“Rayne?” Shey’s worried voice broke through his thoughts and Rayne shook his head to clear the cobwebs.
“Sorry. Lost in useless thoughts. I don’t know what we will do next. Nothing until Caelan awakens. I’m sorry for the inconvenience—”
“Shut up,” Shey growled. He grabbed Rayne’s elbow and jerked him in close, wrapping him in a tight hug. Rayne knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. He closed his eyes and laid his head on Shey’s shoulder. Right now, he needed this more than anything. He needed to feel strong arms, reassuring him, letting him not be so strong and pulled together for a couple of seconds.
Deep inside where he dared not to look too closely, he missed how well Shey could read him. The prince could cut through all his bullshit and get right at what Rayne was trying hardest to hide.
But so could Eno.
And these arms weren’t Eno’s arms. That was what he really wanted right now. He wanted to crawl into Eno’s bed and let Eno wrap his larger body around him, to get lost in his heat and forget about the angry world trying to kill them.
“You know this is exactly where I want you to be. I’ll even put up with the rest of your party if it means keeping you close,” Shey whispered in his ear.
Rayne huffed a laugh and gave Shey a final squeeze before releasing him. “Even as the world is burning, you still need to make a pass.”
Shey released him and smiled. “Less burning and more drowning, but yes.”
“Thank you for all of Caspagir’s help.”
Shey rolled his eyes as Rayne settled behind the wall of formality. It was safer there for both of them. “We’re always happy to help Erya. Please stay as long as you need.”
“Have you heard from Ilon recently?” Rayne suddenly asked. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about Erya’s oldest and strongest ally in all of this. Ilon to the west had been having their share of Empire troubles as well.
Shey shook his head. “Nothing in the past few days, but many of our communications lines have been damaged or cut completely. We’re trying to get in contact with a few larger cities to possibly reach out to them. It’s always been complicated with the Ordas standing between us and Ilon. We’ve used Erya as a relay before.”
Rayne nodded. The twisted magic of the Ordas made the use of electronics through the region impossible.
“I’ll update you if we do hear anything.”
“Thank you, Prince Shey.”
Shey started to turn toward the door to leave but stopped and pointed at him. “Get some rest, Rayne. Real sleep.”
He managed a small smile before Shey continued through the sitting room and out the door. He must have encountered Eno and Drayce in the hall, because the duo stepped inside a second later. They didn’t look particularly rested, but they’d changed into clean clothes and their faces were no longer covered in dirt. Eno’s nearly black hair was wet and slicked back from his face.
“What did prince charming want?” Eno grumbled softly as he entered the bedroom.
Rayne shot Eno a warning glare. “He was kindly checking on Caelan, and he provided me with an update on the cleanup efforts around Sirelis.”
Eno grunted, completely unmoved by Rayne’s warnings. He reached out as if he wanted to touch Rayne, maybe pull him into his arms, but Eno closed his fingers into a fist and dropped his hand to his side. Drayce was there.
Rayne had already begun to wonder what they were keeping secret. Was he making a fool of himself over a man who would never be devoted to him the same way that Shey tried to be? At least Prince Shey had the excuse of needing to put the good of his kingdom first.
Rayne mentally sighed at that line of thought. He really was exhausted. Eno had to put Caelan’s safety and well-being first. That was for the good of all of Erya. The same way Rayne had to think of Caelan’s needs first. Caelan couldn’t be distracted by whatever mess Rayne was tangling himself up in with Eno.
Some stolen kisses and a couple of quick fucks didn’t make them anything. It was stress relief. It was bouts of insanity.
The same insanity that had him craving Eno’s arms, the taste of his lips, the feel of his powerful body pinning him. Why the hell hadn’t they fucked in a bed?
“Guess no change yet,” Drayce said sadly.
Rayne stared at him for a few seconds, his brain scrambling to figure what in the world he was talking about.
Caelan! Caelan was still asleep.
“I’m awake,” Caelan grumbled, sounding his usual grumpy, irritable self. The prince had never cared for waking.
“Cael!” Drayce shouted and rushed to the bed. He looked as if he wanted to jump in and snuggle up to his friend much like the last time this had happened, but he held himself back. His hands opened and closed in front of him as if everything in him demanded that he grab up his best friend and hold him. He did neither. He stood beside Caelan’s bedside, a tense, awkward smile pulling at his lips. It had to be from the kiss. When they’d met up in the middle of the battle, Drayce had spat out that Caelan had kissed him and run to the Empire. At the time, Rayne had been unable to determine if Drayce was more torn up over the kiss or Caelan’s capture.