“Howdidyou make it up here?”
Ryu gave her a grin that made her think of nighttime and the press of his naked skin against hers. “There aren’t many places a dragon dares not go.”
Tate eyed the rooftop balcony behind him. Sometimes it was nice to have a form that also had wings. “That trick won’t work twice.”
Ryu stepped more fully into the room. “That’s okay. There are many hands still left to play.”
She bet.
“If you could get changed, I can finish the last-minute tweaks,” Ashwin said, reminding Tate that they weren’t alone.
Tate let go of Rath, who flew back to land on Ryu’s shoulder as she moved to the privacy screen. When she’d changed, she walked out, handing the neatly folded clothes to Ashwin, careful not to dislodge any of the pins.
“I’ll get them back to you tomorrow in plenty of time,” Ashwin informed her.
She and Roslyn took their leave, nodding a goodbye at Ryu.
“It was smart of you to convince the daughter of the Duke of Spiritly to stand at your side,” Ryu observed without moving from his place next to the window.
“I thought so too.”
Tate crossed the space and took a seat at one of the chairs she’d set up in front of the floor length windows. Only when she’d gotten settled did she turn her attention to Ryu. His timing was surprisingly good for a man who’d been out of communication for a few weeks.
“I take it by your presence that you’ve heard about my predicament.” Which meant he’d either stopped by headquarters first or gotten the message some other way.
Knowing Ryu, it could be either scenario.
“I did.” He straightened from the window and sauntered across the room. When he reached her, he bent down and brushed a fleeting caress along her cheekbone.
Tate drew in the scent of thunderstorm that Ryu always seemed to carry with him. Wind. Rain. With a hint of lightning mixed throughout. She held herself still, her fingertips nearly tingling with the desire to reach for him.
She resisted, inhaling deeply. Control, Tatum. There were a lot of things to address before any fun could happen.
His smile said he knew the effect he had on her and was enjoying himself. She narrowed her eyes. Have fun while it lasted. If there was one thing she was confident about, it was the fact that revenge was so very sweet.
His chuckle was warm as he straightened and then took a seat on the twin of the chair she was in. He leaned back, relaxed and unconcerned.
“How much trouble am I in?” Tate asked.
She couldn’t say that Ryu was the person she trusted the most. It was a little more complicated than that. He held a unique position in the empire and dragon corps. He was more spy master than anything else. He was who they relied on when things got complicated. One might even call him a mastermind because of the convoluted plans he came up with.
There would always be things he couldn’t tell her. Tate accepted that. As long as she knew that he ultimately held her best interests at heart.
It was why she knew that if she asked him a direct question, he would tell the truth or not answer at all.
“You’ve certainly managed to land yourself in a unique situation.”
He could say that again.
“Who would ever have thought they’d be so touchy about Ilith making an appearance?” It’s not like this was the first time Ilith had come out to play while Tate was on the palace grounds. “I thought they’d loosened some of the restrictions.”
“Perhaps your prior history had a hand in things.” Ryu sent her a pointed look.
Tate scowled. Yeah, yeah, she could guess what he was referring to. “Steal one crown and no one lets you hear the end of it.”
“If I remember correctly, it wasn’t just a crown. It was nearly half the treasury.”
Ilith’s mournful sigh accompanied Tate’s frown. “I don’t know why they’re still so touchy. They got everything back.” And then they’d sent her all the way to Silvain as punishment.
