TYCHE
THIRTEEN
Haru was not coming back. It was clear after the giant dragon soared out toward the city and hadn’t been seen again after several minutes.
Asshole.
He was probably sneaking off with Adrian to get something delicious to eat.
In the meantime, Tyche was left with Prince Shey—not a bad thing—and a crap-ton of armed men trying to protect their prince as they escorted him home.
The heavily armed escort closed ranks around the yacht, making it feel tiny in the harbor as they raced away from the burning Order ships and the other chaos Haru had caused.
The dark clouds and lightning Shey had summoned were dissipating while the winds and seas calmed for smoother sailing.
Tyche stood on the deck of the bridge, watching as the city of Sirelis grew larger in front of him.
The harbor—even on lockdown because of the Order blockade—was a busy place full of ships of different sizes.
Giant cargo ships were at one end, while smaller fishing vessels docked at the other.
Past the harbor, row after row of buildings rose to create a beautiful skyline against a distant backdrop of snow-capped mountains.
Tyche couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in Sirelis.
Countless centuries ago, at least. It hadn’t been built up like this.
A smile teased his lips as he saw the prevalent touches of blue everywhere, reminding him that this was technically Kaes’s town.
He’d need to tread carefully. There was no need to piss off the God of Storms more than he had.
The one bonus he had working for him now was that Prince Shey clearly had a fondness for Tyche, and if Kaes wanted to use the prince for some nefarious reason, it didn’t help his cause to keep picking fights with the God of Luck.
Of course, Tyche had a few questions about that fondness. Pretty much starting with…
What the fuck?
Shey kissed me.
We kissed.
Lips touching. Breaths mingling. Heat growing. That kissing.
Even recalling it now, Tyche’s brain shorted out and his cheeks heated. If he’d known kissing was so nice, he would have investigated it centuries ago. No! Millennia ago.
However, he had a feeling that the reason for the kissing being so nice had more to do with who he was kissing and less to do with the specific act.
That girl had kissed him. Fuck, he couldn’t even remember her name now. In his defense, that had been over six hundred years ago. Even so, that kiss hadn’t felt nearly as exciting as the one he’d enjoyed with Shey.
He wanted to try it again. If one small, slow kiss felt that nice, wouldn’t several kisses be better? What if they weren’t so small or slow, but hungry and fierce? What if hands were involved and possibly other body parts?
“Are you ready to get off the ship?”
Shey’s innocent question ripped Tyche from his wandering thoughts. The God of Luck lost all credibility as he jumped, a sharp yelp escaping him. When he turned to look at the prince, he found Shey frozen, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as if he couldn’t believe Tyche’s response.
“Um…yeah. Sorry. Lost in important thought.” Tyche cleared his throat, determined to brazen his way through his lapse and ignore the fact that he might have been fantasizing about what Shey’s warm skin might taste like if he licked his throat. “What were you saying?”
Shey blinked and tried to smooth out his face, but Tyche could still see the hint of a smile tugging up the corners of his mouth. “I asked if you were excited to get off the ship.”
“Oh, yes. Definitely. Apparently, Haru has beaten me to exploring your city and finding out what kind of good food you have here.”
The grin bloomed in full force, and that traitorous flutter in the pit of Tyche’s stomach returned. So annoying. Why did that keep happening? Shouldn’t he be accustomed to Shey’s attractive appearance by now? The fluttering was getting worse. Especially since the kiss.
“I’ll make sure you get the chance to taste all of Caspagir’s specialties. The palace has some of the finest chefs in the kingdom, and they’ll make whatever you want.”
Tyche frowned. Going to the palace likely meant meeting Shey’s mother and sister. That felt very nerve-racking. “When you introduce me to the queen and princess, could you not lead off with the fact that I’m a god?”
Shey’s warm expression clouded, and he stepped up to the railing with Tyche.
The wind ruffled his long, pale hair while the waning afternoon light cast shadows across the sharp features of his face.
“I’m not sure I would be comfortable hiding such a fact.
She’s not only my mother but the queen of Caspagir.
She must protect our people, and that’s hard to accomplish with people hiding important information. ”
Tyche lifted both hands and frantically waved them. “No! No! I don’t mean never tell her. I’m saying don’t lead off with it. There’s no need to start off with, This is Tyche, God of Luck. But you know, maybe tell her later. In secret. After I’m gone.”
Shey’s shoulders shook with silent laughter and he nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. I—”
“Excuse me, Your Highness. More messages have arrived from the palace, and there’s another message from Admiral Kent.”
Tyche wanted to groan at the interruption, but he couldn’t.
Shey was a prince first, and his kingdom was in the middle of being attacked.
He needed to focus on protecting his people and kicking the Order ships out of his harbor.
Not worrying about a neurotic little god who might be developing his first crush.
Of course, that logic didn’t stop him from shooting a dark look at the first mate, who’d been conscripted to act as Prince Shey’s assistant. The poor man winced, pulling his shoulders in as if to make himself smaller.
“Thank you, Blevins. I’ll be down in a moment.”
Prince Shey turned as if he meant to continue their conversation, but Tyche waved him off.
They were just making silly chitchat. His job was more important.
He snagged Shey’s arm and turned the prince toward the stairs that would lead below deck and to the meeting room he’d claimed to assess reports and issue orders.
Tyche pressed his hands to Shey’s back, giving him a gentle push. “No, you go deal with all of it now. It looks like we’re going to be docking soon, and you’re going to get busier.”
Shey smirked at Tyche over his shoulder but didn’t argue as he returned to the lounge decorated in various shades of blue. There was a medium-sized table in the center that was now covered in scattered sheets of paper, two laptops, and Shey’s newly acquired cell phone.
“Have all the ships reported in?” Shey demanded the second he entered the room. A hardness permeated his voice that hadn’t been there during their chat.
Blevins nodded and gathered up two sheets of paper from the mess.
“All ships accounted for. Only the Galway is reporting some minor damage. Problems with one of her engines. The captain expects to be fully operational within two hours. Admiral Kent has ordered the Etesian and the Boreas to move in as support in the event the Order realizes there’s a problem and tries to take advantage of it. ”
“Very good.” Shey dropped into his seat and pulled one of the laptops closer. “What about the freighter?”
“She’s safely out of the blockade with two warships acting as escort to Shadowfen.”
Tyche had been about to sit on the azure sofa when he heard Blevins’s response. “You got another ship out of the blockade?”
Shey winked at him. “Haru is very good at creating distractions and chaos. The Order moved its ships to better guard against Haru’s attacks and try to come after us. It created an opening we could use to get supplies and soldiers down the coast to where the invaders have made landfall.”
Tyche wagged a finger at Shey as he dropped onto the sofa with a bounce. “Sneaky.”
The prince tipped his chin up and smirked. “I have my moments.”
That was an understatement, but Tyche wasn’t about to say that out loud.
The man was cocky enough. Instead, Tyche picked up the silver coffeepot from a nearby tray and poured himself a steaming cup of coffee made from the very last of the beans Drayce had stolen out of the Erya royal pantry.
They weren’t Besan beans, but he had to admit they were damn good.
He might be a bit jealous of Rayne for all of his height, brains, and good looks, but he was willing to concede that the royal advisor had good taste in coffee.
Comfortably seated, Tyche was content to watch the prince as he contacted a variety of advisors, generals, captains, and even a couple of admirals to get the lay of the land.
It was a marvel the way Shey quickly took in information, weighed it, and shot out orders.
In the blink of an eye, the arrangement of ships was adjusted to take into account the damage Haru had wrought on the Order’s navy.
But the more troubling things were early reports that there were spies and assassins from the Federation of Order creeping through the city.
Until now, the threat to Caspagir had largely been limited to the navy.
However, now there was a danger to innocent civilians that Shey was eager to put a stop to.
There was also some news coming from beyond the city walls to the northeast that foreign troops and machinery had been unloaded from ships and battalions of foot soldiers were gathering in preparation to launch attacks on some of the smaller cities outside of Sirelis.
The tricky part about invading Caspagir was getting around the country’s natural barriers.
Along the kingdom’s eastern border, running from north to south, was a thick chain of mountains that were almost impossible to cross by land unless you were willing to load everything up on pack mules and goats.
And even then, there was no getting tanks and heavy equipment through.
Just men and what they could carry on their backs.