Caelan’s mouth fell open and bobbed, but only two choked words managed to escape him. “What? Who?” His eyes darted from Rayne to Eno to Drayce and then stuck. Yes, his mind had to be following along the same path.
“Drayce makes the most sense,” Eno murmured.
“What? Are you out of your minds?” Drayce cried out. He tried to backpedal as if running from the idea, but he hit a wall and stopped.
“Drayce is a dragon, which makes him more familiar with fire than any of us,” Rayne started.
“He was born fireproof,” Haru chimed in.
“The Goddess of Fire chose to settle on the Isle of Stone, the lone domain of the dragons so we’ve got to assume that she has an affinity for them,” he continued, ignoring the dragon across the room. “Plus, there is no one you trust more to stand by your side when you face Safa or even the Goddess of the Hunt. If this is about gathering the powers of the gods together to fight Zyros, why can’t it be spread among two or even three people? Why does it all have to be centered on one?”
Caelan tore his eyes away from Rayne to stare at Drayce. The dragon swallowed hard and pushed away from the wall that had been supporting him as Rayne spoke. “Not gonna lie, this is some crazy shit. But if it means helping you, protecting you, you know I’m in one hundred percent. I’ll do whatever it takes to defeat Safa or Zyros or whoever. It’s even better if I can keep you alive while I’m doing it.”
The king shook his head. “But the gods are…crazy and noisy and difficult. They’re dangerous.”
“It’s more dangerous for you to take on a fourth,” Drayce pressed.
“I…I need to think about this,” Caelan hedged.
“Got it!” Adrian suddenly shouted. He pulled the lockpicks from the door and jumped to his feet. With Haru’s help, he pulled open the door, a loud metallic groan echoing across the formerly silent room.
Caelan was out of time.
TWENTY-SIX
Caelan Talos
“Is anyone else disappointed that the Fire Stone isn’t in a volcano?” Drayce asked as they descended the dark, narrow stairs beneath the Hayashi house. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’re not dodging lava right now, but really, it’s the Fire Stone and the Goddess of Fire. I thought there’d be more fire.”
This was the guy he was considering for a bond with a goddess. Caelan was beginning to seriously doubt his sanity.
But then, he also knew that Drayce’s chatter stemmed from nerves, which were growing worse with every step they took closer to the goddess.
As much as part of him rebelled against the idea of subjecting his lover to a bond with a goddess, he had to admit that Rayne’s idea wasn’t bad. His first bonding with the God of Storms hadn’t been horrible at all. Other than falling unconscious a couple of times, he hadn’t suffered any adverse effects from Kaes.
Plus, Drayce was a dragon. A creature built for fire.
Caelan was in the lead down the stairs since he was the least likely to piss off the Goddess of Fire with his presence. He wasn’t counting on it, though. After dying during his first meeting with the God of Time, Caelan had to admit that he wasn’t too sure what to expect from Caris. All three of the gods had gone frighteningly silent in his head. They’d not even offered up any comments in regard to Rayne’s suggestion about Drayce taking his place.
Of course, it didn’t matter what Caelan, Drayce, or even the other gods wanted. It was all in the hands of the Goddess of Fire.
At the bottom of the worn stone stairs, they entered what looked to be a large hall cloaked in thick darkness. Caelan lifted his flashlight and took one step. Fire burst into existence in wide shallow bowls set on stone plinths. They formed two lines of torches along a path leading straight to the dazzling godstone in the center of the room.
The flames pushed away the darkness revealing glistening black marble floors and elegantly carved arches and molding all around the room. Caelan hesitated, staring at the marble floors reflecting up the flames. They reminded him so much of the floor he’d kneeled on when he begged the Dead God for his time back.
“Holy shit,” Drayce exhaled, pulling Caelan from those heart-stopping memories. Now was not the time to get lost in thoughts about Nyx. He needed to focus on Caris.
Caelan moved carefully forward, passing between the rows of flickering flames toward the glittering godstone.
“Marvelous,” Rayne murmured.
“Stunning. As far as I know, Clan Hayashi were never rich. It looks like this is where they plunged all of their resources,” Haru commented.
Nyx snorted. This is all the doing of Caris. She likes opulence.
“The Dead God says that the goddess likes pretty things,” Caelan explained. “He makes it sound like she arranged all of this. Maybe not the Hayashi.”