Page 63 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

“Sorry,” Shey murmured. “I guess I’ve been replaying in my mind what happened with Kaes and that fight in the woods after we escaped the prison. After seeing you stand up to the God of Storms, I wonder if you were holding back in the forest. Did you even need me to escape?”

Tyche’s hand shot out, and he gripped Shey’s wrist. He peered into his blue eyes. “I needed you. Never doubt that. You kept me alive in there. You might not believe this, but you saved lives by simply being there.”

“We killed almost everyone in that place.”

“Almost everyone. Not everyone.” Tyche released his wrist and pulled his hand away, but Shey caught it and held on to him. A soft sigh slipped from Tyche, and his shoulders slumped. “When I let myself get captured by those people, I was investigating if someone was trying to make another Zyros. Gods and goddesses were disappearing, and there were whispers about someone hunting magic. I thought I could slip in, figure out what was happening, and slip out with the information. From there, I would get that information in front of the right people to deal with it. But the longer I was there, the more complicated it became. Escaping meant exposing my magic. It would be impossible to hide. My life would return to running and hiding, as it had been with Zyros. I knew my best option was to wait for someone, or even several people, to arrive who had a good chance of escaping.”

“Then you could hide within the group and use your magic here and there to aid their escape while not drawing attention to yourself.”

Tyche nodded. “Yes. So, honestly, I could have escaped on my own, but there would have been no way for me to cover my tracks.”

Shey smiled. “You needed me to draw their attention and make a mess.”

“And you are very good at making messes.”

They finished the meal with easy conversation and a bit of teasing. As they fell into bed again, Tyche was so very content. His stomach was full of food, and he had Shey’s warm body pressed to his back. All things in the world were fleeting, but for this moment, wrapped in darkness while listening to Shey’s steady breathing, this was the only place he wanted to be. Shey’s arms were his home for as long as the prince wanted to hold him.

TWENTY-THREE

ADRIAN WESTERGREN

Adrian and Haru followed a servant through the elegant hallway. Here and there they would pass another servant or an official. All of them kept their heads down and hurried on their way, exhaustion digging lines and leaving behind dark circles on their faces.

Shey had stopped by the room Adrian was sharing with Haru to give them an update on the attack on Sirelis. They’d fallen into a tense period of quiet as the Order’s forces dug in but didn’t launch any fresh attacks. Haru had profusely apologized to Shey, but the prince had waved him off, well aware that none of it would have happened if someone hadn’t attacked him and kidnapped Adrian. Amazingly, there had been no reports of casualties caused by Haru, but several buildings were now rubble.

During Shey’s visit, he’d also given them an update on what the fuck was happening with the God of Luck.

No!

The God of Chaos.

His heart ached for Tyche, but he couldn’t deny that the goddess’s powers were far better off in Tyche than in Haru. As far as he knew, there had been no outbreaks of wild nightmares, which he took to mean Tyche had better control over those powers than Haru.

“I wish I had some coffee,” Haru murmured as they walked.

Adrian glanced at the dragon, who was lagging. “I didn’t think you liked it that much.”

Haru shot him a look. “Not for me. For Ty. As a peace offering. He trusted me, and I failed him. Put him in this difficult spot.”

Adrian paused a step so he could take Haru’s hand and pull him so they were walking side by side. He threaded their fingers together and squeezed. “We all knew I was your weakness. Tyche doesn’t blame you. Besides, if anyone put him in a tough spot, it was Kaes. Not you.”

Haru frowned and hung his head, causing some of his long, black hair to spill over his shoulder. “I did not help matters.”

There was no point in arguing with him. Adrian had been trying to reassure him for more than a day, and it seemed as though his words were going in one ear and out the other. The only thing that had helped his mood in the slightest was that he hadn’t hurt any innocent humans.

At last, the servant stopped and pulled open a door to reveal a darkly decorated room with a medium-sized table, a desk, and a leather love seat pushed up against the wall. Shey and Vitor sat at the table while Tyche lounged on the sofa.

The god jumped to his feet when he saw them, his wide eyes locked on Haru. Haru released Adrian’s hand and rushed into the room, moving directly to Tyche.

The two men started apologizing to each other. It became a cacophony of sympathy and blame-taking as they talked over each other. They couldn’t absolve each other fast enough.

Adrian glanced at Shey to find the prince watching them with a somewhat bemused expression on his face, as if he found the entire thing silly. The whole affair was a mess, and the real culprits—namely Kaes and the Order’s spies—weren’t even there to share in the blame.

Vitor groaned loud enough to cut through their clamor as he squeezed his eyes shut. “Do we really have time for this? You’re both a pain in my ass, and I don’t hear anyone apologizing to me.”

Adrian choked on a bark of laughter while Tyche and Haru stared at the spy in silent shock. Even Shey looked as if he were fighting to hold back his grin.

“Oh, we’re sorry we’ve made your life more difficult, Vitor,” Haru stated. He didn’t sound sorry at all.