“You also have the most experience dealing with all this government, political shit.” Eno scrunched up his nose at Rayne, his distaste for this world coming through loud and clear. “Caelan named you his heir. Who the fuck else would you think he meant to slip into this role? You had to have known he meant for you to remain behind when he did that.”
Another sucker punch. Rayne was reeling. He could barely form a coherent thought. His mind was swirling. Did Eno really think so little of his life’s passion?
“Whoa!” Caelan shouted before Rayne could come up with a counterargument. “I named Rayne my heir because he’s the best for the job, and a line of succession needed to be established since there is a damn good chance I’m going to die. I never considered it a reason to leave Rayne behind in Stormbreak.”
“He needs to stay behind. He has no business going to Zastrad,” Eno raged.
Rayne was beyond rational thought at that point. In a matter of a couple of minutes, Eno had stabbed him in the back again and again with his words. His heart pounded and his fists trembled at his sides. And suddenly, one of them was simply sailing through the air, connecting with Eno’s jaw with all the force he could muster.
There was a sickening satisfaction that came with sending the large man to the floor in a heap of flying limbs.
A hand grabbed his left arm as he lunged toward Eno’s prone form, wide amber-brown eyes staring up at him. “You lying bastard!” Rayne snarled. “You swore you wouldn’t leave me behind. So long as I could keep up, you wouldn’t leave me behind. Fucking liar.”
Rayne shook off the hand on his arm and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Maybe it was better if he remained in Stormbreak. He wasn’t sure he could stand to look Eno in the eyes again. Trust was a hard thing to win, and Eno had shattered his.
24
Drayce Ladon
Drayce raced up the stairs, clutching a kitchen towel wrapped around some ice. One of the guards on duty pointed in that direction and quickly turned away as if he was trying to pretend that he didn’t overhear some pretty intense shouting.
Hell, his brain was still reeling from how things had escalated so fast. He’d blinked and Rayne was laying Eno the fuck out, and the bodyguard had stayed there in a kind of dumbfounded shock.
And the thing was…Eno’s suggestion didn’t seem all that crazy.
Not that Drayce planned to say that to Rayne while he was in the mood to punch people.
But deep down, Drayce had no doubt that he wasn’t in any real danger of getting punched by Rayne. No, he’d clearly seen Rayne’s expression as he stood over Eno. The man wasn’t just pissed, he was fucking devastated. Betrayed.
Leaving Caelan to fix up Eno had been an easy decision. His feet were already moving before his brain had figured out what needed to happen. Someone needed to check on Rayne, and maybe he was the best person for it, because he was starting to wonder if they might both end up in the same boat in the not-too-distant future.
It wasn’t hard to locate Rayne in the room with the one shut door. The safe house was a relatively nice town home with four floors. When they’d arrived, the guards had explained that the second and third floors were all bedrooms, while the fourth-floor attic had been changed into a large dorm-style room with two rows of pallets. Everything on the first floor had been shifted into staging areas or planning rooms.
But they really didn’t see much of it. They’d brought Caelan into the one sitting room with a couch and sort of collapsed in exhaustion. The excitement and fear over meeting the goddess probably had tensions still running high for everyone, but Drayce couldn’t forget Rayne’s expression. That look of abject pain and desolation had sliced through Drayce, leaving him chilled to the bone.
He knocked on the door and entered when Rayne didn’t say anything. The man was standing painfully straight in front of the window, holding on to his injured right hand with his left. The curtains were closed so it wasn’t like he could see a damn thing, and yet he still didn’t turn around.
“What do you want?” Rayne asked in a low, emotionless voice.
“I brought you some ice,” Drayce replied, taking a step into the room. He waited and finally, Rayne’s shoulders slipped an inch. It was enough of a sign for him. Drayce quietly closed the door behind him and crossed to where Rayne was standing. He held out the white towel covered in colorful roosters. “Is it broken?”
“No,” Rayne snapped, snatching the ice from Drayce. He winced but didn’t make a sound as he lightly pressed it to his hand. Even from a distance, Drayce could see that it was swollen.