If it had been any other situation, Tate would have found his appearance and response adorable. As it was, she understood his irritation.
George had gone out of her way to enforce his attendance, and now she was excluding him just when they got to the interesting part.
Tate would be irate too.
George gave him a cruel smile. “If you find this unacceptable, you could always leave. We won’t stop you.”
Dewdrop’s body went taught, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. He sucked in a deep breath, a vibration rattling the air.
Tate lunged forward, covering his mouth with her hand. “Okay, that’s enough of that.”
Dewdrop didn’t struggle, his body nearly quivering from the force of his anger. Gradually, Tate could feel him calming. Enough so she could drop her hand, settling it on his shoulder.
Finally, he looked up at her and nodded, telling her he had himself under control again.
With Dewdrop handled, Tate summoned the barest bit of her dragon. Together, they fixed a dark glare on George.
“As for you, I suggest you knock it off.” Tate’s voice dropped into a deep rumble as her dragon pushed forward in her mind.
George flinched.
“Don’t think your little toothpick is more than a minor irritation for us,” Tate/Ilith warned the woman. “If you continue to test our patience, we’ll be happy to show you why we were once feared.”
George’s skin flushed in embarrassment, making her act even stupider than she already had been. She summoned her Torment, darkness gathering in her hand.
Tate/Ilith bared their teeth, rejoicing at the idea of a fight so soon after the last one.
The Lord Provost moved.
With their weird relic sense, they felt him do something, banishing the relic that was in the process of being summoned. He sent a cold look at George. “I apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness. It won’t happen again.”
Tate/Ilith hovered on the cusp of violence, unwilling to back down. They didn’t like threats. Less so when they came from children. Best to teach the child its place rather than let them swagger around, irritating everyone in the vicinity.
Ryu touched Tate’s shoulder and in the next moment, she had a dragon the size of a house cat plastered against her neck.
Rath rubbed his cheek against hers, over and over again, broadcasting calm.
Tate/Ilith tried to move their face away from the affectionate dragon. This only encouraged him to stand on his back legs, pressing his front paws against Tate’s ear for balance as he continued to rub his face over every part of her head he could reach.
“Alright, alright, I’m calm now. I won’t kill the woman who carries a title she doesn’t deserve.” Tate pushed Rath away as Ilith relinquished control, leaving only Tate in the driver’s seat.
She glanced at Ryu with an apology on her face. His lips twitched but there was no disapproval present. If anything, he looked rather pleased with her.
It seemed Tate’s nerves weren’t the only ones George was testing.
“Now that that’s settled, we’ll get started,” the duke said.
Tate coaxed Rath down into her arms, giving him a good scratch under his chin before handing him back to Ryu.
“What is this place?” Tate asked, staring at the statues as the duke lifted his hands and started shouting words.
Power formed around his raised hands, a distortion spilling out from where his hands were, growing until it filled the space between the two statues.
Tate’s eyes widened. “No wonder I felt a connection.”
It was a portal just like the one that led to Jax’s pocket realm in the Harridan’s city.
Rath burrowed into Ryu’s arms, his body turning transparent until he faded from sight. Ryu joined Tate, a dragon tattoo crawling up his neck and partially onto his jaw. The dragon flicked a tongue while staring at the portal.
