Breath of Life (Godstone Saga 2)

Caelan ignored the man’s criticism of his home. He’d seen pictures of the gold-plated monstrosity that was the New Rosanthe palace. If that was the Empire’s idea of beauty, Caelan would happily take the quiet elegance of his home any day.

“Why have you come to Caspagir? Are you determined to start a war with every kingdom in Thia?” Caelan demanded.

The Lord High Commander lifted one eyebrow at him as if he were surprised that Caelan dared to ask a question of his own. “We were following up intelligence that you and your comrades were sighted in Caspagir. We gave the royal family ample opportunity to hand you over. By refusing, they inserted Caspagir into a private matter. They brought war to their people.”

“Except for the fact that your forces were already wandering the city streets before the time limit was up. I would imagine your spies were in place prior to the arrival of your ships.”

The old naval officer gave the slightest shrug. “If Caspagir can’t protect her own capital city, it is better off if the country is in the hands of those who can defend its border.”

Caelan was knocked speechless. How could he even argue with that mentality? There was no point in wasting his energy. Grim saw it as his duty to simply conquer more cities and countries because it was the right of New Rosanthe. He probably even believed he was doing those poor people a favor.

However, he never got the chance to follow up the Lord High Commander’s source for that intelligence. The phone on his desk rang twice, shattering the tense air, and stopped. He jumped to his feet and snatched up a remote control as he stepped around the desk to approach Caelan.

His heart leaping to bang against his lungs, Caelan backpedaled, trying to put more distance between himself and the Lord High Commander. The New Rosanthe bastard roughly grabbed his arm and forced him to turn toward a large display screen on the wall. With the push of a button, the panel came on.

The gold eagle national emblem of New Rosanthe lasted for only a moment before it was replaced by the image of a man with rich black hair. A thin mustache and beard ringed his mouth and accentuated his extremely pointy chin. Nearly black eyes regarded him under black brows that were little more than upward slashes on his forehead.

But it was the ornate gold crown that rested just above those eyebrows that caught Caelan’s attention. He always thought one day he’d have a direct conversation with the Emperor of New Rosanthe, but he’d never imagined it would happen while he was being held captive after his own kingdom had fallen.

“Prince Caelan Talos,” the man on the screen said evenly.

“Emperor Naram Suen,” Caelan replied, working hard to match his tone.

“I regret the death of your mother, but there was no way around it, I’m afraid. It is time Erya gave up the Godstone. For the good of all of Thia.” That last bit sounded as if he’d tossed it out almost as an afterthought.

“I feel the same regret when I must tell you that the Godstone will never be moved from Erya, and you will answer for the murder of Queen Amara and all the deaths you have brought to my people.” Caelan’s voice trembled only slightly as pain and anger warred in his chest.

“Your Majesty, he claims that the goddess will not allow the Godstone to be moved from Stormbreak,” Grim volunteered.

The Emperor turned his cold gaze to the Lord High Commander, hitting him with such disdain. The reprimand was clear without a word being spoken. The large, confident man at Caelan’s side shrunk and bowed his head as he took a step backward.

“Oh, I bet she’d hate it if we moved that stone,” a low, feminine voice just offscreen purred.

Caelan’s attention jerked to the display in time to see a woman in skintight black leather pants and a clingy black blouse step up to the Emperor’s thronelike chair. She hung one arm across the top and nearly sat in the emperor’s lap. The woman was both captivating and terrifying all at once. Her skin was a lovely, warm brown stretched over incredibly high cheekbones and a hard jaw. Everything about her was rather feline. Large, luminous eyes looked over him, and her pupils narrowed into thin vertical slits like that of a cat’s.

“No!” she snarled suddenly. She lunged forward and hissed, revealing sharp pointed teeth and fangs.

Caelan jumped back as if he expected her to come right through the video screen. Grim’s fingers dug into his elbow, holding him in place.

“He has already bonded with the God of Storms! He’s stolen the power from the Caspagir godstone!” she shouted.

“The Caspagir godstone?” the Lord High Commander gasped.

Well, that answered Caelan’s question in an interesting way. The Emperor and his feline playmate knew there were multiple godstones, but not all of the Emperor’s men knew about them.