Worse was if the emperor deemed you useful—like Ryu. Tate would have no peace then.
“Well crap.”
“It’s the rest you really have to worry about.” Ryu crossed his arms, not commenting on her curse. “The Lord Provost takes his emperor’s safety very seriously, and the Obsidian Lord—well, you’re aware of how dangerous it is to give him any opening. He could try to use this to discredit you.”
Tate covered her face while she questioned once again how she had ended up with her troublesome dragon.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. As unorthodox as her methods were, Ilith exposed a rather sizable problem. It should mitigate many of the negative feelings,” Ryu told her.
Maybe in Thaddeus and William’s case but Archie was a wild card. He could still seek to use this against them.
Tate couldn’t worry about that now. They had bigger problems if the amalgam and the body were anything to judge by. Instinct warned this was only the first move in a war that was supposed to have ended nearly a millennia ago.
Distracted by her thoughts she almost didn’t notice the way Dewdrop was staring at the body. There was a morose look on his face that deepened into a bleak pity as he looked up at her.
“Dewdrop, are you okay?” Tate furrowed her eyebrows.
Dewdrop looked seconds from crying. “You ate the thing that tore this man apart from the inside out. You’re going to die.”
Tate blinked at him as Ryu’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
“I’m not going to die. Why would you even say that?”
“Yes, you are. The monster will burst out of your chest,” Dewdrop wailed.
Willa patted his leg in sympathy, sending Tate a look that matched Dewdrop’s histrionics. She shook her head as if to say it had been nice knowing Tate.
Tate watched the two with a bewildered look. “Are you trying to curse me or something?”
Although, now that she thought about it, Dewdrop had a point. Ilith had eaten a monster that lived inside the noble and the guard. It was possible it would use Tate’s insides to replicate before tearing out of her in a similar fashion.
She shook her head seconds later. Naw. Ilith wouldn’t be so stupid as to eat something that would kill her.
“I’m going to be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Tate started to say yes then hesitated. “Probably.”
“That is not reassuring.”
For her and him both.
“I don’t think even Ilith would have eaten it unless she was sure it was safe.” Tate sounded a lot more certain than she actually was.
One of Ilith’s defining characteristics was arrogance. Tate could see that arrogance backfiring on them.
“What do we do about him?” Dewdrop jerked his chin at the body, changing the subject.
“William’s people will deal with him,” Ryu said.
“Do you really think this is Nathan’s work? What was the purpose of this?” Dewdrop asked.
Tate shook her head as she took in the remains. Even if he’d been part of the anti-sleeper party, she wouldn’t wish this sort of death on her worst enemy.
“We can’t be certain of anything,” Ryu said. “I know it’s tempting to attribute something like this to him, but we want to make sure we keep an open mind.”
“You say that, but we all know it’s probably him,” Dewdrop said.
