“I don’t understand how you and Rayne don’t see that.”
“But…but how?”
Eno felt his smile soften, and his throat constricted as he stared at Cael. “You’ve always been a beacon of hope for everyone who’s ever met you. The moment you were born, you became Queen Amara’s hope for the future of Erya. I’m sure at the end of her life, you were her hope for all of Thia.”
Caelan blinked rapidly, and a tear spilled down his cheek. Eno reached out with his right hand and carefully wiped the tear away. “You’ve always been my hope for a happy future. Because of you, I met Rayne. Because of you, I’ve found my purpose and something to fight for. You’re a shining bright light for all of Thia, and no god will ever be able to extinguish that.”
“But all the death. My mother and Hagen. Lu in Zastrad. All the people of Temit and Mrtyu. Hidden Falls.”
“It’s your job to push back the darkness, Cael, and unfortunately, that results in deaths. You can’t forget about all the people you’ve saved. You’ll never know how many people you saved in Sirelis and Stormbreak because of the actions you took. And when you succeed in stopping the gods from their latest round of chaos, you will have saved all of Thia.”
Caelan stared at him for several seconds, blue eyes shimmering. “Do you really believe that? Do you think I’m the God of Hope?”
Eno grinned broadly at him, his heart beating hard and his lungs constricting. “I’ve known it since you first whispered in the caves under Brightspire that you were a god.”
Lunging toward him, Caelan wrapped him in a tight hug, his face pressed to his shoulder. Eno swallowed against the lump in his throat and hugged him as tightly as he possibly could. Caelan might be his king and god, but first and foremost, he would be his little brother. Even when he stumbled, Eno believed in him completely, and he would always be there to help him climb to his feet again.
“Thank you, Eno. Thank you so much,” Caelan mumbled into his T-shirt.
“Thank you, Cael, for giving everything to keep us safe.”
They separated and laughed awkwardly, both of them wiping away tears while not quite meeting each other’s eyes.
“Gods, I’ll be glad when this is over and we can get back sneaking away from the Royal Towers and drinking beers in bad bars,” Caelan muttered in a shaky voice.
“And inappropriate jokes from Drayce,” Eno added.
Caelan snorted. “Hiding from Rayne and his never-ending to-do list.”
Eno hummed softly to himself while staring at the stream tumbling over the rocks in front of them. Those memories seemed so far away now, but that had been less than a year ago. It was unlikely they’d ever return to that, especially since Caelan was king.
Could he even be the king now that he was a god?
He shoved that question aside. It didn’t matter. Even if they couldn’t sneak off to bars and drink, they’d find new ways of being happy.
Pressure on his right drew Eno’s eyes down to find Caelan turning over his scarred forearm, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. After almost minute, Caelan made a disgusted sound and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t heal it.”
“It’s okay.”
Caelan’s skeptical gaze snapped up to Eno’s face, forcing Eno to sigh.
“Yeah, it’s not okay. I’m…adjusting. I can’t use a sword, but I can manage a gun or a knife in my left hand. You’re not fucking leaving me behind.”
A broad grin graced Caelan’s face, wiping away the fear that had tried to crawl up Eno’s throat. “Never even considered it. You’re going with us straight to the end.”
He grunted and stared at his scarred arm again. “The important thing is that I’m alive. I don’t know what you did to Rayne, but you gave him whatever he needed to save my life.”
“I just believed in him.”
“You gave him the hope he needed to save me.” He smirked at Caelan. “Whether my arm recovers any of its former strength or not, it doesn’t matter. Rayne already says he’ll marry me no matter what. Threatened my life over it.”
Caelan’s laughter echoed out across the stream and washed over the falls, filling Eno with the most wonderful warmth. It was nearly the best laugh in all of Thia—a very close second to Rayne’s—and it was so nice to hear it again.
Regardless of what happened when they encountered Lore and Zyros in Green Spring, Eno was sure of one thing—Caelan was Thia’s best and greatest hope for the future. Even if he and Rayne never saw their wedding day, Eno had no regrets.
NINETEEN
Drayce Ladon
None of the villagers returned to Hidden Falls.
He wanted to believe they had another safe haven within the Ordas. He wanted to believe they met up with the Erya forces that were supposed to be moving into the area, that Aiden and the Erya army got those refugees to a secure place away from the fighting and chaos.