“Yeah,” Drayce sighed. “Considering the number of times I fell asleep at my desk during world history and math class, you’d think this wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’ve also seen you fall asleep while eating and still keep eating.”
“Hey!” Drayce snapped in a harsh whisper. “That was a one-time thing. We’d stayed up for two days straight, and that beef stew was amazing. I couldn’t stop eating.”
“You rarely stop eating.”
“You should have stopped me. If I had fallen forward into my bowl, I could have drowned.” Drayce’s voice was perfectly serious in the darkness, and Caelan could imagine him meaning every word of it.
As it was, Caelan had to cover his mouth with his hand to muffle his snickers. He didn’t want Eno or Rayne hearing them. They’d only barge in and bark at them to go to sleep. He knew they had to sleep, but he couldn’t. What if this is a trap? The question kept repeating in his brain. What would happen to them? What would happen to his world—assuming they escaped back to Stormbreak? Did they face a war with New Rosanthe and Caspagir?
The mission was going to be dangerous even if everything went smoothly, but Caelan couldn’t bring himself to regret dragging Drayce along. His friend was far too skilled at keeping him from getting lost in dark thoughts and what-ifs. Drayce lived for the moment, acted when he needed to act without stewing too long.
He’d known the man since high school. Caelan didn’t know much about Drayce’s family life, only that he’d been sent to Stormbreak for schooling after spending his youngest years far from the capital. Caelan should have been more suspicious about Drayce; he’d seemed to simply appear out of nowhere, but he couldn’t have. Not with Drayce’s easygoing nature and tendency to blurt out the first thing that came into his head. Caelan felt certain that if Drayce had some secret, it would have come tumbling out of his mouth already.
Caelan had been instantly drawn to Drayce because his friend always treated Caelan just like any other kid in the school. Drayce didn’t care if he was a prince. Didn’t care that he was supposed to have some great destiny. To Drayce, Caelan was another idiot kid who liked video games, music, and playing jokes on others. Drayce gave Caelan a small taste of normal, and it was heaven.
Drayce was sanity for him, a morsel of real life when everything else was constantly so large and overwhelming. Drayce made him laugh when he was sure he’d never find another thing funny again.
It also didn’t hurt that Drayce was cute in that goofy, eager-puppy kind of way that made his green eyes sparkle with a bright inner light.
Somewhere along the way, Drayce had stolen Caelan’s heart away with his goofiness, loyalty, and unwavering kindness. Not that his best friend would ever know that he carried Caelan’s heart with him wherever he went. Caelan would never do anything to jeopardize their friendship. He’d learned to be content with the happiness he found with Drayce.
His mother had made it clear to him from a very early age that his life would never be his own. The Crown Prince of Erya had a duty to her people and the Godstone. And duty always came first. Wanting something more was foolish and a waste. But his heart still wanted Drayce.
“This is your first time to Sirelis, right?” Drayce whispered.
“Yeah. I think my mother went before I was born, but after that, we had a diplomat making trips once or twice a year.” Caelan shrugged even though Drayce couldn’t see it. “But I’ve heard they’re like that with everyone. I think the Ilon diplomat makes the trip to Caspagir even less frequently. She usually stops in Stormbreak along the way and then catches a boat to Sirelis. Caspagir prefers to send their delegates to other countries rather than having strangers inside their borders.”
“So, you don’t even know what you’re heading into. Have you talked to any of the royal family or the government officials?”
“I’ve met Prince Shey briefly at a couple of formal functions in Ilon. I’ve never met Queen Noemi,” Caelan muttered. “But Rayne studied in Sirelis for like a year or two before he came to work with me. Some kind of cultural exchange program.” He paused and shoved some hair off his forehead. “I don’t think he’s met any of the royal family, but I think he got to meet some of the lower officials, learned their government structure and such.”
Drayce snorted. “Thank the gods we’ve got Rayne to cover our asses. It would be just our luck we totally insult the entire royal family and country, plunging Caspagir and Erya into a brutal war.”
Caelan groaned as he scrubbed a hand over his face. Yes, they definitely needed to avoid starting a war. He didn’t think there was a big chance of it, but…ugh. He wasn’t going to worry about that. He’d met plenty of foreign diplomats and had attended enough state functions to know how to behave and what not to say.