Rayne had to wonder if that was due to a lack of resources on the Empire’s part, though. From what he was able to see during their march across the camp, New Rosanthe appeared to have more tents and supplies than actual troops.
Had the Empire lost that many men since entering the Ordas?
Or had they been sent elsewhere? Such as to intercept forces coming from Erya and Caspagir?
They’d be lucky if they didn’t find themselves fighting Ilon as well. He could only hope for the government to be in such a state of disarray that they were unable to send troops into the Ordas.
“Is it just me or does all of this seem…weird?” Drayce inquired in a low voice.
They sat together on cots at the far end of a canvas tent. Rayne was currently sharing a cot as a chair with Eno while Drayce sat opposite them, picking at the plastic zip tie that was used to bind their hands in front of them.
“You’re going to need to be more specific,” Rayne drawled. He lifted his bound hands and wiped some sweat from his brow. While the tent offered a modicum of protection against the threat of animal attack, the air was stifling hot and stuffy. Not to be rude, but he and his companions didn’t exactly smell like roses either.
Drayce leaned forward and made his voice even softer. “Dude, Zyros knows I’m a freaking dragon. Why am I locked up with you? I understand if the Empire didn’t find out on their own, but you’d think the goddess would have warned them.”
Lifting his hands, Drayce made a show of twisting his wrists, straining the plastic so that it was close to snapping.
“Don’t,” Eno snarled. “Not yet.”
With a huff, Drayce dropped his still-bound wrists to his lap and slumped even more.
“He’s not wrong. All of this feels weird,” Eno continued, turning his gaze to Rayne. “I figure they’re keeping us alive to put pressure on Cael so that he’s more inclined to go along with whatever they want, but it’s dangerous keeping us locked up together. They have to know we’re planning an escape.”
Rayne sighed and nodded. “Under normal circumstances, I’d agree, but if they don’t know about Drayce, they might feel quite secure in leaving us together. One location means they can leave fewer guards on us.”
“But if we escape—” Drayce began but Rayne cut him off.
“Escape to where? The three of us into the Ordas with no supplies or weapons? We’d be dead before nightfall. And I’m sure they’re confident that we wouldn’t leave here without Cael.”
“Shit. Okay, you’ve got a point.” Drayce turned and flopped back on the cot, his hands resting on his stomach and his feet crossed at the bottom.
Rayne glanced over at Eno. He didn’t know what to do next, what plan to make, or even what information to seek. There were too many unknowns, starting with what was happening with Caelan and the Goddess of the Hunt. She wouldn’t just kill him outright, would she? She wanted him to help her stand against Tula. She would still be trying to work that angle, and she potentially had the leverage she needed by holding Caelan’s family hostage.
To his surprise, Eno leaned over and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Close your eyes and rest your brain. It’s overheating.”
“It is not,” Rayne grumbled, even as he laid his head on Eno’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
“There’s nothing we can do at this moment. We made our move by coming here. We now have to wait for either New Rosanthe or the goddess to make their move.”
Eno was right. They were chess pieces on a checkered board. They couldn’t counter until the right opportunity presented itself.
“I wish we knew where Adrian was.” Drayce sighed.
Rayne swallowed down his own sigh at that thought. The problem with trying to maneuver Caelan’s pieces against the goddess and the Empire was that there was one key piece that he couldn’t control, couldn’t contact, and didn’t even know its location. If Adrian had been joined by one or more dragons, it was even more powerful, but if the timing was off even by a little bit, they had no chance of defeating anyone.
It didn’t matter. Eno was right. He needed to rest and wait. There was nothing they could do just yet.
Rayne’s rest lasted over a day in the stuffy, hot tent.
Approaching footsteps had them becoming more alert as a guard entered the tent, sending a slightly cooler breeze into their area. He walked inside only far enough to point at Rayne, and motioned for him to accompany him. Eno immediately launched to his feet, stepping in front of Rayne so that he couldn’t leave. Drayce followed a second later, making it that much harder for him to move from his current spot.