Caelan sucked the bluster right out of him by leaning forward and pressing the sweetest kiss to the tip of his chin. “You’re right, but it’s more complicated than that. Omari Nori must worry about how his people would be impacted after the fight is over.”
“But Haru wouldn’t give a shit about that,” Eno continued with a chuckle.
The pieces finally clicked into place, and Drayce laughed. He leaned against the log next to Cael. “Haru wouldn’t care. Not where Adrian was concerned.”
“Haru has feelings for Adrian?” Rayne inquired.
Drayce opened his mouth to tease Rayne about how he was so oblivious to Haru’s obvious attachment for Adrian but caught the words before they could trip from his tongue. Rayne had been dealing with other things on his mind while they were on the Isle of Stone. Haru and Adrian had been the least of his concerns. He quickly closed his mouth and cleared his throat.
“Haru grew very attached to Adrian while we were there.” He glanced over at Caelan, who was also smirking. They might have gossiped over this a few times in the past weeks. “Judging by the questions Adrian has asked me about Haru, Adrian’s at least aware of Haru’s interest.”
“Very odd,” Rayne mumbled to himself. He lifted his eyes to Caelan again. “Why aren’t you upset that Adrian has disobeyed you?”
Caelan shrugged. “What’s the point? I wanted the dragons here, and I’m tired of all the secrets. I would prefer to do this in a smooth, calm manner, but a war doesn’t allow for such niceties. If Adrian did contact Haru, I know he did it because he’s trying to protect his home and his king. If he didn’t, this is Haru being impulsive or he’s here with my grandfather’s blessing. In the end, what’s done is done. We need to make the best of the situation.”
“And how do you know Haru has come to help?” Eno inquired. “What’s Haru got to do with Adrian’s emotions?” He picked up Rayne’s hand with his left and threaded their fingers together, causing a small grin to lift the corners of Rayne’s mouth.
“Adrian is very even-keeled and calm, but about two weeks ago, there was this explosion of emotions from him—shock, horror, excitement, frustration, and pure joy. Since then, he’s alternated between joy and simmering frustration.” Caelan shrugged. “Drayce isn’t there to drive him crazy, so I figure another dragon is driving him insane.”
Eno snorted. “Namely, Omari Haru.”
Caelan flinched and Drayce immediately knew why, but he was surprised when his lover covered it with an easy smile.
“I was thinking that Drayce and I would scout ahead for a bit,” Caelan suggested. “You two stay here and catch your breath.”
“My breath is plenty caught,” Eno grumbled, his eyes narrowing on his king in warning.
“Yeah, but I think Rayne could use the break,” Drayce tossed out.
Eno’s eyes widened and jumped to his lover. “Of course. We could take the break now. Rayne and I can scout next time.”
Rayne stared at them, skepticism in his narrowed eyes, but didn’t argue when Drayce and Caelan shouldered their bags and took off through the forest.
“That was a dirty trick, throwing Rayne under the bus like that,” Caelan snickered when they were a good distance from where they’d taken their afternoon meal. “You knew Eno would stop fighting if he thought the break was for Rayne’s own good.”
Drayce snorted. “Like you’re any better than me. You knew Rayne would think that you’d suggested they stay behind to let Eno rest, so he kept his mouth shut.”
Caelan shrugged, looking completely unrepentant. “So we’re both wicked, manipulative people.” He lifted an eyebrow at Drayce. “You heard them?”
He shook his head, his expression turning serious. “There was a whiff of gunpowder on the air. My guess is that it’s a small scouting party. Probably about half a dozen at most.”
Gunpowder meant the Empire was close. The goddess’s attacks had been limited to animals and claws so far. Guns were the weapons of choice for the Empire.
“We need to do this as quietly as possible. If there’s a larger group close by, I don’t want them alerted to our presence,” Caelan murmured.
Drayce bumped his best friend with his elbow and smirked. “You think because I’m a dragon I can’t be quiet.”
A huffed laugh left Cael’s parted lips. “Oh, I know you can be quiet when you want to be. But this might be a little harder than sneaking into the royal kitchens past half a dozen guards to get the last of the strawberry tarts.”
“Fuck, why did you have to bring up those tarts?” he moaned softly. His stomach grumbled, echoing his complaint after their lunch had been some jerky and a hard biscuit. “We haven’t had a good dessert since we left Stormbreak. When we get home, I swear I’m going to set up camp in the kitchen for the first week and let your cooks feed me.”