City of Blood (Godstone Saga 6)

No talking about Caelan’s new godly status, which also included any instances of him dying.

No talking about his engagement.

No talking about dragons, and especially, no talking about Drayce being a dragon.

The one thing Caelan had stated that Adrian could talk about was the godstones. Namely, that they existed, or rather that they had existed at one time. Until things went to shit in the caverns under Brightspire.

When he reached the double doors to the designated meeting room, Adrian fought the urge to tug at his cuffs yet again. It felt strange being in the Towers, despite everything appearing exactly how it had been when he’d last strolled through those halls. The large windows overlooking the city, the plush carpets, the elegant hints of Godstone green everywhere, and the overall sense of quiet beauty. It was the place he’d called home for years, and yet it all felt strange and off-putting somehow.

And it wasn’t because he’d spent much of the past few months out of the country.

No, it was due to the fact that Caelan, Drayce, Eno, and Rayne were nowhere to be found. Drayce’s voice couldn’t be heard echoing down the halls. There were no glimpses of Caelan’s and Rayne’s heads bent toward each other in hushed conference. Eno’s shadow didn’t darken the rooms. Despite being filled with people, the Towers were empty.

Everything was going to be fine.

Adrian shoved those thoughts aside and focused on what was before him. He was going to convince both General Morgan and the prince to send as many troops as possible into the most dangerous place in all of Thia on the promise that Adrian alone could lead them to King Caelan.

Fuck. This was going to be bad.

Adrian pulled open the door to find Johanna Morgan and Tomas Soto already waiting for him. They looked up from a giant TV screen on the wall that was filled with a handsome but scarred man with dark-blue hair. Everything about this person seemed cold and distant. He’d dated Rayne? Yeah, they had a similar, piercing gaze. They probably got along famously, which made it more confusing that Rayne and Eno were so happy together.

He froze in the doorway, unsure of whether he should back out if they weren’t ready for him.

Tomas jumped to his feet from where he’d been sitting next to Morgan at the round conference table and waved Adrian in. “Come in. You’re on time. We were just discussing some things with His Highness.”

Adrian hurried into the medium-sized room with the elegant emerald-green wallpaper and bowed deeply to the TV screen. “Your Highness, it’s an honor.”

“General Morgan was informing me that you were one of the bodyguards who traveled with King Caelan to the Isle of Stone as well as Ilon,” Shey said in a surprisingly deep, smooth voice. “Considering the messages he sent back to us, I’m stunned you left your king.”

Adrian fisted his hands at his sides and straightened, his spine becoming rigid as he glared at the screen. “Leaving my king’s side was not my first or even last choice. However, my mission could save both my king and Thia if I am successful. My duty is to my king’s commands.”

Shey’s lips twisted into something like a smirk, and he gave a wave of his hand. “Sit, Royal Guard. Sit, and let’s talk about what the fuck happened in Brightspire. And I mean, what really happened.”

Adrian worked to keep his expression clear as he turned and offered a quick salute to General Morgan, who nodded. He’d been in the general’s presence a substantial amount since coming to be Caelan’s bodyguard, but this was the first time he was in the same room with her without Caelan being present. The woman appeared as if she’d aged years during the time she’d taken over running the government while the king was forced to save the world. Her black hair was considerably grayer now, and he was sure the wrinkles that stretched out from her eyes were deeper.

“The king did not kill Prime Minister Jasper Feroz,” Adrian declared the second his ass hit the seat.

Shey snorted. “Fucking shame. He was always such a slimy weasel.”

Okay, so maybe the crown prince wasn’t all bad.

“Lieutenant, just start from the beginning and tell us everything,” Morgan stated in a firm and supportive voice.

Adrian laughed. He didn’t mean to. The bubbles rose up his chest and exploded out of his mouth before he could even catch them.

From the beginning? What was the beginning? That Caelan had been conned into bonding with these gods in the first place? That Ilon had been kidnapping Erya children from their beds? Or that the fucking gods destroyed a woman’s life out of petty jealousy and now there was a chance they could all die?

The laugh turned into a fractured sob and he dropped his face into his hands, wiping away the tears that squeezed free.