Wings of Fire (Godstone Saga 4)

The laughter died in his throat, and his eyes were drawn to the northern horizon. Three months since he’d seen Drayce. It was the longest they’d been separated since they became friends in high school, and Caelan couldn’t shake the feeling that he was suffocating without him. Adrian was a nice distraction at times, and Rayne was keeping him brain-numbingly busy with running Erya, but his mind still wandered and his heart reached out for the man who had become his other half.

Had Drayce returned to the Isle of Stone?

How would they even find him if he did? It wasn’t like he was going to be standing on the beach, waving at them as they arrived. Caelan could so easily imagine that goofy grin spreading his lips as he waved to them, though, beckoning them to hurry up as if it were their fault they’d not all arrived together.

And if he wasn’t at the Isle of Stone, where would they search next? Because gods be damned, Caelan refused to go another step further in their quest to stop Zyros until he located Drayce.

“Your Majesty!” Rayne’s voice barely rose above the sound of the wind and the crashing waves even though it sounded like he was shouting.

Caelan turned to find his advisor bundled in a long wool coat that flapped around his knees. His hands were tucked deep in the pockets and his head was hunched to his shoulders to protect his ears. Rayne had remained locked in his quarters almost from the second they’d stepped on the ship. The poor General Morgan had been getting steady messages from his advisor as the country prepared for winter as well as more fighting.

They might have spent a month in Stormbreak, but he and Caelan had worked from dawn until late into the night every day to get the country in order. Croft had been found guilty of treason and executed. Caelan had not been present for the trial, but Rayne, Eno, and several others had testified against her.

He had been there when the lethal injection was pumped into her veins. It had felt kinder than she deserved. To the very end, she was still proclaiming that she had done it all for the people of Erya. Maybe she had, but he couldn’t believe it had been her only reason.

At the very least, he felt they’d left the country in a good place for Morgan to step back into control again. Not that he was exactly looking forward to endless meetings with ministers, dignitaries, and others who wanted or needed something from him. The course he was on might be dangerous, but the adventure was more enjoyable than meetings and emails.

“You should return below,” Rayne said when he reached Caelan’s side. “It’s too cold to linger any longer.”

“Soon. It’s peaceful out here,” Caelan murmured.

The wind shifted, blowing Caelan’s hair in front of his face. He lifted a hand to shove it away, but he stopped when his eyes caught on the strands Nyx had changed to his shade of purple. The reminder of the bargain made and the years he’d lost to the God of Time.

“Why do I feel like you’ve not told me everything you learned from Nyx when you died?” Rayne inquired tightly, his voice pitched so Caelan alone could hear him.

“Because I didn’t.”

“Cael,” Rayne snapped. He started to reach for Caelan but stopped sharply, balling his fingers into a fist. His overprotective advisor wanted to close the distance between them, possibly shake some sense into him. He didn’t blame Rayne, but there were a lot of other sailors on the main deck. No one grabbed the king unless it was to protect him.

“I’m sorry, but I need to think about what he told me some more.”

“Let me help you,” Rayne pleaded, and not because it was his job. Worry filled the jade-green eyes intently watching him behind water-speckled glasses. Rayne had remarked that Caelan had been different, more withdrawn since leaving Zastrad. Drayce’s unexpected truth and disappearance had a large role in that, but Nyx was also never far from his mind. He was constantly worried about how much time he had left and whether it was enough to stop Safa and Zyros.

What if it wasn’t? What if pissing off Nyx had doomed all of Thia? What if it doomed his family?

Which left him contemplating stealing time from others. Innocent people.

Of course, he couldn’t mention any of this to Eno or Rayne. He knew what their responses would be. They would offer up their own time, and there was no way he was shortening their lifespans.

And through all of this, Nyx chuckled in the back of his mind. He could almost imagine the crunch of popcorn as the God of Time enjoyed the show.

“We can work through this together,” Rayne continued. “Whatever the god told you, we can find an answer.”