Shey Thrudesh-Vo #2
“I promise you’ll meet Haru while you’re here. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to tell you about his home.”
She grinned at him. “Excellent. Now, about this god. Mom said his name was Tyche. So…this isn’t Kaes from the godstone?” Her voice dropped close to a whisper as if she were afraid of Tyche overhearing her. Or maybe Kaes. She seemed a strange mix of curious, excited, and terrified.
“Definitely not Kaes. He has nothing to do with the godstones. His name is Tyche, and he’s the God of Luck. A minor god.”
The words had barely left his tongue when he was left wondering if he got that right. After what he saw of Tyche’s fight against Kaes, was Tyche still a minor god?
“And?” she prodded.
“And what?”
His sister growled at him and lifted both hands, her fingers curled into claws.
“So annoying. Give me something more. I’ve spent days lying prone in a field, waiting for a headshot at some of the Order’s military leaders.
I smell of sweat and dirt. My boobs have been permanently squashed into pancakes. ”
“Fee, I’m your brother. I don’t want to hear about your boobs.”
“You’re also gay, and you don’t give a shit about any boobs.”
“Language, princess.”
“Come on, Shey. Talk to me. Mom hinted that you might be more than acquaintances.”
Shey threw up his hands and jumped off the sofa to pace his office. “How long did you meet with our mother? Did you talk about state affairs at all?”
“We met for fifteen minutes. Three of it was personal.” Shey turned and arched a questioning brow at her. His sister shrugged. “We’re always busy. We’ve learned to gossip in shorthand.”
Shey stared at his sister, debating what to tell her and considering his other options. Those were pretty much nonexistent. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t shared stuff about their love lives, limited though they had been.
“I kissed him.”
“Noooooo!”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy?”
Shey blinked. That was not the reaction he’d been expecting. Of course, he hadn’t been sure what to expect from her. “What?”
His sister groaned and flailed against the couch, throwing her arms out. “You have the worst taste in men.”
“What the hell? You liked Rayne.” He stomped to her side and sat with a huff.
“I adored Rayne. He’s sweet, thoughtful, and far too smart for you. He used to tell me about his sister and life in Stormbreak. And he never treated me like the annoying little sister.”
“So how can you say I have the worst taste? Are you saying that Rayne was too good for me?”
She started to roll her eyes but stopped, appearing thoughtful. Shey made a sound of disgust and tried to shove to his feet again, but Fiona caught his arm, holding him next to her.
“Ugh. No, Rayne was amazing, but you knew it would never work out.” She gave his arm a shake, her fingers tightening almost to the point of pain.
“That’s how you operate every time. You went to university, and out of the hundreds of hot eligible guys, you looked right at Rayne—the one who could never stay in Caspagir—and said, ‘Yes, that’s the one I want to break my heart.
’ And now you’re hooking up with a god. How is that even supposed to work? Do gods date?”
“We’re not hooking up. It was a kiss,” he grumbled.
Technically, there had been several kisses now, but that wasn’t helping his case.
He hated it more that what she said made sense.
He did have a track record of being drawn to people where the circumstances were complicated, only to have his heart broken. Rayne was the worst, though.
His mother had attempted to introduce him to what she called “nice boys” who were educated, came from good families, and had no complications. But there hadn’t been even the smallest flicker of interest for any of them.
“I’m sorry, Shey.” She rested her head on his shoulder and released his arm to wrap her arms around his waist. “Tyche is probably sweet, and I want to meet him. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Shey forced a smile into his voice and turned his head to press a kiss to the top of her head. “I think it’s a bit early to be worried about that. He’s a friend. That’s all. I would be happy to introduce you to him.”
“Good.”
“But go easy on him. He’s skittish with people.”
She snorted. “A dragon and a god. How crazy. It’s your job to make sure they don’t eat me or curse me.”
“I’ll do what I can.” He patted her arm, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Why don’t you get some sleep? It’s late. I need to check on Tyche and the others before I turn in. Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day.”
“Fine. Just make sure you make it to your own bedroom.”
They stood together, and he watched her walk out of his office, her arms swinging loosely at her sides.
“Fee?” he called out as she reached the door. She turned to him, her head canted to the side in a silent question. “I really am proud of you. Our people would have been lost without you.”
A tight smile spread across her lips, and she swallowed hard. She darted across the room and threw her smaller body against his, wrapping him up in a tight hug that squeezed his heart almost to the point of crushing it.
“I’m so glad you didn’t get yourself killed.”
Shey choked on a laugh as he hugged her. “Yeah. Me too.”
It was good to be home. Even if it was only for a little while.