Page 75 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

“Yeah. Really. You’d have your own rooms in the palace. Your own space. But they’d be close to my space. And we could see each other all the time.” His words picked up their pace, excitement bubbling within them. But the excitement fizzled too quickly, and sadness grew in his eyes. He lifted a hand and lightly touched Tyche’s cheek. “Since we got out of that prison in Milway, I’ve had these nightmares. I turn around and you’re not there. I blink and you’re gone. The panic that thought causes is suffocating. You’re a god and go where you want, when you want. You have no reason to stay. I’m so afraid that you’re going to leave the second you’re out of my sight.”

Tyche closed his eyes and leaned his cheek into Shey’s hand, soaking in a lifetime of missing caresses. Why would he ever leave this? It was better than coffee. At least as good as sex. In these little touches, Tyche could feel Shey’s heart, and there was no getting enough.

“I have no reason to rush off. Nothing is calling me away.” Tyche opened his eyes and stared at Shey. “I’m looking at everything that I desire.”

Still holding Tyche’s cheek, Shey pulled him in for a slow, draining kiss that worked wonders at brushing aside all his worries about his powers and losing his ability to glimpse into the future. This amazing man was stealing something far more dangerous—his heart.

But there was still one enormous obstacle ahead of them.

Tyche ended the kiss and rubbed his nose alongside Shey’s. He loved these moments and wanted so many more of them. Why wouldn’t he follow Shey back to Sirelis? The Crown Prince of Caspagir was offering him a life he’d never dreamed of living. It might be a life full of complications and danger, but it would also be full of adventure, friendship, and possibly love. Three things he’d never experienced before.

However, they had to get to that point.

Tyche sat up and his eyes locked on the bones in his hand. “I’ve been thinking about the proposed plan for dealing with Chancellor Feng.”

Shey grunted. “There are still a lot of details to work out, but we’re only going to be able to do that after we get to Bellcairn and see what the security looks like. Do you think it won’t succeed? Is that what those sticks are telling you?”

Tyche quickly shook his head. “What I’m seeing in the bones is far more complicated, but that’s not what I was thinking.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I feel like there’s a path through this that’s rather obvious, but I get the impression that either you don’t see it or you won’t let yourself see it.”

Shey shoved into a sitting position beside Tyche, his brow furrowing. “What are you talking about?”

“I have to be the one who kills Chancellor Rati Feng.”

Tyche watched the color drain from Shey’s face and his pupils narrow to near pinpoints of fear. He jumped to his feet and paced to the far side of the room.

“Absolutely not.”

That was what he’d thought. Shey hadn’t even allowed himself to consider it. While dinner had been cooking, Tyche read the plans that had been mapped out. The party who went into the government building to kill Feng had to remain small—only one or two people. They’d never get all of them through security. The rest would have to remain behind to work on a series of distractions and diversions that would enable the chosen assassin to get close enough to Feng to strike.

The one problem with that was the likelihood of the assassin surviving and escaping was tiny.

No one had spoken about who would do that job, but Tyche figured that Shey, Adrian, and Haru would begin fighting over the job as soon as they reached Bellcairn.

“I’ve heard you mention that Uris-Oladul must cover its ass if this all goes sideways and would betray us if New Rosanthe wins. But have you thought about how this would affect Caspagir if you were implicated in the murder of another country’s leader? Or how about Adrian—personal guard of King Caelan Talos of Erya? I don’t think the world has connected Haru to being a dragon, but all it would take is for one person to witness his shift. Say…when he’s attempting to escape the assassination to return to his mate?”

The longer Tyche spoke, the paler Shey grew. He pressed his lips together in a hard, thin line, holding in what Tyche was sure were a hundred denials. They both knew that not one of them would be true.

“I’m a wanderer. I don’t have an affiliation with any kingdom. Even if they were to discover that I’m a minor god, what repercussions would there be for Erya, Caspagir, or the Isle of Stone? None. There is no way to spin my involvement to launch a new war. Fuck, I could claim that it’s heavenly justice for the gods he had murdered.”

Shey squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When they opened, there was a new shininess to them. His voice trembled as he said, “I hate you.”

But that wasn’t what Tyche heard. His heart skipped, and his throat squeezed so tight he couldn’t even swallow.

“This is a horrible, stupid idea,” Shey continued. He remained on the opposite side of the room, his arms folded so tightly across his chest that the muscles in his biceps flexed and bulged.

Tyche shoved his bones into his pocket and rolled off the bed. “You’re right. This is a horrible, stupid idea.” He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Shey’s waist. “I suggest that we all run off to the Isle of Stone where we can hide for the rest of our lives, ignoring the rest of the world. However, I know you won’t do that. Adrian would never agree to it. And Haru follows Adrian, so he’d never agree either. So we’re just stuck.”

Shey hugged Tyche, pulling him in tight while peppering his forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips with kisses. “Horrible. Stupid. Ridiculous. I don’t like this at all. And I don’t agree to it…yet. Let’s…let’s get to Bellcairn and check out the full situation before we make any final plans.”

That was the best he was going to get out of Shey, and Tyche could accept that. It couldn’t be easy to allow someone you cared about to walk into danger, knowing they didn’t stand a good chance of walking out again.

“Thank you.” Tyche smiled at the amazing man in his arms. Never in his very long life had he expected to experience this. “I want to do this if it means I can protect you, Adrian, and Haru, as well as the people of your kingdoms.” He made a sound of disgust. “I’m a freaking god, Shey. I’ve benefited for lifetimes from the kindness of humans. It would be nice to be a bit more helpful. Let me return some of that kindness.”

“I have little doubt that you’ve helped countless people through the centuries in your own way. You don’t owe humanity anything.”