Nyx cackled and his staff disappeared. “Well, that’s a start at least.” His laughter drifted away, and he smirked at Caelan. “But you better figure out what else you can do besides move faster, fight, and protect your friends.”
Caelan straightened, and Drayce didn’t miss that his lover wasn’t panting from the significant fight he’d just had with a freaking god. He didn’t sweat or look even the tiniest bit tired.
“I’m not bonded to any of you any longer, am I?” Caelan asked, his voice low and even.
“What?” Drayce gasped, but no one seemed to hear him. At least not the two gods with their eyes locked.
Nyx snickered and shook his head. “Gods don’t bond with other gods. We’re not close, like you and your friends.” His lips twisted into a sneer and he waved one hand at Drayce, Eno, and Rayne. “We don’t trust each other. We generally don’t even like each other. What we did was give you a bit of power. You took all that inside you, mixed it together, and when you died, you made something new with those gifts so you could claw your way back to the living.” Nyx pointed at Caelan’s chest. “What’s inside you now is all yours. It’s not us.”
“And I’ve got to figure out what that is,” Caelan murmured.
“So, he can’t summon the storms or fire any longer?” Rayne demanded.
“No,” Caelan answered with a shake of his head. “When I was fighting Nyx, I kept trying to tap into all of that, but it’s gone now. I can feel power inside of me, but it’s formless energy. I don’t know what it’s for or how to use it.”
“You’ll have time to figure it out, but not much,” Nyx said with a shrug that almost made the god seem human.
To Drayce’s shock, Caelan smirked. “Speaking of time, what about what I stole? Have I lost that as well?”
Nyx’s wicked grin twisted across his face and he took a step toward Caelan. “Oh no, a deal is a deal. You wanted to save that. It still belongs to you, but you can’t steal any more. This world’s already got a God of Time. It doesn’t need a second one.”
Caelan placed his sword with the tip in the dirt and bowed his head to Nyx. “Thank you, God of Time.”
Nyx grunted. “Get your shit together.” The god disappeared a second later, but Drayce swore he heard the Dead God mutter, “I can’t believe I’m going fucking soft…”
“Are you okay?” Caelan inquired. His sword disappeared along with the shield as he walked over to them.
“We’re fine,” Eno quickly replied. “You?”
Caelan nodded and turned his attention to Rayne. “I’ve lost my connection to the other gods, but you’ve still got your connection with Tula.”
Rayne nodded. “Since our encounter with Lore, I’ve created the protective barrier as well as healed Drayce from his nausea. My gifts are intact.”
“And you haven’t…heard…” Caelan asked, but his voice sort of drifted off into nothing as he winced at Rayne.
“I haven’t…” Rayne repeated, prodding him to continue.
“You haven’t heard…Tula…speaking to you…?”
Rayne flinched and straightened, shaking his head. “No, nothing from the goddess. You don’t think—”
Caelan shook his head. “I don’t know what to think with her. I just don’t want her digging her claws into you any further.”
Eno turned and lifted an eyebrow at Drayce, who backpedaled a step. “What about you?”
“What?”
“Mr. Wings of Fire?”
Drayce flashed him a big, goofy grin. “Oh, those.” He shoved a hand through his messy hair that was getting way too long and scratched his scalp. “I have no idea. I can’t feel them unless I’m in my dragon form.”
Caelan’s chuckle drifted across the field. “Then I guess you better shift, you big toaster.”
Drayce practically skipped across the field, mentally laughing to himself. That was still the best code word ever. He was never going to look at another toaster the same way.
When he was a good distance from his companions, he reached deep inside himself for the beast that was always waiting to be let out. There was no separation between himself and dragon. They were one and the same. If anything, Drayce the human was more of the façade. His dragon form felt far more natural, but any human-related awkwardness was instantly forgotten whenever he was around Caelan and his Erya family.
There was a ripple through his body as it shifted and reformed, like a long, deep muscle stretch that felt so damn good. Before he even finished changing, he could feel the wings extending from his shoulders and into the air. The gathering darkness was shoved aside and shadows flickered.
“Gods, did he get bigger?” Rayne gasped.
Drayce arched his back and snapped his tail back and forth. It was nice to have that again as well. He looked down at his companions. They appeared smaller, but he didn’t feel bigger.