenings, she joined them at the campfire and told insane stories about her time living in Zastrad and the crazy things she’d seen and the even crazier things she’d experienced with other members of her team.
At the beginning of the fourth day, Eno headed out with Vale for some hunting. The previous night, they’d managed to camp in a large patch of forested land that offered cover from the wind and hid them from sight of everyone else.
No one was exactly thrilled about losing a day of travel, but food supplies were low and taking a day to hunt and prep food meant they didn’t need to stop in villages for longer periods. It was critical they avoided notice for a long as possible.
And yeah, maybe he was looking forward to getting off the road for a little while. Off the horse and using a different set of muscles.
The others would be just fine in camp alone. The three of them were more than capable of protecting each other for a few hours. Nothing to worry about.
Except for Rayne’s parting words as Eno climbed into the saddle.
“Watch your back.”
Certainly not the first time he’d said that to him. More recently, it had been accompanied by a wonderful warmth in his eyes and had sounded like “I love you” to Eno’s wishful heart.
But this time, those words were embraced in a frightening coldness. Rayne was worried. The king’s advisor still didn’t trust Vale.
“What’s his problem?”
Eno’s head jerked at the sound of Vale’s voice. They hadn’t been riding long, heading toward a flat pastureland not far from where they’d camped that was likely to have some deer or maybe even goats grazing. The forest held plenty of rabbits, but that wasn’t going to sustain them for long.
“Rayne?”
“Yeah. He seemed angry. Jealous you’re riding off with me?” she added with a low snicker.
There was a chance that might have been part of the case, but Rayne wasn’t likely to allow something like a little jealousy to cloud his thinking. “Not angry. That was his worried look.” Eno smiled unexpectedly to himself as he lightly tapped his heels into his horse, urging forward to catch up with Vale. “Rayne is a worrier. He’s paid to be a worrier for the king.”
Vale’s nose wrinkled and her upper lip curled a bit. “Ugh. Doesn’t that drive you crazy? Always having to listen to that.”
“No. If he worries about all the things the king might have to face, it means that I don’t have to. It means my only job is keeping Caelan alive and safe.”
She huffed softly, not looking particularly convinced by Eno’s logic. “I guess. If that works for you…”
There was no need for him to comment. It did work for him. Really well, in fact. He loved watching Rayne’s amazing brain in action. If it meant he worried about too many things, it only showed how many risks there were in the world to Caelan and Erya. And it was all the more reason Rayne needed Eno to take care of him. Rayne needed someone to share his burden with, to take some of the weight from his shoulders, even if it was only through listening to him rant. He needed someone to hold him at night, to make him feel safe when he couldn’t escape his brain.