Page 76 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

Tyche rested his head on Shey’s shoulder, tightening his arms around Shey’s waist. “Can I ask a favor, though?”

“Of course.”

“If I die, I want you to invite Rayne to the funeral, and I want you to make a big scene sobbing over my ashes.”

“Ty,” Shey growled.

“Oh! And you have to proclaim loudly that I was the very best lover you ever had.”

“Ty.”

“And you must swear off boyfriends and sex for the rest of your life. You have to devote the rest of your life to being the most devout priest of the God of Chaos.”

By now, Shey’s low chuckles filled the room. His big hands moved up and down Tyche’s back in a warm, soothing massage.

“Should I tell your followers that you accept only offerings of coffee?”

“Yes, that would be acceptable.”

Shey loosened his grip on Tyche so he could gaze at his face. “If I agree to this stupid plan, you have to do me a favor.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t die.”

The lump returned in Tyche’s throat, but he braved out the moment with a cheeky smile. “Give me some credit. I’m the God of Chaos. No one is going to kill me that easily.”

Especially if he had a hot prince waiting for him. No matter what, he would find his way to Shey’s arms again, and nothing would save those who tried to stop him.

TWENTY-EIGHT

ADRIAN WESTERGREN

“What do you mean, they’re checking vehicles?”

Jules’s panicked voice cut through the conversation in the SUV, silencing everyone as they strained to hear the answer from whomever he was talking to. Their new partner in crime had received a call from people in The Citizens Restoration Group who were in Bellcairn and were supposed to be monitoring any activity within the city, particularly the actions of the local law enforcement.

“Called it,” Adrian grunted from behind the steering wheel. His hands tightened on the wheel, and he straightened from his slouch as he started scanning the immediate area for a turnoff. They were in a long line of traffic to enter the former Damardor capital through what they had hoped was a little-used set of side streets, but clearly, they weren’t the only ones who’d thought of this approach.

It had taken them two days of driving to get to the outskirts of Bellcairn. Jules had received regular updates from his people, hearing news of increased patrols and painfully conspicuous black vans rolling down the streets. Here and there, they would randomly stop, and men in body armor would pop out to grab people and chuck them into the vans. The chancellor’s arrival was less than a week away, but the streets were deserted. People darted out from the safety of their homes long enough to get food and hurried back again.

The undercurrent of grumbling and discontent was growing louder. Pop-up protests occurred nightly. As soon as darkness fell on the city, cars burned. Graffiti demanding “New Rosanthe Get Out!” seemed to appear magically on buildings, sidewalks, and cars.

Bellcairn was a bubbling cauldron of rage and fear. Any day now, it was going to boil over. They just needed it to wait for Chancellor Rati Feng. If things got too out of hand before he arrived, he’d cancel the visit, removing their shot at throwing New Rosanthe and the plotting of the Feng family into chaos.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll tell them.” Jules ended the call and leaned toward the front seats from where he was stuck sitting in the middle of the rear bench seat. “Today is the first day of the roadblocks and searches for anyone entering the city. The administration has blocked several roads and fixed it so that there are now only four entrances into Bellcairn. Furthermore, they are searching the cars and checking everyone’s papers.”

“Bullshit,” Tyche muttered.

“It was to be expected,” Shey countered. “They’ve created a situation in which the people are lashing out. Their choices are to back off and negotiate or crush their spirit until they have no voice.”

Adrian grunted. “True, and New Rosanthe has never been one to retreat if they can help it.” He sucked in a sharp breath and jerked the wheel of the SUV hard to the right while stomping on the gas. The vehicle lurched, the tires barking as they struggled to catch on the pavement. Several people gasped as he maneuvered the unwieldy car down what appeared to be a one-way street, and he was headed in the wrong direction.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Jules demanded. He grasped at both front seats, trying to pull himself forward, but Adrian’s frantic driving kept throwing him off-balance.

“Shortcut.”

“But how? Are you sure this is the right way? I thought you’d only been to Bellcairn that one time?”