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)
“Can I ask you a question and have you answer me honestly?” Shey began and Tyche froze, his bite of prime rib halfway to his mouth. “If you don’t feel comfortable being honest, tell me you can’t say.”
Tyche lowered his fork and sat up straighter. “I can try.”
“Could you have escaped from that prison in Damardor at any time?”
Wow. Didn’t start with anything easy, did he?
Tyche stared wide-eyed at his plate for several seconds without seeing the food. “That’s…complicated.”
“Sorry,” Shey murmured. “I guess I’ve been replaying in my mind what happened with Kaes and that fight in the woods after we escaped the prison. After seeing you stand up to the God of Storms, I wonder if you were holding back in the forest. Did you even need me to escape?”
Tyche’s hand shot out, and he gripped Shey’s wrist. He peered into his blue eyes. “I needed you. Never doubt that. You kept me alive in there. You might not believe this, but you saved lives by simply being there.”
“We killed almost everyone in that place.”
“Almost everyone. Not everyone.” Tyche released his wrist and pulled his hand away, but Shey caught it and held on to him. A soft sigh slipped from Tyche, and his shoulders slumped. “When I let myself get captured by those people, I was investigating if someone was trying to make another Zyros. Gods and goddesses were disappearing, and there were whispers about someone hunting magic. I thought I could slip in, figure out what was happening, and slip out with the information. From there, I would get that information in front of the right people to deal with it. But the longer I was there, the more complicated it became. Escaping meant exposing my magic. It would be impossible to hide. My life would return to running and hiding, as it had been with Zyros. I knew my best option was to wait for someone, or even several people, to arrive who had a good chance of escaping.”
“Then you could hide within the group and use your magic here and there to aid their escape while not drawing attention to yourself.”
Tyche nodded. “Yes. So, honestly, I could have escaped on my own, but there would have been no way for me to cover my tracks.”
Shey smiled. “You needed me to draw their attention and make a mess.”
“And you are very good at making messes.”
They finished the meal with easy conversation and a bit of teasing. As they fell into bed again, Tyche was so very content. His stomach was full of food, and he had Shey’s warm body pressed to his back. All things in the world were fleeting, but for this moment, wrapped in darkness while listening to Shey’s steady breathing, this was the only place he wanted to be. Shey’s arms were his home for as long as the prince wanted to hold him.
TWENTY-THREE
ADRIAN WESTERGREN
Adrian and Haru followed a servant through the elegant hallway. Here and there they would pass another servant or an official. All of them kept their heads down and hurried on their way, exhaustion digging lines and leaving behind dark circles on their faces.
Shey had stopped by the room Adrian was sharing with Haru to give them an update on the attack on Sirelis. They’d fallen into a tense period of quiet as the Order’s forces dug in but didn’t launch any fresh attacks. Haru had profusely apologized to Shey, but the prince had waved him off, well aware that none of it would have happened if someone hadn’t attacked him and kidnapped Adrian. Amazingly, there had been no reports of casualties caused by Haru, but several buildings were now rubble.
During Shey’s visit, he’d also given them an update on what the fuck was happening with the God of Luck.
No!
The God of Chaos.
His heart ached for Tyche, but he couldn’t deny that the goddess’s powers were far better off in Tyche than in Haru. As far as he knew, there had been no outbreaks of wild nightmares, which he took to mean Tyche had better control over those powers than Haru.
“I wish I had some coffee,” Haru murmured as they walked.
Adrian glanced at the dragon, who was lagging. “I didn’t think you liked it that much.”
Haru shot him a look. “Not for me. For Ty. As a peace offering. He trusted me, and I failed him. Put him in this difficult spot.”
Adrian paused a step so he could take Haru’s hand and pull him so they were walking side by side. He threaded their fingers together and squeezed. “We all knew I was your weakness. Tyche doesn’t blame you. Besides, if anyone put him in a tough spot, it was Kaes. Not you.”
Haru frowned and hung his head, causing some of his long, black hair to spill over his shoulder. “I did not help matters.”