Shey scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “I just heard from the captain a few minutes before I stepped out onto the deck to speak to Rayne. He was able to make up some time recently, and we’re on target to reach Sirelis either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. We’re also reaching the point where we are the closest we’ll be to shore until we enter Sirelis harbor and well past the Ordas.”
Caelan couldn’t help but mentally sigh with relief at that bit of good news. The sooner they made landfall, the sooner Drayce would have a chance to fully recover from his seasickness. Crossing to Caspagir had taken half the time than when they’d traveled from Sirelis to Erya. But on that trip, they’d been moving cautiously and attempting to avoid New Rosanthe warships. This time, they traveled with a good chunk of the Caspagir fleet. No hiding necessary.
“One of them must have overheard and realized their window of opportunity was closing fast if they were going to strike,” Rayne murmured.
“Nothing has changed,” Caelan declared. “We knew the Empire wanted me dead. We need to all be watching our backs every step of the way.” He turned toward the Caspagir prince, his frown deepening. “I’m sorry, Shey. You’ll need to be cautious even in your own home until this is settled. I’m hoping the threats follow us to Zastrad, but I don’t want you or your family to be hurt because I didn’t warn you to be on your guard.”
Shey nodded. “My family and I have no regrets. We’ll be careful. Thank you for your concern.”
“Since we are getting so close to Sirelis, how long are we staying there?” Drayce asked.
Caelan glanced over his shoulder at his shadow with a smile. But the smile died away when his eyes landed on the splatter of dried blood across the side of his face. Just a few months ago, that was something he’d been sure he’d never see on his best friend. Drayce had always been a fun, easygoing guy. He wasn’t the type to run from a fight, but he also wasn’t the kind of person who went looking for one.
The assassin wasn’t the first person Drayce had ever killed, wasn’t even the first person he’d killed in front of Caelan. But Caelan had never witnessed that kind of brutality from Drayce. He wouldn’t have guessed it possible.
But then, they’d both been unarmed in Caelan’s room, having a few laughs and relaxing before Drayce needed another treatment for his seasickness. It had been a bit of normality amidst all the insanity that had been happening in their lives. Drayce had been the one to answer the door while Caelan was looking at some game on his phone, blissfully unaware of the world around him.
He owed Drayce his life. Again.
“We’re leaving as quickly as possible, unfortunately. Tula was adamant that we needed to get to the Dead God with all haste,” Caelan replied.
“We’ll need a vehicle and supplies. It shouldn’t take me more than a day to procure them and get everything organized.” Rayne immediately jumped in.
Shey sent a smirk to Rayne. “Actually, I’ve already been in contact with my advisor. He has a car and supplies prepared for you. You can leave the moment you set foot in the city if you like.”
“Then I say we take only a day or two for rest in Sirelis. I’d like one last meeting with Queen Noemi if she can make the time for me, and we’ll leave at first light.”
Shey nodded to Caelan. “I’ll arrange it with my mother. She’ll make the time for you.”
“Is there anything you can tell us about Zastrad? Since your countries are neighbors,” Eno drawled, his eyes narrowed on the prince. Caelan bit his tongue. He couldn’t understand why his bodyguard continued to be so antagonistic toward the prince, but he was determined to draw it out of the man the moment he finally got him alone.
Luckily, Shey either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The prince shook his head. “Sadly, not much. We have some trade agreements, but formal political arrangements are very sparse. What I do know, you’re probably aware of already. The terrain is largely mountainous and rocky. The elevation starts rising about a hundred miles from the border and continues to rise steeply throughout most of the country. There’s very little agriculture, and what there is seems to be centered in the easternmost cities along the coast.”
Caelan hummed. “Yes, they do a lot of importing of food stuffs from Erya in trade for cloth and other fibers. Zastrad silk is the highest quality in all of Thia.”
The Caspagir prince nodded, shifting from one foot to the other. “Yes, they are dedicated to mostly animal husbandry, and even that is largely sheep and goats.”
“Culture?” Eno asked.
“Isolationists and highly xenophobic,” Shey replied. “They don’t like outsiders. Border towns apparently are somewhat more tolerant, thanks to the trade, but the deeper you get into the country, the worse it gets.”
“Government?” Caelan prodded, though he felt sure he knew the answer to the question, he was curious if Shey’s experience had afforded him a different take on Zastrad.
“Ruled by the church. I’d have to double-check my notes, but I believe everything is in the hands of a person called the High Luminance. Unfortunately, once a person reaches that position, they typically don’t hold it long. There’s a lot of turnover in the church, which makes striking deals and signing treaties very complicated when you spend six months negotiating a treaty with one person only to find them gone and you have to start the process all over again.”
“Gone? Like he was fired?” Drayce demanded.
Shey shook his head. “Dead. Death and the promised afterlife in service of their Dead God is the cornerstone of their religion.”
“Whoa.” Drayce exhaled, sinking a little down the wall as if his knees had tried to give out on him.
“We’ll need to be extra careful in Zastrad. I have a feeling it won’t be just the assassins out to end our lives,” Caelan muttered.
“Yes, those people would see it as helping you and honoring their god if they pushed you out of this life and into the next,” Shey explained. “That’s why I’ve managed to arrange some help in navigating Zastrad.”
Rayne sat up on the bed and winced, his hand flying to his nearly healed side. Eno immediately crossed to him, slipping an arm behind his shoulders to help him sit up while adjusting the pillows behind his back. Caelan kept an eye on them while trying hard to make it look like he wasn’t watching them.
For a week, they’d barely spoken to each other. Caelan was used to having Rayne as his shadow, but it had felt worse than usual, as if the man couldn’t risk being alone. He had no idea what Rayne and Eno were still arguing about. It was driving him crazy, though. He was sorely tempted to shake some sense into both of them. This was not the kind of distraction he needed before heading to Zastrad.
When Rayne was comfortably settled on the pillows, Eno retreated and Rayne turned his laser focus on the prince. “What do you mean? What arrangements have you made?”
Shey sighed and stared down at his hands folded in his lap. “For the past few years, a drug manufactured by the Zastrad church has been leaking into Caspagir. It’s related to their religion, and it’s forbidden for it to be shared with anyone outside of their belief system. However, the Zastrad government has done little to police its sale across their borders.”