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)
“You don’t think Caspagir would be offended if Nori requested a slow introduction of diplomats? They wouldn’t be upset if we kept our borders closed to their ships?”
Adrian shrugged. “This is so out of my depth, Haru. I’m a royal guard. Not one of the fancy, highly educated ministers.”
“Yes, but you accompany Caelan throughout his day and through his meetings.”
Okay, the dragon had a point. He did listen in on a lot of Caelan’s meetings. It also didn’t hurt that most of those meetings included Rayne, who was brilliant.
“Fine. If I were Rayne, I would probably tell Nori to trust his gut. Dragons move slowly, so there’s no reason to change that. Maybe just not too slow, because humans die much faster than dragons.” Adrian growled at his own babbling. “There’s nothing wrong with Nori wanting to get to know the royal family and Caspagir more. If a relationship is so important to Prince Shey and Queen Noemi, they’ll be happy to go at whatever speed the dragons want. Exchange diplomats. Have trusted dragons visit Caspagir and allow Caspagir diplomats to visit the Isle of Stone. Let them meet openly with some of the other clans. Exchange ideas. Trade is good.”
Yeah, that all made sense.
“And if they are only interested in using dragons as a weapon for war?”
Adrian stopped and frowned. “I honestly don’t think that is what Prince Shey wants. Possibly some of his generals, but those people are always thinking about weapons. But not Shey. He’s the type to want to fight his own battles.” A knot twisted in the pit of Adrian’s stomach, and anger boiled in his veins at the idea of anyone wanting to use the dragons for such a reason. “New Rosanthe would totally demand that of the dragons if you formed an alliance with them.”
“That is why we will crush New Rosanthe if they come near our home,” Haru declared with absolute confidence.
Adrian looked over at the dragon and relaxed. He believed him. “Tell Nori to be fair and set boundaries. If the dragons have no interest in fighting the wars of others, he needs to state it plainly. Spell out that your only interest is in trade. The nice thing about treaties and agreements is that they can always be amended later. If the dragons come to trust Caspagir like they do Erya, you can always adjust things at a later date.”
Haru leaned in and pressed his lips sweetly to Adrian’s. The scent of jasmine danced around Adrian, and he relaxed into the kiss, but he broke it off quickly. They couldn’t stand in the middle of the sidewalk kissing and blocking foot traffic.
“I am glad I discussed this with you. I like Prince Shey and was afraid that I was going to give Uncle terrible advice.”
Adrian tightened his hand on Haru’s as they resumed walking. “I like Shey too, but there’s nothing wrong with being cautious to protect your people. I never want to see anything bad happen to the dragons.”
Haru hummed softly. “This is why you must return to the Isle of Stone with me. You are very logical, and you will help me give Uncle good advice.”
A bark of laughter jumped from Adrian’s throat. Every time. No matter what they were doing or talking about, Haru always found a way to wind it to Adrian returning to the Isle of Stone with him.
And every time, Adrian was a little more tempted to say yes.
THIRTEEN
TYCHE
Haru was not coming back. It was clear after the giant dragon soared out toward the city and hadn’t been seen again after several minutes.
Asshole.
He was probably sneaking off with Adrian to get something delicious to eat.
In the meantime, Tyche was left with Prince Shey—not a bad thing—and a crap-ton of armed men trying to protect their prince as they escorted him home. The heavily armed escort closed ranks around the yacht, making it feel tiny in the harbor as they raced away from the burning Order ships and the other chaos Haru had caused. The dark clouds and lightning Shey had summoned were dissipating while the winds and seas calmed for smoother sailing.
Tyche stood on the deck of the bridge, watching as the city of Sirelis grew larger in front of him. The harbor—even on lockdown because of the Order blockade—was a busy place full of ships of different sizes. Giant cargo ships were at one end, while smaller fishing vessels docked at the other. Past the harbor, row after row of buildings rose to create a beautiful skyline against a distant backdrop of snow-capped mountains. Tyche couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in Sirelis. Countless centuries ago, at least. It hadn’t been built up like this.
A smile teased his lips as he saw the prevalent touches of blue everywhere, reminding him that this was technically Kaes’s town. He’d need to tread carefully. There was no need to piss off the God of Storms more than he had. The one bonus he had working for him now was that Prince Shey clearly had a fondness for Tyche, and if Kaes wanted to use the prince for some nefarious reason, it didn’t help his cause to keep picking fights with the God of Luck.