Page 8 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

A couple of hours later, they were shown to private rooms where they could wash up and sleep. Adrian was still demanding to see Haru, but Nori had a point. They needed to sleep and regain their strength.

However, Shey was sure Nori was underestimating Adrian’s stubbornness.

THREE

ADRIAN WESTERGREN

Adrian understood why Nori was so determined to get him to rest prior to seeing Haru. He was right. Adrian needed to be well-rested, with his head on straight. So did Haru.

However, what Nori didn’t understand was that there was no way he’d be able to rest until he got to see Haru. Adrian had to touch and hold him. He had to see with his own eyes that Haru was okay.

It also didn’t help that endless nightmares about the dragon had plagued him since Haru had flown away from Bellcairn. It had been like watching his heart leave him.

Caelan had described to him that heart-wrenching moment when he’d learned that Drayce was a dragon. He’d stood on the side of the mountain in Zastrad, icy winds whipping past him while he’d watched Drayce fly off, disappearing into black clouds. He now understood the king’s pain in an entirely new and unexpected way.

There was no point in trying to rest. He couldn’t rest. He had to see Haru.

Thankfully, it was nothing for him to sneak out of his chambers. He was familiar with the layout of the clan’s buildings and the security patrols. It was all too easy for him to slip past them all and get outside the wall. The only problem was finding Haru. He’d not been able to get the dragon’s location out of Nori or any of the other dragons.

However, he knew of a couple of old secret spots that belonged to the Omari Clan, such as the prison the Takehashi clan had used to hold Drayce, as well as the hiding place of the Isle of Stone godstone. Those were good starting locations. Even if those didn’t pan out for him, he’d keep searching until he found Haru. It didn’t matter how long it took him.

“You have the appearance of a man who is about to get into all sorts of trouble.”

Adrian whipped around, searching for the source of the voice within the overwhelming silence. He found Tyche peeking through an opening in the main doors of the massive wall he’d just scaled.

“What the hell? How did you get that open? They keep that locked tight at night!” Adrian berated him in a coarse whisper.

Tyche stared at him as if he were the densest man he’d ever met.

That was when it clicked.

“Oh. Magic.”

Tyche rolled his eyes and slipped through the slender opening before carefully closing the gate behind him. “I get it. My magic isn’t exciting, but I can use it for some practical purposes, so I don’t have to do crazy things like climb ten-foot walls.”

Adrian bit the inside of his mouth to keep from smirking. The god got so testy about his magic; it was kind of adorable.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Let’s get going. I don’t want the dragons to spot us and eat us.” Tyche waved for Adrian to walk with him as he started down the gravel driveway toward the main road, but Adrian didn’t budge an inch.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Adrian crossed his arms over his chest and spread his legs.

Tyche twisted slightly. There were a few burning torches on the wall, casting enough flickering light to show the lines of confusion that crisscrossed Tyche’s brow. “What? I’m going with you to see Haru.” He stomped back to Adrian, scowling. “I knew there was no way in hell you were going to wait until morning.”

“And it’s just you?” Tyche glared, and Adrian cursed himself. It was as if he were doomed to stick his foot in his mouth when it came to Tyche. The god must naturally activate some kind of bad luck anytime they were together. “Not that it’s a problem. I don’t mind the company. I only thought that Shey is always with you. Is he coming too?”

Tyche glared at him for another second before his shoulders drooped. “No. I didn’t bother asking him.” He inched closer to Adrian so that they were standing only a few feet apart. “Everyone here knows who he is. The crown prince of Caspagir is the country’s first actual contact with the dragon clans of the Isle of Stone. He can’t risk pissing off the dragons and making things hard for his country.”

Damn. He made an excellent point. Shey was a prince and representative of his kingdom. He couldn’t screw around and create an international incident. As it was, Adrian was endangering his life and job with Erya by breaking the rules set by Nori. If the dragons didn’t remove his head, King Caelan had every right to.

And yet, he couldn’t walk away now. He had to see Haru.

“You’re right.” Adrian nodded and started walking with Tyche, gravel crunching softly under their boots. It would have been nice to have Shey with them, but he could help smooth things over with Nori and the other dragons in the morning.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Tyche asked as they reached the smooth pavement of the main road. They had left the dancing torchlight behind and stood bathed in the silvery light of the moon as it broke between tree branches.

“No, but I have a couple of guesses where he might be.”