I was about to unleash my fury when Jade’s office door flew open and another pissed-off dragon stormed in.
Saffron.
“Jade, this is total bullshit, and you know it!” Saffron snapped.
Awkward affection coiled in my chest. We just couldn’t avoid doing the same things, could we?
“Ah, déjà vu,” Jade said. “How may I help you, Saffron?”
“I’m not doing this,” Saffron stated. “This... twin bachelor thing on the Games. I refuse.”
Jade shot him a pointed smile. “I’m afraid it’s too late to refuse. The paperwork has already gone through, the contracts signed, the employees paid—”
Saffron slammed his hands on the desk. “I don’t care about that! Un-sign them! Un-pay them!”
Despite everything, I smirked in amusement. I had to admit, it was funny seeing Saffron repeat my exact gestures.
Jade sighed and repeated the finger-prying until his desk was free of our grimy hands.
“We all know that’s not possible,” Jade said patiently. “In any case, Aurum already tried to escape the twist and failed.”
Saffron frowned. He whipped his head towards me, then his eyes darkened.
It hit me like a punch in the gut. He didn’t even notice I was in the room until now.
Were wethatmessed up?
“You... you did?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah? I was here yelling at Jade before you showed up,” I said.
Saffron let out a sarcastic snort. “Of course. Because you’d rather die than be a bachelor.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He rolled his eyes. “You hate romance and fated mates. I’m not surprised you’d try to weasel out of the Games.”
My lips curled into a snarl, exposing my shifted fangs. “Call me a weasel again and see what happens.”
“Boys,” Jade shouted. “Cool it.”
Jade rarely raised his voice, so that was enough to shock us into silence. We kept glaring at each other, though.
“See? Youcanget along.” He smiled at us like we were a pair of muzzled dogs. “As I was saying, the season is set in stone. There’s no changing it at this point, I’m afraid. You’ll have to make it work. I know you can.”
I bit back a growl. Jade was only doing this because of our argument. I never should’ve told him about it. Smarmy dickhead.
“Now, if you’re both done verbally attacking a poor old dragon, I’ll excuse you from my office,” Jade said.
I snorted. “You’re not that old, lizard-brain.”
In my heart, I expected Saffron to join in, but he’d already turned and left.
“This isn’t over,” I promised Jade.
I didn’t wait for a response. I ran outside and caught up with Saffron.
“I’m not done with you, either,” I said, grabbing his shoulder.
