SHEY THRUDESH-VO #3
A low moan trickled from between Tyche’s parted lips, and his smooth brow wrinkled. He lifted his head an inch only to drop it on the floor with a thump. The little god was conscious, but not much else.
“Tyche?”
Shey lifted his eyes at the sound of Haru’s confused voice. The dragon looked worse for wear, but his eyes were clear and the world around them wasn’t a nightmare, so Shey took it as a sign that he was in control of his emotions.
“What happened?” Shey demanded as he pulled Tyche partially into his lap.
Haru shook his head, still appearing a bit dazed. “I don’t know. One moment the world was falling apart and in the next, my mind was a placid pool of nothing.”
Tyche groaned again and rolled so that his forehead was resting in Shey’s palm. He let out a tiny sigh, and Shey could feel his tense body relax. “I forced a bit of raw magic into Haru. Just a touch of good luck I saw floating above his head.”
“Was that a good idea?”
Tyche cracked one eye open and glared at him. “Oh yeah, because it’s a better idea to let the nightmare consume a dragon while Mr. Happy Sword runs wild.”
“Mr. Happy Sword?” Drayce seemed to be close to bursting into uncontrolled laughter.
“Nightmare Nori had a sword,” Caelan grumbled.
Tyche slowly sat up with Shey’s help and scowled at Caelan. “You also can’t hurt him, but you can push Haru’s nightmare into shifting from a man into a dragon. You have to retreat, disrupt, and stop it at the source, kid.”
Caelan jolted and blinked at the God of Luck, his mouth falling open in shock. Shey was with him. When was the last time anyone had addressed King Caelan Talos as “kid”? Fuck, when had anyone addressed Prince Caelan like that?
Tyche sat up, cradling his head with one hand and poked Haru in the shoulder with his free hand. “Don’t make me do that again. It hurts. There’s a power backlash, and I’m the one who gets hit.”
Haru bowed his head. “I’m sorry. I know you instructed me to remain calm and in control of my emotions, but as soon as I realized that I’d brought a threat to my people…”
The God of Hope reached out and flicked Haru in the center of his forehead. “Idiot. You still haven’t gotten enough sleep. You’re not thinking clearly.” He pointed at Adrian and glared at Haru. “You need to stop fucking him and actually sleep.”
Adrian sputtered and turned bright red, but Drayce’s wild cackles almost drowned the sound out. Even Rayne muttered a weary “Good grief.”
Tyche didn’t pay attention to any of them. “Think about it, Haru. Do you honestly think a bunch of New Rosanthe soldiers can hurt the Isle of Stone dragons?”
“Federation of Order,” Rayne corrected.
“I don’t care what they’re calling themselves now. They could be the Kitten Squad of Pink Sparkles. They’re still New Rosanthe.”
Shey had to suck in a breath through his nose to tamp down his giggles prior to speaking, but he saw the point Tyche was making.
“I was with you in the Ordas as we attacked the New Rosanthe forces. I don’t recall them standing a chance against you and the few dragons that traveled to help Caelan.
Now they’re insane enough to attack an entire island of dragons? ”
The dragon blinked and perked up. A sheepish expression crossed his face, and he bowed his head. “Yes, you make an excellent point.” He turned toward Nori and bowed. “Forgive me, Uncle, for my earlier panic.”
“Ugh,” Tyche grunted, climbing to his feet with help from Shey. “You all make me feel so old.”
“Tell me about it,” Nori mumbled, sending a wink in Tyche’s direction.
The God of Luck grinned. The world was taking too many strange turns for Shey to keep up any longer.
But they had to keep a closer watch on what they said around Haru.
While he seemed in tight control most of the time, surprises apparently knocked that control loose rather easily.
He was climbing to his feet with a hand up from Eno when a young, slender man in white robes ran into the meeting room. His eyes were wide, and sweat glistened on his brow.
“Clan Leader, a warship is approaching from the east!” the man shouted.
Shey tensed, his gaze snapping over to Haru. The dragon’s jaw was tight as if he were clenching his teeth, but the world didn’t become enveloped in a fresh nightmare.
“What flag is it flying? Is it Caspagir?” Rayne asked.
“We didn’t recognize it, but the colors are black and gold. A pair of dragons flew near to investigate, and the ship fired on them!”
“New Rosanthe,” Caelan snarled.
The old dragon stepped forward, his head up and his shoulders back, looking as if he were ready to march into battle.
“Order all dragons to their respective clans. No one goes near the ship. Send a message to the clan leaders that I am calling an emergency meeting. A clan representative needs to be sent here within the next two hours.” He turned his attention to Shey and smirked.
“In the meantime, shall we go pay them a visit? See if they’d be willing to parlay? ”
Shey nodded. “Sounds like an excellent plan.”