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 considered 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.
