“Keep telling yourself that,” Rayne mocked. “You sign any agreement with New Rosanthe, and you become the Empire’s puppet. They’ll never leave.”
“They only want the Godstone,” Octavia countered.
“And the Godstone can’t be moved,” Caelan replied with an almost malicious glee.
“Of course it can!” Octavia said, but there was a hint of something, maybe doubt, that entered her eyes for the first time.
“The Goddess of Life will not be moved. Do you really think the Empire has been waiting for your approval to take the Godstone? They’ve tried to move it and can’t. So now, they want you to hand it over. And when they make it clear that it can’t be moved, they’ll claim the area surrounding the Godstone because you gave the goddess to them. Then they’ll claim all of Stormbreak. And eventually, all of Erya. Or have you forgotten about the fall of Uris-Oladul and Damardor?”
“No, that will not happen here.”
Caelan was already shaking his head and turning away from her. “This is a waste of our time. We can find the military leaders and see what we can pull together against the Empire. I don’t want to waste another second with her.”
Rayne started to follow him to the door, but Octavia’s high-pitched laugh stopped him.
“I am sorry, Caelan, but I am putting you under house arrest, for your own protection.” Caelan jerked around to find Octavia smiling as she rapidly typed on her phone. “It would seem that the Empire is interested in more than just the Godstone. They would also like the last Talos as well.”
“You’re going to hand the king over to those murderers?” Rayne cried in horror.
Octavia looked up from her phone and lifted her chin proudly. “I will do whatever I must to protect the people of Erya.”
“Including selling out Erya’s citizens to protect your own worthless hide.”
Caelan couldn’t speak. There were no words against the rage pouring through him. The glass in the windows along the far wall exploded, and lightning wrapped itself around him. It would take just a flick of his wrist and Octavia Croft would be dead. This question of losing his throne would be resolved in a heartbeat. Her last one.
“Your Majesty!” Rayne said urgently. And then his beloved advisor stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Octavia. When he spoke again, his voice was low and pleading. “Don’t, Cael. Don’t. Not this way. I swear to you, this is not over. This is not the will of the people. You are the Guardian of the Godstone and the King of Erya.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Caelan fought to shove down his anger and control the power from the God of Storms before it could tear this house apart, killing everyone within. Pain throbbed in his temples and his limbs trembled, but he remained standing.
Behind them, the door was thrown open and three guards rushed inside with rifles in their hands. At least they had the good sense to appear uncomfortable as they pointed the weapons at him and Rayne.
“Take away their phones and weapons. Lock them up on the second floor and keep them under guard at all times. Prince Caelan has a date with the Empire,” Octavia ordered with a shaking voice.
Caelan willingly gave up his sword and knives, but he made up an excuse that he’d lost his phone. At the same time, Rayne did something to his prior to handing it over with a smug look. His devious advisor was either wiping it clean or making it impossible for anyone to access.
Yes, they might be under house arrest, but they weren’t going without a fight. Caelan refused to believe all of Erya had turned on him.
And even if it had, he was still going to fight for his people.
14
Eno Bevyn
Cabbage Port was a bust.
The region was lousy with Empire soldiers on a seek-and-destroy mission to root out any and all enemy forces. Twice he and Drayce encountered New Rosanthe soldiers when they were barely a block into the district. It was too dangerous to go in without a clear idea of where they might find Erya soldiers hiding, and he was still trying to get in contact with Tomas. His damn phone wasn’t reliably connecting to the cell signal, which only stirred a deeper sense of panic. How the hell was he to know if Rayne and Caelan were in trouble?
Frustrated, they backtracked to Maris’s basement only to discover that she hadn’t left them a message yet. Probably not enough time for her to get in contact with Tomas yet either. On a scrap piece of paper, he simply wrote GREEN GATE and left it where she could find it. He sent the same text to Tomas and Melita, hoping that at least one of them received it.
Drayce swore under his breath and shoved his cell phone into his pocket. He glanced over at Eno and quickly looked away.