“Do you really think this entire town doesn’t know where we are? Or at the very least, they’ll know as soon as that woman tells them,” Caelan said caustically.
“I think it is best if we draw as little attention to ourselves as possible for now,” Rayne advised in a calm, even voice. He was not going to get huffy over Caelan’s sharp tone. He was in pain.
“The place is clear. Dusty, but clear,” Eno announced as he returned to the main room and dropped his bag beside one of the orange chairs. “You can tell no one has been up here for a long time. There are only our footprints in the dust.”
“So, it’s safe to talk?” Caelan demanded and Rayne braced himself for Calean’s rage.
“Yes, I think—”
“Did you know?” Caelan shouted. He stalked toward Rayne, but he refused to back down. He might have a few inches on Caelan, but the prince was plenty deadly. Not that he thought Caelan would hurt him, but right now, he was lost in a world of pain and confusion. He wasn’t thinking things through.
“Did I know that the Empire planned to murder the queen and steal the Godstone?” Rayne replied. There was no keeping his shock and incredulity from his voice. Did Caelan really think he could keep such crucial information to himself? That would be a betrayal of years of trust between them.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Caelan threw his hands up and paced away. The prince thrust his hands into his dark hair, seeming to growl under his breath. “How did we not know the Empire was close enough for an attack? How is something like that even possible?”
“We should sit and discuss this calmly.” Rayne needed to get Caelan’s temper under control or they weren’t going to get anywhere.
“I don’t want to sit and be calm!” Caelan snapped.
“Did you know something about what happened?” Drayce asked slowly. It was surprising to hear the question from Drayce, but maybe he’d been hoping no one would ask it.
“No…and yes,” Rayne said cautiously, his eyes darting to Eno to take his stonelike expression and then back to Caelan.
“What!” Caelan shouted, but the air in the room had become electrified. Rayne was afraid of moving, breathing, or else someone might snap. At this moment, he was more afraid of Eno’s temper, but Caelan wasn’t too far behind. He needed to start talking before they assumed the worst.
“At the same time that rumors came in about an Empire attack on Caspagir, I also heard whispers that an envoy from the Emperor was moving toward Stormbreak. An envoy, not a-a bloody armada.” Rayne paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to gather the threads of his own patience. When he was calm again, he continued. “There was supposed to be a secret meeting between Queen Amara and this envoy. I thought…I thought she might be attempting to negotiate a cessation of aggression toward Caspagir and Ilon.”
“And you didn’t think that was something we needed to know?” Eno bellowed.
“I wasn’t permitted to say anything,” Rayne stiffly replied.
“Wasn’t permitted? How? You are sworn to me!” Caelan snapped.
“And your mother,” Rayne added. “Before I picked you up at the bar, she called me in for a brief meeting where she made me swear an oath to her that I would not tell you of the planned meeting with the Empire’s envoy. I have never broken a vow to the crown.”
Caelan’s shoulders slumped slightly and he paced away, seeming to accept that answer. Rayne chanced a glance over at Eno, who gave him the smallest nod of approval. He didn’t look happy with the news Rayne had imparted, but he at least understood why Rayne hadn’t volunteered that information. But Rayne studiously ignored the warm swell in his chest in reaction to Eno’s approval. He didn’t need his approval or want it.
“But why? Why didn’t she tell me that she was going to have this meeting with the Empire? Shouldn’t that have been something I needed to know?” Caelan demanded, but he seemed to be talking to himself as much as the other people in the room. The floor creaked under his feet as he paced.
Drayce perched himself on the arm of a chair, an arm wrapped around one knee while his worried gaze remained locked on Caelan. “What would you have done if you had known?”
“I wouldn’t have fucking left!” Caelan shouted. His hands were balled into tight fists and shaking at his sides.
“That’s why she didn’t tell you,” Eno murmured in a low, dull voice. “She probably suspected some treachery on the part of the Empire. If something happened during the meeting, if something happened to her, at least she knew that the royal line would be protected.”
“I’m sorry, Caelan,” Rayne said softly. And he truly was. He was sorry the young man had lost so much, sorry that Rayne hadn’t been able to foresee this event and make a plan to avoid it all. Maybe if they had disobeyed orders and stayed in the city, maybe if they’d…