Even if Drayce was clueless as to what Caelan wanted, Caelan didn’t regret it. He already missed the feel of Drayce’s warmth, the soft secretive whisper in his voice.
But it was time to return to reality.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Rayne drawled in a dry voice. “They do belong to me.”
A new set of footsteps approached and a tall man with bright-blue hair and sharp dark-blue eyes came to stand beside Rayne, a smirk playing on his lips. “Are you sure? They seem like a disreputable pair.”
Caelan dropped his head back and groaned loudly. Why yes, of course. Let’s just make this nightmare even worse. Of course Rayne was there to fetch them with Prince Shey Thrudesh-Vo.
“Wait, is that—” Drayce started.
“Yes,” Calean moaned.
“They are, but they belong to me all the same,” Rayne answered Shey, ignoring Caelan’s pained sounds.
“Release our guests, Captain. I’ll take them with me.” There was no missing the hint of laughter in his deep voice. This just kept getting better.
The captain of the military guard who’d arrested them stood beside Prince Shey, his eyes down and expression strained. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but we need some kind of proof that he’s who you claim him to be. There are reports that Prince Caelan is dead. There have been Empire spies in the city recently. We…we need proof he is who he claims to be.”
Caelan rolled his eyes and shoved to his feet. “Don’t believe me that I’m a tourist. Don’t believe me that I’m a prince.”
“You don’t look like much of either at the moment,” Rayne murmured.
He narrowed his eyes at his friend through the bars. “You’re not helping.”
“How would you like me to assist?” Rayne’s tone held a note of mocking rather than its usual tartness. Hopefully that meant his mood wasn’t completely foul.
“Got a lighter on you?” Caelan inquired with a tight smile.
Rayne patted his pockets, but it was the captain who produced the lighter first. At Caelan’s instructions, he flicked the flint and sparked a teardrop of flame that he thrust through the bars. Reaching out toward the fire while remaining in the center of the room, Caelan summoned the power of the fire toward him and let it wrap around him. Energy sparked and crackled through the room. He felt it pour into him, and a breeze stirred from the ether to ruffle his hair.
He could barely hear the whispered gasps over the rush of energy across his ears. There shouldn’t be so much power churning for such a little flame, but he suspected he knew already where it was coming from. It was more than the warm pulse from the Godstone. There was the second crackle of energy he’d felt since entering Sirelis. Oddly the two energies didn’t fight or shove against each other, but they seemed to naturally weave together. Very curious.
With a drop of his hand, the protective bubble fell over him with an angry snap and crackle that had Rayne’s eyes widening. Only his friends would recognize the difference.
“Holy shit,” Shey whispered.
“By the gods!” the captain exclaimed. The hand holding the flame shook, and he quickly extinguished the lighter.
“As you might know, Prince Caelan can call on the power of the Godstone just like his mother,” Rayne said in a firm tone that left no room for argument. “That’s not something that can be faked by the Empire or anyone.”
“Release Prince Caelan immediately,” Shey added in the same tone.
The captain could only nod, fumbling with the key to the cell in his haste to release the member of the royal family from his military jail.
Caelan let go of his hold on the protection spell, letting the bubble of power fall away. There was still a tingle dancing along his skin, a whisper in the air, but it was fading as well. As he stepped out of the cell, he was greeted immediately by Shey.
“Prince Caelan, I must apologize—”
Caelan held up a hand, halting his words. “Don’t. They didn’t know who I was. They were acting to protect your people, which I respect.”
“Thank you for your understanding.” Shey deeply bowed his head to Caelan.
Caelan’s lips quirked into a small smile. “I am hoping this means that we can have a nice long conversation.”
“It does. But first, let’s go to the palace so that you can relax and refresh yourself.”
“Thank you. That would be wonderful.” He motioned for Shey to precede him down the hall with the captain. Caelan glanced at Rayne, who was watching him with eyes full of questions in regard to his magic show. Caelan slowly grinned and tilted his head toward Shey. “It appears that we both have a lot to talk about.”
As he’d expected, Rayne looked away, his expression stern and maybe a little flustered. While they urgently needed to talk about the lighthouse without the presence of Prince Shey, Caelan was dying to know exactly how Rayne knew the prince and how well they knew each other.