“I could freaking kiss you,” Adrian whispered roughly as he tore the wrapping for the first sandwich. The smell was heavenly. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was starving. He’d been surviving the past few days on jerky and cheap food he could snag at convenience stores.
“When Tomas said I was to fetch you from the border, I figured you could use a snack.”
“I’m guessing there’s been news out of Brightspire,” Adrian mumbled around a mouthful of food.
“Some.” Her eyes darted to the two guards in the front seat. It wasn’t so much that they weren’t trustworthy, but that they hadn’t been fully read into the situation with the captain of the guard and General Morgan. “They’ve announced that Prime Minister Jasper Feroz is dead and that King Caelan Talos is wanted for questioning in relation to his death.”
Well, that was more civil than he was expecting. He’d thought they’d just come straight out and blame Caelan for the prime minister’s death. Of course, then they’d have to prove it, and there was also the matter of Ilon’s kidnapping problem that the king knew about. Ilon was on dangerous ground. They had to know it.
“The acting prime minister is demanding that Erya send the king and an envoy to Brightspire to answer questions,” Melita continued.
Adrian threw his head back and laughed, nearly choking on a chunk of meat. That was freaking brilliant.
“What’s so funny? They can’t actually think that the king is going to travel to Brightspire and face these bullshit charges?”
Adrian took a swig of his drink. It was too sweet and he would rather have had a beer, but this was comfort food, a small taste of home. “It’s all bullshit, and Ilon has a lot to fucking answer for, but it’s funny because they think he’s in Erya. That’s good.” It meant they might not be searching too hard in Ilon for his friends. It was going to be dangerous enough in the Ordas. They didn’t need to be fighting for their lives before they even got out of Ilon.
“Do you know where he is?”
Adrian shook his head. “No, but where he’s headed is not good.” He frowned at the half of his sandwich that was left, his appetite leaving him. “We need to get back to Stormbreak fast.”
“I know, but you look like you’re about to fall over, and you really do smell bad.”
Adrian rolled his eyes and managed a half smile. “A shower and five hours of sleep; then we’re on the road again.” He was not leaving Caelan and the others without the support they needed a second longer than necessary.
Adrian tugged at the cuffs of his formal Royal Guard uniform, making sure it was properly settled around his shoulders for what felt like the hundredth time. He hadn’t worn the thing in… fuck, months. He’d left it behind when they’d departed for the Isle of Stone and when they’d returned for a brief stay in Stormbreak, Eno and Tomas had put Adrian on leave, giving him the chance to rest and spend some time visiting his mother.
That was not to say that he hadn’t somehow managed to see at least one of the quartet each day—usually Drayce. Even on his time off, he felt himself drawn to the four men, as if his day wasn’t complete if he didn’t talk to them.
It wasn’t just him. They’d set up a group text that allowed them all to chat throughout the day, keeping each other up on different developments and sometimes random gossip.
The king even messaged him.
The most surreal part of it all, though, was that it didn’t feel as surreal as it probably should. Sure, he was friends with the King of Erya—who was now a god—and the king’s fiancé—which he was not supposed to mention to anyone. It also didn’t hurt that he was friends with the king’s advisor and the king’s personal bodyguard.
Knowing all of that, he felt like he shouldn’t have been half as nervous as he was for this meeting.
But he couldn’t feel nervous with Caelan any longer.
He definitely could around Crown Prince Shey Thrudesh-Vo. Thankfully, the prince wasn’t actually in Stormbreak. Adrian was scheduled to speak with him via video-link meeting, along with General Morgan and Captain Tomas Soto.
Melita had gotten him back to the capital late last night, and the general had been kind enough to allow him to eat and sleep but was quick to inform him that he’d be drawn into a meeting the next morning with the Crown Prince of Caspagir. Not surprising. Everyone wanted answers.
And Adrian had most of them.
But there were some he wasn’t allowed to give yet.
Just before Adrian separated from the group, Caelan had given him a list of things he was not allowed to talk about. It wasn’t a long list, and it was relatively easy to remember.