Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Tyche snickered. “You know, if I can clean up this mess I’ve made with Haru, I’m still planning to ask Nori for a tiny plot of land to grow coffee. You can always stay with me. We’ll grow coffee and trade it for dragon wine.”
Shey lifted his head and sat up enough from his lounge so he could look Tyche in the face. “Really? You’d let me live with you? I thought you preferred a solitary life.”
Heat scorched Tyche’s cheeks and spread up to the tips of his ears. What nonsense had he been saying? He picked up the jar of wine and set it farther away. That was enough alcohol for him. It made him talk crazy. “Well, I mean…you wouldn’t have to live with me. We could talk Nori into giving us enough land to build two small houses. We could be neighbors. That’s all. I’d already be neighbors with the dragons. It wouldn’t be a big deal if you were my neighbor, too.”
“Uh-huh.” There was something in that low, two-syllable agreement that threatened to scramble Tyche’s barely working brain. That sound somehow became the most delicious caress, and he wanted to lean into it, hear Shey make other sounds just as enticing.
But that was silly.
Shey was still hung up on his now-married ex.
Besides, he was a god. He couldn’t be interested in a human. That was crazy. Stupid, even.
It was the wine. It was making him think ridiculous things.
“But what you were saying…you have to hurry and return home so you can find out what’s happening, right?”
Shey remained silent for several heartbeats before he grunted and returned to leaning against the tree next to Tyche. “Yes. Caspagir has a solid alliance with Erya. There’s nothing formal with the dragons, but we have a sort of friendly agreement that I would like to get in more solid terms, but that’s a slow process. Probably even slower since Omari Nori strikes me as a cautious guy…er…I mean dragon. The short of it is: If the Order is attacking or attempting to invade my home, Erya has agreed to send support, whether that’s weapons, supplies, or troops. Caelan has committed a fleet of ships to protecting the waters around the Isle of Stone, and I’m planning to send a fleet as well.” He paused and sighed. “Assuming our ships aren’t already tied up with the Order.”
“Are the dragons going to send any help?”
“We still need to work that out.” Shey reached across Tyche, causing him to suck in a sharp gasp as Shey stole back the jar of wine resting on the opposite side of him. He released the air only after Shey was taking a drink.
“Why does it need to be worked out?”
“Because of Haru.”
Ahhh…that was a good point. They needed to work out what to do about Haru’s possession of Yesuntei’s powers first. That was likely to determine where Nori sent his dragons.
“We ended the meeting more than an hour ago so we could get some rest,” Shey continued. “We’re hoping you and Haru could join us tomorrow so we can figure out the best course of action regarding that orb Haru is holding.”
“Yeah, of course.”
They fell silent, and Tyche returned to watching the stars as they sparkled overhead. The air had felt cool earlier, but with Shey pressed alongside him, he didn’t notice the chill. There was now a hint of something spicy and musky that he hadn’t smelled before. It was pleasant, and Tyche’s nose demanded that he roll to his left so he could breathe it in more deeply, but that would have him rolling right into Shey, and that wasn’t a good idea.
“So…if you’ve been out of your meeting for an hour, why aren’t you hanging out with Rayne?”
“You mean Rayne and his husband?” Shey replied in a teasing voice, but he had a point. If Shey wanted to hang out with Rayne, he wouldn’t want to do it with Rayne’s new husband lurking about. “I’m joking. I like Eno. We didn’t get off to the best start, but he caught me hitting on Rayne the first time we met. I hadn’t given Rayne a chance to confess that he was seeing someone.”
“Whoops.”
“But I talked to them both after the meeting for a few minutes. Rayne was kind enough to remind me of the wedding gift he expected. He also requested that I take him and his husband out for dinner the next time they’re in Sirelis.” Shey rolled onto his side, his shoulder balanced on the tree trunk as he peered at Tyche. The God of Luck blinked and froze, his eyes wide as he stared at Shey, whose face was now mere inches from his own. “Do you want to join me?”
“What?” The single word came out as a strangled gasp.
“Like a double date.”