by T. A. White
But he was also protective of the people he loved. Loyalty formed the foundation of his personality. She’d take one Dewdrop over a hundred others.
From the roof, Tate caught movement. Ah, so that’s where Night had gone. He’d abandoned the group before their game of ‘steal the gems’ even started, stating the fact they were too noisy.
It looked like the Veles chosen to sun himself on the roof instead. Hidden but always close enough to act if needed.
It was something she’d come to expect from him.
The knowledge that both Dewdrop and Night had her back if the situation deteriorated made Tate relax somewhat.
Bringing out Ilith was also a possibility, but she’d prefer leaving that as a last resort. Harming the emperor’s people would send her down a road she couldn’t turn back from. To say nothing of the skills someone with a title like ‘dragon slayer’ was likely to have.
“What is she doing here?” Blaise demanded.
Ben straightened from his crouch, taking a moment to knock the dirt off his knees. “The Lord Provost thought it best she familiarizes herself with the palace grounds—and the children.”
A barely audible snarl came from Blaise. Scales appeared along the tops of his arms and his cheekbones. The dragon peered out of his eyes.
“You mean familiarize herself with her hunting ground.” Blaise no longer sounded human, his voice holding a dragon’s reverberation.
Not good.
Tate could feel the situation teetering on the edge of the abyss. She glanced at Thora, half expecting him to step in.
What she saw made her sigh. Looked like there was no help coming from that quarter. Thora stared at the woman like he was seeing his worst nightmare and didn’t know whether to attack or retreat.
Jacob and the children had already withdrawn to a safe distance, where Jacob regarded Ben and the woman with a wary gaze.
Tate’s shoulders slumped. It looked like if she wanted to make it past lunch without bloodshed, she’d need to step in.
Damn it.
Who would have thought the person with the least skills when it came to politics would be the one responsible for avoiding a diplomatic incident?
“I didn’t catch your name.” Tate aimed a smile at woman. There was a guardedness in the woman’s face. A tightness around her eyes that said she didn’t enjoy this. For that reason, Tate was willing to try to defuse the situation. “I’m Tate Fisher.”
“I know who you are.”
Tate waited as one moment passed into the next without anything further.
Tate’s smile grew strained. Patience. Understanding. Don’t bite her head off even if everything in you is telling you to.
Dewdrop’s lips quivered as if he knew exactly what was going through Tate’s mind.
“It’s customary once someone gives you their name to respond with your own,” Tate bit out, still trying to sound semi polite.
Judging by the laugh Dewdrop tried to cover up as a cough, she wasn’t entirely successful.
Ben intervened before things could get worse. “This is Georgiana Rosewood. Recently, she’s been called back to the city and is in the process of reacquainting herself with things.”
Rosewood. Tate was pretty sure she recognized that name from one of the endless history lessons Thora subjected her to on a regular basis.
If she recalled correctly, that was the name of an aristocrat’s line that stretched back centuries.
“I prefer to go by George,” the woman said without a shift in her expression.
“She’s a murderer. The same as everyone else in her line.” Blaise stalked toward Jacob and the children. “Let’s go.”
George’s lips flattened as she watched the group move away into the garden and toward the small manor that served as an annex to the headquarters.
Tate caught a glimpse of George’s clenched fists seconds before she relaxed them, her expression smoothing out to one of calm once again.
It looked like someone wasn’t as unaffected by the dragon-ridden’s hostility as she wanted them to think.
Dewdrop nodded at Daisy and Jack, signaling them to follow Blaise and the rest. Only when they were safely away did Dewdrop move to Tate’s side.
“Not sure stomping off after a snit is the best way to handle the emperor’s people,” Dewdrop said in a voice meant only for Tate. “And I thought your diplomacy skills were lacking.”
“Now you see I’m not so bad.”
He pursed his lips as he cast a sidelong glance at her. “I love how out of touch with reality you are.”
“They still need to be interrogated,” George said, focusing on Tate.
It was obvious, given her welcome by Blaise, Thora and Jacob, she’d decided Tate was the most reasonable one.
How little she knew.
“I’m sure that choice of word is an unfortunate oversight.” Tate’s smile held an edge.
Who used a term like interrogate in regards to children? It was possible Blaise and the others had reason to dislike this person after all.
“You’re right,” Ben interjected when George opened her mouth to argue. “No one here is going to interrogate anyone.”
George frowned at him in disagreement.
“No one,” he stressed.
George’s expression turned grumpy. She looked like a child denied a treat.
Dewdrop slapped Tate on the arm. “Have fun with that. She’s almost as hopeless and awkward as you.”
“I’m not awkward.”
There was a loud chuff from the roof that contradicted her. Tate glared, squinting against the sun. She didn’t need a Veles’s opinion either.
Insufferable asses. If she didn’t love them as much as she did, she would definitely find new roommates. That and the fact she suspected they wouldn’t go even if she did try to kick them out of the house.
“We’re here to find out why the alarms were triggered,” George said in a flat voice.
Ben cast his eyes to the sky and shook his head in an attempt at patience.
“Your new partner is interesting,” Tate observed, choosing to ignore the other woman for the moment.
From the way Ben acted, he was George’s senior—no matter how squirrely the other dragons got when she appeared. Tate would assume he’d keep things under control until proven otherwise.
“She has her merits. At least she’s never run off during a mission to search the countryside for a missing companion.” Ben aimed a significant look at Dewdrop before glancing up at the roof.
“Low blow. That really hurts.” Dewdrop clutched his chest before dropping his hands with a smirk. “Besides, it all worked out in the end. We found the idiot who was kidnapped from her own room and managed to stop an ancient from seizing control of a weapon.”
Tate glared at her friend. “Am I supposed to be the idiot in this scenario?”
“Not my fault if you recognize yourself in that description.”
“I’m not the only one who has a history of being kidnapped.”
Outrage spread across Dewdrop’s face. “That happened one time.”
Twice, Night said at the same time Tate held up two fingers.
Dewdrop sputtered.
Thora spoke suddenly. “State your business and then leave.”
George slowly turned her head to look at him. “As I said, we’re here to find out who broke the covenant.”
“She did.” Thora and Dewdrop spoke at the same time.
Tate sent Dewdrop an indignant glare. She expected this from Thora. As the commander of the Dragon Corps, his priorities were different. He couldn’t play favorites. Not when every decision he made was scrutinized for the smallest fault.
Tate had gotten away with a lot in the past. He’d be doing her no favors by trying to protect her now. Doing so would only increase the danger and level of scrutiny on the dragonlettes.
However, Dewdrop was different. She’d expected a little more loyalty out of her supposed best friend. A boy she con
sidered closer than blood. The brother she had to sleep through a thousand years to meet.
That brother was currently shrugging at her with an unrepentant expression.
“Blaise did too.” If Tate was going down for this, she was taking Blaise with her.
Neither Ben nor George seemed particularly surprised at their confession. Tate was willing to bet that alarm could pick up the magnitude and quantity of shifts.
She was only hoping the more powerful signature from her and Blaise would be enough to cover the dragonlettes’ own indiscretions.
“Lady Fisher and Sir Ison were demonstrating fighting as a dragon as part of the children’s continued training,” Thora lied without changing expression.
It took a moment for Tate to realize Ison meant Blaise. This was the first time she’d heard his surname.
Not to mention the title. She got the same weird feeling she always got when she heard Lady attached to her name.
She still wasn’t used to the rank that came with her status as dragon-ridden. They existed outside the nobility. Set apart and slightly above.
Technically the only person that outranked a dragon-ridden was the emperor.
In reality, the nobles and officials of the government resented the power they had and went out of their way to create restrictions. See the ridiculous rule on not changing into their dragon form in their own headquarters without permission.
Tate mentally shook herself, leaving such thoughts behind to find Dewdrop looking at Thora with admiration.
Neither of them were accustomed to the commander of the Dragon Corps playing fast and loose with the rules. Usually, he was the one lecturing Tate about her tendency to color outside the lines.
Honestly, she didn’t expect the old grump to have it in him.
“The emperor was quite clear in his desire for the children to become functioning members of the Corps,” Thora added.
Smart. Link their actions to the emperor and make it seem like they were only obeying his orders, thus absolving themselves of any wrongdoing.
Tate could see why Thora was the leader. She wondered how many years it had taken him to learn that little trick.
Judging by the sour expression on George’s face and the accepting one on Ben’s, it looked like Thora was going to get away with it too.
That was a relief.
Tate didn’t want to imagine the punishment that would have resulted from her indiscretion. Last time she’d done something like this, the emperor sent her to Silvain where she’d prevented an ancient ally of the Creators from obtaining a weapon created by the Savior Jax Kuno.
It might not have been so bad if not for the fact she’d been kidnapped, separated from her friends, and forced to march across the desert with no water and no supplies. When she finally arrived at her destination, it was to find most of her party held hostage by a Harridan who’d lost her mind and Nathan, someone who’d once been a friend but had since gone to the Creators’ side, waiting for her.
She’d nearly died. Multiple times.
At the end, all she got for her trouble was a cube containing a warning from Jax that the Creators thought long gone weren’t as dead as everyone assumed.
Yeah, Tate would prefer to avoid any more ‘punishments’.
“While I personally find your failure to obey the rules of the palace inexcusable—and concerning, I don’t have the power to hold you responsible,” George started.
Dewdrop leaned over to Tate. “Do you find it as worrying as me that she has her hand resting on the pommel of her sword while she says that?”
“You took the words right out of my mouth.”
It was concerning to say the least. Tate expected this sort of behavior from the Black Order, a guild that often acted as an arm of the law when the Lord Provost’s people were spread thin.
The thing that separated them from the Lord Provost was that they required payment for their services. You don’t pay; they don’t work. As a result, only the wealthier areas of the city relied on them.
They’d lost some power in recent events but they still were held in high regard by many—
especially among the upper echelons of society. The fact they considered any with a tie to the Creators, no matter how small, as an impurity to be purged from the rest of Aurelia had a lot to do with that.
It was disturbing to find someone so close minded within the Lord Provost’s ranks. Those she’d met before had struck her as honorable and reasonable even as they performed a difficult job. The Lord Provost was the same.
George hid her flinch well at Dewdrop’s words, but Tate and the others still caught it.
She’s got pretty good hearing, Night observed from his vantage on the roof.
Very good. Enough to rival even Night’s, she’d suspect. That was saying something. Night and his people were designed to be scouts and act as a forward assault force when necessary. Heightened senses and stealth came as part of his makeup.
Tate studied George with new eyes. If her senses were that good, Tate was betting she had an ancestor related to the sleepers. Of course, she could also have Silva in her family. The Silva were like Night. They’d been designed as soldiers by the Creators. Increased strength, superior speed, things that made them hard to kill.
“There is another reason for our presence,” George said in an even tone. “Since Lady Fisher has so much free time, the emperor has summoned her to court. His majesty looks forward to her presence.”
Well, damn. It looked like Tate had been relieved too soon. She hadn’t escaped her punishment after all—it had only changed its form somewhat.
“When?” Thora asked tersely.
“Tomorrow.”
Tate’s eyes threatened to bug out of her head. Tomorrow? Was she kidding? Did George not know what was involved with a court visit? Not that Tate was entirely clear on that herself, but what she did know was that it wasn’t as simple as popping over to a friend’s house to say hello.
There were protocols. Procedures in place that required weeks of preparation.
Granted, she’d sat in on the same lessons as the dragonlettes in an attempt to fill in the gaps in her knowledge base, but it was nowhere near enough for what George was asking of her.
“She’ll be there,” Thora said.
She would? Good to know the person in question was being consulted. She was so happy her needs and desires were considered in situations like this.
George turned to go and paused. “Oh. The emperor requests one of the children attend as well.”
“No.” Thora’s expression was unyielding.
“The emperor was clear.”
Thora’s mask shredded as he bared his teeth. “I don’t care.”
“I’ll do it,” Daisy said from the side of the house. She stepped into view, lifting her chin as they all looked in her direction. “I’ll represent all of us.”
A stricken expression crossed Dewdrop’s face. Tate could see how much he wanted to protest and how hard he fought to swallow those words.
His reaction reminded her of something important. So many choices had been ripped from Daisy and the others when they were forced to become dragon-ridden. Their very identity as human stolen. Even if Tate didn’t fully agree with Daisy’s choice, it was still her decision. Tate knew how important control was when it felt like you’d lost everything else. Unless Daisy was reckless and put others in danger, Tate wouldn’t stop her.
Moreover, Tate understood her reasoning.
As the eldest and someone who already had experience taking care of a brother, Daisy couldn’t do anything else but protect the rest.
“Absolutely not,” Thora snapped.
“It’s decided then,” George said at the same time. “Further instructions will follow later.”
She walked away before Thora could argue.
Tate raised her eyebrows at Ben. “You couldn’t have warned us?”
“Orders.”
Tate sighed. She knew how that went. She lift
ed a hand in farewell as he started after the dragon slayer.
“How bad is this?” Tate asked Thora when they were gone.
Thora stared after George and Ben with a serious expression. Several minutes passed before he scrubbed a hand down his face. He looked tired. Worried.
Two things Tate didn’t often associate with him.
“Go home for now. Daisy, you too. There’s some things I need to take care of.”
“That bad, huh?” Tate said to his back as he headed into the building.
Only the wind answered her.
The bravado in Dewdrop’s face didn’t quite mask his concern. Of the two of them, Dewdrop had more experience in this arena. His history might have been with the Night Court, a gathering place for some of the most shady and powerful people in the empire. Those who often operated outside the law. But like the Night Court, the emperor’s court was no doubt an insidious snake pit. The closer you got to the throne; the more dangerous and treacherous it was.
If it was up to her, she’d stay as far from the halls of power as she could get.
“It can’t be as bad as that time Ilith stole the emperor’s crown,” Dewdrop offered.
Tate would like to think so, but if that was true, why did she feel like she’d stepped knee deep into a pile of shit?
“We’ll head home and go from there,” she said.
Here, they could do nothing. At least at home, she could make plans. Prepare. Already, her mind was running through her options.
This wasn’t the end of the world. Something like this was bound to happen eventually. Maybe not this exact scenario—Daisy’s inclusion was a definite curve ball. But Tate was the first female dragon-ridden. Her very existence spawned curiosity and envy. Since the moment she’d appeared in Aurelia, there had been whispers and rumors about her.
A formal debut was inevitable. Not only would it quell gossip and put a stop to any plans to recruit her, it would show her as firmly being under the emperor’s authority—even if that last part was nothing but an illusion.
Tate would play the game. She had no reason not to. Aurelia was her home and the emperor its ruler. As long as he didn’t cross her bottom line or pose a danger to her small, makeshift family, she’d act in his interests.