Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“And it’s just you?” Tyche glared, and Adrian cursed himself. It was as if he were doomed to stick his foot in his mouth when it came to Tyche. The god must naturally activate some kind of bad luck anytime they were together. “Not that it’s a problem. I don’t mind the company. I only thought that Shey is always with you. Is he coming too?”
Tyche glared at him for another second before his shoulders drooped. “No. I didn’t bother asking him.” He inched closer to Adrian so that they were standing only a few feet apart. “Everyone here knows who he is. The crown prince of Caspagir is the country’s first actual contact with the dragon clans of the Isle of Stone. He can’t risk pissing off the dragons and making things hard for his country.”
Damn. He made an excellent point. Shey was a prince and representative of his kingdom. He couldn’t screw around and create an international incident. As it was, Adrian was endangering his life and job with Erya by breaking the rules set by Nori. If the dragons didn’t remove his head, King Caelan had every right to.
And yet, he couldn’t walk away now. He had to see Haru.
“You’re right.” Adrian nodded and started walking with Tyche, gravel crunching softly under their boots. It would have been nice to have Shey with them, but he could help smooth things over with Nori and the other dragons in the morning.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Tyche asked as they reached the smooth pavement of the main road. They had left the dancing torchlight behind and stood bathed in the silvery light of the moon as it broke between tree branches.
“No, but I have a couple of guesses where he might be.”
Tyche grunted and rubbed his chin. “I can sense Yesuntei’s magic, but it’s all muddled with a lot of dragon magic. I can at least tell you if we’re heading in the right direction.”
It wasn’t great, but it was better than if he’d set out alone. This would probably take all night, but his other option was lying in bed, unable to sleep, and if he did drift off, there were only horrible nightmares waiting for him.
“Wow. You are morons. Both of you.”
Drayce’s dry, almost-snickering words drifted out from behind a nearby tree. The dragon with blond hair and a devilish smirk stepped out of the dark shadows, Prince Shey right behind him.
“What the…” Adrian gasped.
“You can’t be here!” Tyche shouted and then winced, slapping his hand across his mouth while pointing at Shey with his other hand. “Neither one of you can be here,” Tyche continued in a much softer voice.
They hurried to where Shey and Drayce were standing. The damn dragon looked so smug. Adrian had thought he was being sneaky. Not only had Tyche caught him, but Drayce and Shey had also been lying in wait. At this point, he was expecting Nori to poke his head around the corner and laugh.
“Where’s the king? Is he coming?” Adrian inquired.
Drayce lost his grin and winced. “Okay, so yeah. I shouldn’t be here. I sneaked out after Cael fell asleep. This is stupid, but I’ve kind of missed doing stupid shit. Everything is so proper, and there are all these rules that I have to follow as the king’s fiancé.”
“You know you’re going to get into trouble,” Shey observed with a lift of his eyebrows.
Drayce snapped his fingers and pointed at Shey. “Yes, but I don’t think it will be a lot. Nori is understanding, and Haru will rest better after he sees Adrian. We’ll deal with the aftermath later. Let’s just go see Haru.”
“Yes, please,” Adrian groaned. He was at the end of his rope. It had been the only thing he’d wanted since they first stepped onto the Isle of Stone. “Where is he?”
Drayce waved them forward. “Not far. A couple of miles that way.” He spun and pointed into the dense forestland and the thick darkness. It was more than a little unsettling, thanks to all the nightmares he’d been having each time he closed his eyes, but nothing was going to stop him from getting in to see Haru.
Their expedition group set, they headed out through the forest with Drayce leading the way. The chatty dragon caught Adrian up on all the random gossip from the palace. Stories from home helped Adrian to relax and distract his mind as they walked along. As they walked, Shey moved to Tyche’s side and helped the shorter man to maneuver through the woods, his hand ready to catch Tyche as he inevitably slipped on some leaves or tripped over a fallen log.
The steady drone of Drayce’s familiar voice mixed with the rich scent of the Isle of Stone forests eased some of the knot of tension in Adrian’s chest. The air was humid and thick with the smell of green leaves and pine needles, but underlying it all was the scent of frost on stone caught on the edge of the wind as it traveled south from the great mountain peaks that dominated more than half of the island. Haru had promised that after their Shey adventure was finished, he would bring Adrian to his home. They would go flying together to visit some of those icy mountain peaks.