“Whoa! So that video on the Internet was real? He really took out the Empire’s navy?” Levi demanded, wonder filling his voice.
“Fuck, yeah! It was amazing! He was up in the sky, lightning exploding from his hands, and—”
“Drayce!” Eno snarled, cutting off his companion’s enthusiasm. There was nothing they could do about the video, but he did not want Drayce slipping and mentioning the God of Storms or the other godstones. For now, that needed to stay a secret.
“Oh, sorry,” Drayce replied before slapping a hand over his mouth as if he couldn’t trust himself not to say more.
“But yes, King Caelan is in Stormbreak,” Eno said, his tongue nearly tripping over the title again. King. It felt so strange saying it, even though he’d had plenty of time to get adjusted to the idea. In his mind, Caelan was still the high schooler finding trouble with Drayce. Well, maybe not completely. Caelan had been forced to do plenty of growing up over the past few weeks.
Eno shook his head and pushed on. “He’s meeting with the chancellor to find out what is going on with the government officials and the dealings with New Rosanthe.”
“No!” Levi shouted.
Even Melita cursed softly under her breath with a shake of her head. Eno’s stomach twisted into a tight knot at their reaction to his news. This was very bad.
“We’ve heard that Chancellor Croft is using this attack as an opportunity to stage a coup of her own. She wants to get rid of the throne and seize control of Erya,” Melita explained.
“What! That’s fucking insane!” Drayce exploded.
Eno didn’t have words for it, though his heart was raging much like Drayce. Get rid of the throne? The idea was insane. Absolutely insane.
With a shake of his head to get his thoughts to clear, Eno reached behind him and grabbed Drayce’s arm, squeezing to stop him in the middle of his outraged rant. While it was horrible to think that Croft was planning this, the bigger problem was that Caelan and Rayne had walked straight into her lair.
“Try texting Rayne or Caelan,” Eno ordered in a low voice before turning his attention to Melita. “Are you sure about this?”
The Royal Guard nodded, looking saddened by the news. “Yes. I heard it directly from Tomas. He’d made contact with Croft after we returned from our mission. He’d been trying to get more military assistance. When he mentioned the king, Croft brushed it off and said Erya didn’t have a king. She was seizing control of Erya.”
“Fuck,” Eno muttered. He shoved a hand through his dirty, sweaty hair, trying to piece all of this insanity together.
“All I know is that Tomas is working to get in contact with the generals who are still outside of Stormbreak and get a feel for whose side they’re on.” Melita stopped, her lip curled with disgust. She swore softly and flicked what looked to be an old beer bottle cap across the table littered with cigarette ashes, old beer bottles, and medical gauze. “Croft is calling Tomas a Royalist and a traitor, forcing him into fucking hiding. If the military backs Croft, we’re on our own. If they support the crown, then Tomas is trying to keep Spirit Road open for them to push into the city.”
“Nothing,” Drayce snapped. “I’m not reaching either of them.”
“Croft might have taken their phones already,” Eno replied.
“What do we do? Will she kill them?”
Eno’s heart sped up. Croft might still have a use for Caelan, but what about Rayne? Would she kill him simply because he supported Caelan? Make an example of him?
“No,” Melita said firmly. “Croft is a politician first. If she can get the king to peacefully give up power and hand everything over to her, it will force everyone to support her. Killing King Caelan outright will divide the country, and she’ll never gain complete control.”
“Cael will never give up the throne!” Drayce shouted. Eno could feel the young man vibrating with indignation and rage behind him. “He was born to be king. He is the Guardian of the Godstone. No one else can bond with the goddess.”
That was a very good point.
“What is she planning for the Godstone?” Eno demanded. “Does she think she can bond with it?”
“Could she?” Levi interjected. He shifted from one foot to the other, his arms crossed over his chest. “I thought only a member of the Talos family could use the power of the Godstone.”
“No, she can’t. Caelan—I mean, King Caelan is already drawing power from the Godstone. There’s no way in hell the goddess is going to accept Croft,” Drayce growled.
Eno was sorely tempted to take off his sock and stuff it in Drayce’s mouth. The man did not think before he started spouting out words. The less the world knew about Caelan’s connection to the Godstone, the better. While everyone in the room appeared to be on their side, Eno wasn’t sure there couldn’t be a spy or two among them. If Croft discovered Caelan stood between her and the Godstone, it was one less reason to keep him alive.