“I told Hitomi how much that king loved you,” the stranger volunteered. She moved a little to Hitomi’s left so Drayce could see her better. “Caelan would seize the opportunity to get his revenge on your behalf.”
“And we had to seize this opportunity to get rid of Shinobu,” Hitomi added.
Drayce jerked one of his guns over to the woman. “How do you know about Cael?”
Hitomi jumped in front of her, using her body as a shield. “Her name is Mio. She gave your friends a place to stay and helped them until they found safety with the Omari,” his sister quickly replied.
Some of the tension eased and Drayce slightly lowered his guns. Caelan had mentioned how Mio had protected them, but he’d failed to mention any ties Mio had to his sister. Had he known? Or was he trying to protect Mio and Hitomi’s secret? Yeah, it didn’t take a genius to see they were lovers, and that so would not have gone over well with his father. Disgracing the clan with a Phantom? Hitomi would’ve been lucky if Masaru didn’t rip her wings off with his bare hands if he’d found out.
“Do you plan to kill me?” Hitomi repeated.
Drayce stared at his sister for several seconds. He honestly couldn’t say that he felt anything for her. They’d interacted so infrequently over their lifetimes. She’d never gone out of her way to hurt him, but he didn’t have a single memory of her helping him or protecting him. She was his older sibling. Wasn’t she supposed to protect him?
But wasn’t her concern and attachment to Mio a clear sign that she was a tiny bit better than his own father and brother? He didn’t know what she’d suffered while he’d been away. He’d gotten to escape to Erya and live a dream life with Caelan, Eno, and Rayne. She’d been stuck here. Possibly even protecting this Mio.
Slowly, he lowered his guns and shoved them in the holsters. “No, but the Takahashi must step down. This clan no longer has any hold over the other clans. You report to Omari Nori and you beg his forgiveness. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you live. Let the clan continue to exist.”
“What about Mio?”
Yeah, there were ugly penalties for servants and Phantoms turning on the clan they served. Drayce glanced over at Haru. It really wasn’t his place to make decisions for the Omari. He wasn’t entirely sure how Nori would want to handle the problem of Mio.
Haru smirked and draped his arm over Drayce’s shoulder. “Mio? I didn’t see a Mio here.” He cocked his head at Drayce, grin spreading. “Did you see a Mio?”
“No, I didn’t see any Mio here.”
Hitomi dropped the knife with a dull thud and fell to her knees. Drops of Shinobu’s blood rained off her. She bowed deeply, her forehead leaving behind a smear of blood on the floor. He didn’t want any gratitude from her. Didn’t want anything from his sister ever again.
He shrugged off Haru’s arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ve got a king who really needs to shout at me.”
Haru snickered as he led the way out of the room. Drayce started to follow, all too happy to leave this world behind, but Hitomi’s voice stopped him cold.
“Souta, wait!”
He froze, his body stiffening. No one had called him that name since he’d awoken at the Omari clan. He had a feeling it was Caelan’s doing, and he was so very grateful.
He turned halfway back to look at Hitomi. “Takahashi Souta is dead. He died when he flew away from here years ago. My name is Drayce Ladon of Clan Omari. I’m the protector of the Guardian of the Godstone. A Royal Guard for the King of Erya. And after today, you will never see me again.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Caelan Talos
The fire crackled, but it turns out that it was utterly unnecessary. While it was cold on the beach with the wind dancing up from the waves, Caelan was feeling quite cozy wrapped in Drayce’s arms, watching the sky grow darker as the sun set. He’d just gotten back from Haru flying him out to the Erya battleship to inform the admiral of the state of things on the Isle of Stone.
When he’d returned, it was to the sight of an enormous black dragon pouting on the sand. Drayce had demanded to be the one to fly Caelan out to the ship, but Caelan had refused. As he’d fully expected, Haru had shifted the moment he touched down and entertained himself with meeting as many Erya sailors as he could. He might have also been tickled by how much he freaked them out—but then, his cousin was a little insane.
“You should have let me take you,” Drayce grumbled for the second time.
Caelan lifted Drayce’s hand to his lips and brush a kiss across his knuckles. “If you’d taken me, you would have shifted. If you would have shifted, they would have discovered you’re a dragon. I want to keep that a secret. It’s safer that way. Right now, only myself, Rayne, Eno, and Adrian know the truth within Erya. We need it to remain that way for as long as possible.”