“What do you mean?” I snapped.
The woman turned and pointed. “He’s right back there, honey. But get in line; he just won a fortune.”
My lips curled in halfhearted thanks as I pushed my way into the bustling room, Vanya clutching my hand. We snaked past tables where men and women held cards close to their chests. Colorful chips sat in piles on some tables, while other tables were entirely empty, save for the drinks. Then I spotted him.
Bennett lounged in a booth at the back of the large room, his arm draped over the shoulders of a redheaded woman. He held a pipe in one hand and a drink in the other. The woman had two cards in her hand and seemed to be asking him questions about them. When he looked up, his easy expression hardened and he was shoving the girl aside, slipping from the booth without so much as an apology.
“Ari, what are you doing here?” His eyes flicked to Vanya and lingered.
I stiffened beside my friend. “I need to talk to you.”
Bennett squinted and turned back to the table. “Now?”
“Yes, now.”
He sighed and nodded forward. “This way.” He stepped around us, and the crowd easily parted to let us pass as he ledus to a door behind the bar. We filed through the kitchen, then out into a small hallway that spilled into an alleyway. Two steps through cool air and we were back inside, this time in a room with warm paneled wood, a velvet couch, and two high-back leather chairs before a cold hearth.
Bennett spun to face me. He had a pistol on his hip and a beard I’d never seen him wear before. The snake tattoo on his neck was fully visible now, and it made a shiver rake down my spine.
“What’s the matter? Are you okay?” he said, words rushing out.
“I’m fine.” Following my brother’s stare, I said, “This is my roommate from school.” I didn’t supply her name in case she didn’t want me to. Tonight, Vanya had, for once, worn something rather plain, a belted dark gray dress with buttons up the front. She still looked royal and prettier than every other girl in that entire place we’d just left. Bennett clearly thought so, too, judging by the way he kept staring at her.
He smiled and bowed. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Where did you last see Rush Covington?” I said, fiddling with the folds of my skirt.
He scratched absently at his neck.
“Bennett,” I warned. Bennett coughed and covered his mouth with a fist. I nodded. He knew. I could see it in his eyes. “Where is he, Ben?”
My brother’s jaw worked. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is, actually. Tell me where he is.”
Bennett paced around in a small circle, rubbing his mouth. “Tell me this, then. What do you have to do with the Dragon Duke’s boy?”
“He’s my friend.” My palms were sweating.
A half-laugh, half-hiss spewed from his mouth. “Is he now?”
I stormed forward. “You know where he is. I know you do.”
Bennet’s face hardened into something fierce, something foreign. “You shouldn’t care what happens to him. You shouldn’t be hisfriend, Ari.”
“Don’t tell me who to be friends with.” I gestured back at the gambling hall we’d just left. “What happened to him?”
My brother’s eyes flickered with darkness. “I’m still your older brother, and I will protect you from danger when I can.”
“Is he the danger you’re talking about?” I wondered what he’d say to my fire-breathing dragon.
“Yes,” he growled.
My cheeks were growing hot. “Without him, I’d still be in that jail. And since the duke killed my dragon, I don’t think he’s planning to leave me alive. Now, what happened to Rush?”
Vanya was now sitting on the couch, trying her hardest to look everywhere but at us.
Bennett crossed his arms. “The Covingtons can’t be trusted.”
