In the blink of an eye, Rayne was sweeping him down the hall and into the mountain of duties and meetings that were waiting for him, as if the sky hadn’t quite literally split open above their heads.
When they were walking the hall alone, Caelan reached out and lightly squeezed Rayne’s arm. “Thank you,” he whispered, the two words leaving him in a rough, jagged voice.
His advisor flashed him a crooked grin that didn’t quite reach too-sad eyes. “Drayce and I might have had a difference of opinion on most things over the years—”
“All things,” Caelan corrected with a smirk.
“But he is still one of us. Part of our family. We’re not abandoning him.”
No, they weren’t abandoning him ever.
Caelan would give just about anything to know that he was alive and safe, though.
TWO
Eno Bevyn
Eno watched Adrian as he grabbed two more boxes of ammunition and set them with the third on the metal table beside the two handguns sitting there. He’d already cleaned both guns thoroughly, checking them over before they were added to what he was planning to bring.
Rayne had arranged for ample supplies to be placed on the ship they would be taking to the Isle of Stone. It was Eno’s job to organize and gather the weapons. This also created an opportunity for him to speak privately with Adrian about what the man was potentially going to face now that he was being included in their small group.
Now was as good a time as any. They were alone in the weapons and ammunition storeroom on the second floor of the Armory. The first-floor weapons room served the Royal Guard at large, but this room had been added at Eno’s request to serve their small group for their next journey. A selection of swords had been added to a cage for Caelan along with a handful of knives. Throwing knives and spears for Rayne dominated another wall. Eno’s collection of great swords was beside Rayne’s collection. And then finally, a wall of guns and sniper rifles for Drayce, because he never stopped believing that Drayce would be back.
“Grab a pair of nine-millimeter, matte-black pistols and three boxes of ammo,” Eno instructed with a jerk of his chin toward the shelves. Adrian’s eyes jumped to Eno’s face, his brows meeting over his slightly crooked nose in question. “For Drayce. He doesn’t like the forty-five. Prefers the nine mill,” Eno answered the silent question.
Adrian tore his eyes away and walked over to the shelf, pulling down the requested guns and ammo to add to the table. He didn’t say a word. That couldn’t last. Not if they were going to trust each other while on the road.
“Spit it out. Caelan already made a point of saying we can’t have secrets between us. Not considering what we’ve got to face in the days and weeks ahead.”
Adrian placed the weapons on the metal table loudly and then gripped the edge as if he were trying to gather himself. He glared at the tabletop for nearly a full minute before he turned a disbelieving glare on Eno. “Drayce? Drayce Ladon? Short, skinny, squirrely blond guy? The one who can’t sit still and his mouth is constantly running? That guy? He’s a dragon.”
“Yes.”
“No,” Adrian instantly spat out, shaking his head. “He can’t be. I know Drayce. I’ve been friends with Drayce for almost five years. We’ve played cards together. Can’t bluff to save his soul. He is not a dragon.”
With a roll of his eyes, Eno pulled his shirt out from where it was tucked into his pants and hiked it up to reveal his bare chest, which now included four long, jagged white scars where Drayce had raked his talons in a fit of uncontrolled rage. “When Caelan died, Drayce lost his shit. He attacked me when I tried to restrain him.” He shook his head, almost wanting to laugh at himself. “Don’t ever try to restrain a dragon.”
Adrian turned a ghostly white and started to sink to the floor. “The king died?”
Fuck. He forgot Adrian didn’t know about that part. Eno dropped his shirt, grabbed Adrian’s arm, and held him up as he hooked the leg of a stool with his foot. He shoved the stool under Adrian’s ass to keep him from hitting the floor. “We’ll get to that later. Clearly Caelan is fine now, but yes, he died and Drayce lost his mind, turned into a dragon.”
“Goddess protect us,” Adrian mumbled to himself under his breath. Eno might have had a few things to say about the likelihood of Tula protecting anyone, but Adrian was still trying to wrap his brain around Caelan dying and Drayce being a dragon. Eno needed to proceed cautiously or he was going to scare the man away.
“He’s still the Drayce we know. We figure there’s more going on that we don’t know about and won’t be able to understand until we talk to him.”