Breath of Life (Godstone Saga 2)

“Which means finding us in Stormbreak.”

“Regardless of what the Empire believes now, we’re going to remove all doubt when we go for the Life Stone.”

Drayce nodded. They needed to get Caelan bonded to the Goddess of Life, though selfish as he was, Drayce wished his friend didn’t have to at all. The effect of Kaes on Caelan was not good. He couldn’t imagine adding a second god to the mix was going to make things better for the prince.

But in the grand scheme of things, what he wanted didn’t matter. Caelan would do anything to save Erya, even give up his own life. And Drayce would be right there with him every step of the way.

9

Caelan Talos

Home.

He’d been away for three weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. He’d begun to feel as if he’d never see the vast farms of the eastern lands or the simple homes of Stonehaven again. The old walls that wrapped around the inner districts of Stormbreak Point still stood, built centuries ago by his ancestors.

The thick barricade had held in the citizens of Stormbreak for only a few short decades before the city was forced to expand, giving birth for Green Gate to the east and Stonehaven in the west.

Caelan had spent little time in those districts. His stomping grounds had been anywhere inside the city walls, preferably beyond King’s Square, which housed the royal towers and the ministers’ offices. His university years were spent wandering through Uni

Gardens or finding trouble down at Cabbage Port.

But now they were back, and part of him was reluctant to set his eyes upon the towers again. The few reports that had gotten to him were that the central tower, which housed the Godstone as well as his mother’s chambers and the throne room, was partially gone. The vibrant green crystal glittered at the top of the tower, exposed to the elements and reflecting the rays of the sun like a beacon calling out to all her children to return home.

As they neared the capital, the arguments between Rayne and Eno grew more intense as they debated where to attempt to enter the city. Each district had its own opening in the wall to allow people and commerce to easily pass. The Armory was clearly out. The Empire would have made this location a priority the second they attacked the tower. After this much time, the district would have fallen already.

If the people were starving as they’d heard, Green Gate was also out. New Rosanthe would have taken control of the farms and the gate. That left the three entrances in Stonehaven that led into Uni Gardens, East Ward, and Cabbage Port, respectively.

“Enter through East Ward,” Caelan ordered, cutting off another round of bickering. “East Ward will be the easiest to disappear in and gives us the quickest route to the King’s Square.”

Rayne twisted in the passenger seat to look at Caelan in the rear of the sedan. The damn thing smelled of old fish and feet, but the mechanic had been right; the car had enough left in it to get them across Erya to the capital. Eno glanced up from the road to meet Caelan’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

“It’s unlikely the chancellor and the rest of the ministers would have remained in King’s Square after the attack on the towers,” Rayne said. “They’ve probably retreated to Uni Gardens.”

It made sense that the remains of the government would have seized the offices within the university and the surrounding area since the university had been supported and funded by the government and royal family. But Caelan’s first priority was not to meet with the chancellor or even whatever military heads they could locate.

He needed to see it first. He needed to see the place he’d called home all of his life, the place where his mother had made her final stand and died. The closer they got to Stormbreak, the more rage bubbled in his veins. The blue sky that had accompanied them all day was steadily turning gray. Thick banks of clouds were moving in, and the wind was picking up. Maybe this was a normal summer storm, but likely, the power of the God of Storms was leaking from him as he thought more and more of what the Empire had done to his home, his country.

Sighing, Caelan closed his eyes and went digging through the whispers of his mind until he located the siren call of Kaes’s darker side encouraging Caelan to let loose and allow the power of the God of Storms to wipe the city clean of the Empire. As tempting as it sounded, his own people would suffer as well, and they’d already been through enough. If he could avoid heaping more hardship on them, that would be for the best.

When the grumpy god was settled, he opened his eyes again to find them passing the last of the farms. The landscape gradually gave way to more populated villages with densely crowded neighborhoods filled with cookie-cutter homes and apartment buildings. If you couldn’t afford to live within the city walls but could afford to commute into the city proper, you lived in Stonehaven. The most affluent neighborhoods continued to be in King’s Square followed closely by sections of Uni Gardens and East Ward.