He would keep Caelan safe, even if it meant protecting his lover from the gods themselves.
TWENTY
Rayne Laurent
Rayne sighed and pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose as he reviewed his notes while they waited for Adrian to join them.
“Can’t you do something about that? You’re the king now,” Drayce said loudly.
Rayne cast his gaze up and across the room where Caelan and Drayce were sitting next to each other on a sofa. Since the previous day’s attack by the Takahashi, Drayce was appearing to be more awake and stronger. He’d been considerably quieter than he’d ever been in his life, though. His king and his lover were now attached at the hip, almost literally. They were always within touching distance, and if they weren’t, Rayne had witnessed Caelan start to come undone.
Right now, he was keeping his mouth shut and hoping that both men grew steadier as time aged the memory of what happened to Drayce. Only a few days had passed since that afternoon at the Takahashi compound, and even Rayne was having nightmares about the events that had occurred.
But it did help to see Drayce back in his clothes from Stormbreak. When Caelan told him that Rayne had pulled some things together for him, planning for when they’d finally get him free, Drayce had sought him out and wordlessly hugged him. While Rayne might not have known how badly things would go here, it had been easy to guess that Drayce would feel most comfortable in something that was familiar. Something that reminded him of home.
“Do something about what?” Caelan asked, taking the bait that Drayce had tossed out.
“Rayne sighing like that.” Drayce waved a hand in his direction, and Rayne narrowed his eyes on the man. Although still recovering, Drayce was showing signs of rebounding. “You know shit is going to go horribly wrong when he starts sighing. Can’t you outlaw it or something?”
Caelan smirked. “Am I outlawing all sighing or just Rayne’s?”
“Oh, just Rayne’s. Everyone knows I’m sexy when I sigh.” As if to prove this point, Drayce stretched out on the sofa and placed the back of his hand to his forehead before releasing a long, pathetic sigh.
Thankfully, Adrian slid open the door to the comfortable meeting room Nori had loaned them and stepped inside.
“I caught the report from the latest patrols, and everything is quiet,” he announced while shutting the door behind him.
“Mio?” Caelan asked.
Adrian shook his head as he shed his coat and sword. He placed both on the floor next to an empty seat. “Haru sneaked down and said the house is empty, but there’s no sign of any kind of fight. We’re thinking that she might have gone to a friend’s or found a good place to hide until we leave the island.”
“I’ve spoken to Omari Nori, told him how she assisted us those first days,” Eno added. “He’s got members of the Omari keeping a watch for her, ready to give her aid if she needs it.”
But considering her relationship with Takahashi Hitomi, Rayne wasn’t too sure she would accept help from the Omari. They’d all been worried about her safety following their meeting with the Omari. It had been no great secret that she’d given them a place to stay, which had provided Masaru a feeling of distant control over them since she was his servant.
Except Caelan had stood up to Masaru, Takahashi dragons had been killed, and Caelan had broken his promise to leave the Isle of Stone. If anyone could be a target of the clan leader’s anger, Mio was an obvious choice. It was safer for her to disappear from sight for a while, give the Takahashi a chance to be distracted by something else. And that would likely be Caelan’s ascent to the Fire Stone.
“Man! I can’t believe they asked you to replace me!” Drayce exclaimed, waving both of his arms in Adrian’s direction.
“He has never been viewed as a replacement,” Rayne said stiffly. “Our road is growing significantly more dangerous. We agreed that we would need more assistance in keeping Caelan safe even after we rescued you.”
The dragon slid a sly look in his direction, and Rayne started to regret his quick words. “I knew you loved me.”
“That’s questionable,” Rayne muttered, but he couldn’t lift his eyes when Eno nudged his leg with his own. His lover recognized it for the lie that it was. He’d been incredibly worried about Drayce ever since the incident on Mount Langbo, and it wasn’t just for Caelan’s sake. Even though Drayce drove him crazy, he was a good man and Rayne respected his dedication to protecting Caelan.
“But Adrian freaking Westergren!” Drayce continued, clearly choosing to ignore Rayne. “You never told me you used to be a thief. All that time we hung out, and you never said a word.”