“Not a chance,” Drayce agreed in a near growl. “Even if he couldn’t have the power of the goddess to use, he’d want to make sure no one else could get near it. He’d likely kill anyone who stumbled across it as well. Controlling the knowledge of the godstone would be a power in itself for him.”
“So, we’re looking for any cave or natural structure where the godstone could be hidden from sight, but also places where a clan might have once existed but were wiped out by the Takahashi,” Adrian listed. He waved one hand. “That should narrow it down, right?”
“Not as much as you might think,” Drayce grumbled. He scrubbed a hand across his face and seemed to shrink in on himself. “Clan Takahashi has destroyed a lot of clans over the centuries. My father has been in power a long time, and he learned everything from his father and his father before him. It’s horrible.”
Caelan wrapped an arm over Drayce’s shoulders and pulled him close. “You are not Takahashi. You are Drayce Ladon.”
Some of the lines disappeared from Drayce’s face, but the tension and worry lingered. “It’s still a lot of ground to cover.”
“We can see if Omari Nori can supply us with a map and maybe provide some suggestions on where to start our search,” Rayne stated.
“I’m sure he could also loan us some dragons to do some flyovers of some of the regions to help narrow the potential list of places,” Adrian suggested. “Haru would love to stick his nose into our business further.”
Caelan glared at him. “I would prefer it if my cousin was kept out of this.” He paused and sighed, dropping his head against Drayce’s. “But you’re probably right. There will be no keeping him out of this.”
“And he is a sneaky, silent bastard. He’d probably be able to slip in and out of a region without the Takahashi ever knowing he was close if they happen to be there guarding the godstone,” Adrian added.
Caelan nodded. “I’ll speak to Haru and my grandfather about it.”
“Are the Takahashi the only ones we need to worry about as we go after the godstone?” All eyes shifted to Eno. “What about the Empire? We haven’t encountered New Rosanthe troubles since we reached the Isle of Stone. Should we assume that the Erya navy has been keeping New Rosanthe from landing?”
Rayne frowned. “I don’t think New Rosanthe is on the Isle of Stone.”
Caelan shifted on the couch, moving to balance on the edge of the cushion, his elbows resting on his knees. “Are you sure?”
“Not one hundred percent, but fairly confident,” he admitted. “It would have been a major risk coming here. They have no allies here, and we beat them in landing. Zastrad was at the very least indifferent to their presence, but rumors have constantly persisted that dragons are hostile to outsiders. Safa would have been stuck fighting us and the dragon clans.”
“And so far, she’s lost consistently when she’s faced us,” Drayce interjected with a smirk.
“By choosing not to follow us to the Isle of Stone, it has left New Rosanthe free to go after a different target,” Rayne continued.
“Fuck. Ilon,” Caelan breathed.
Rayne nodded. “General Morgan has ample soldiers standing by to assist Ilon should they come under attack, but I’m more concerned about Safa using covert methods to get what she wants.”
“But we don’t know if the gods are going to send you to the Light Stone next,” Drayce pressed. He scooted forward and wrapped an arm around Caelan’s hunched back. “Maybe the Goddess of Fire is all you need to take on Safa and the Goddess of the Hunt.”
“You think that after the Isle of Stone, we’ll make a run on the Ordas and go for the Blood Stone?” Caelan asked.
“It could be a way of drawing Safa out of Ilon, assuming that’s where she is,” Eno said.
Rayne wasn’t convinced and Caelan didn’t seem to be either, but his king nodded anyway. It was a hope to cling to. Ilon had been an ally of Erya for centuries, and no one wanted to see it hurt the same way Sirelis or Mrtyu had been.
Plus, going to the Ordas rather than Ilon promised to end this fight sooner rather than later. They’d been traveling for months now, adding more pressure and danger to Caelan. Rayne wanted his king sitting safely on the throne in Stormbreak, not battling gods and their minions within the Ordas.
“We’ll deal with what’s next whether that’s Ilon or the Goddess of the Hunt after I’ve bonded with Caris. There’s no point in worrying about everything else if I can’t even reach the Goddess of Fire,” Caelan grumbled.
“What about the problems between the Takahashi and the Omari? How are we going to fix that prior to searching for the goddess?” Eno inquired.