My teeth pinched my bottom lip. “Thanks.” I told him about the race course, about closing my eyes. Rush stood beside me, arms crossed, watching Myth, who was turning small circles as he tried to find a comfortable position.
“The race course? How’d he do?”
“He did great.” I couldn’t contain my smile. “I think he enjoyed it. He only touched the ground once. It was amazing. And terrifying.”
Rush shook his head slightly, one side of his mouth curling up. “Most people crazy enough to enter night races have been riding dragons since they could climb in the saddle.”
My chin lifted. “Are you saying I’m crazy or I’m special for trying it?”
“I’m saying he is.” He jerked his head toward my dragon, his lazy smile stretching into a mischievous grin. Then his smile faltered. “Ari, when my father finds out about him…”
His words stung like hot oil. I stormed over to Myth and started unfastening his saddle. “I know,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “When your father finds out, we’re both dead. But let me believe, for one moment, that I can change this wretched world we live in.”
Rush didn’t reply, only began unfastening a leather strap on Myth’s other side. Shortly, we had the saddle off. Myth shook his whole body like a dog in the rain and pranced into the lair.
I chuckled as I watched him go. Rush insisted on carrying the heavy saddle into the lair, and by the time he walked out, my body was shaking violently from the cold.
“You should get warm,” he said. Moonlight limned his pale hair in a silver light. He didn’t have to let me stay here. He didn’t have to help me. He didn’t have to come spend Rending Night here. But I didn’t want him to go.
I lifted my hand toward the house. “Want to come in?” I teased. It was foolish, and I was a complete hypocrite for the way I’d felt about my sister being at that rich kid school, but in this moment, I didn’t care, didn’t want reality to come marching in and ruin the way Rush was looking at me right now.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and offered me a quick nod before walking around me.
“I'm sorry I didn’t plan for guests tonight.” I darted up the steps after him, trying to keep the mood light but sensing it crashing to the ground anyway. Inside, when the wind could no longer claw at my body, I sagged with relief.
Rush peeled through the house, toward the grand dining room. When I entered, I stopped short. Two plates sat on the table. On each plate was a simple slice of chocolate cake.
“I assume you like chocolate.”
Stunned, I moved for the nearest plate. “Yes.” I slid into the seat and took an eager bite with a small fork made of silver.
Rush casually walked to the second plate at the head of the table. “I came here to warn you that there’s an Avencian family in town, the Corzos, who are trying to break into the dragon-racing business. Well, they’re in it already, but they’re not as powerful here as they are back in Avencia. They’re on to my father. He’s been too bold, won too many races. They’re watching all his properties, but at least for now, they think this one is unoccupied. I knew you’d be visiting the area, alone, and I…thought you should know.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, feeling my cheeks heating.
“They’re trying to get at my father any way they can. They’ve tried capturing his car, mugging him on the way out of the bank, and even sneaking into our estate. Every single man who’s tried has ended up dead, but they haven’t stopped yet.” He took a bite of cake, leaving me with some bleak mental images. “But I think it’s more than just a power play. I think they knowwhyhe wins. Or else they’d have given up by now.”
“You think they’re after magic?”
He shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it was them who searched my room.”
“At school?” I balked at the idea that the walls of Cardan Lott couldn’t hold back the gangs of Treston.
A piece of cake wavered on his fork. “The staff, perhaps. My father is hard to get to. My father warned Reggie to increase his personal security. Fortunately for me, most people who know my father well enough know that threatening me won’t be much of a bargaining chip with him.” He stuffed the cake into his mouth. “I think they were looking for clues about how he wins.”
My eyes flicked away from him, heartbeat ticking faster. What would he think when he learned I’d been sent to Cardan Lott for those exact clues? It wasn’t just the Avencians hunting for the truth. “Do you think they’d come here?” I asked, peering over my shoulder.
“No. They know his schedule, where he eats, where he takes his afternoon whiskey. I don’t think they’d come here.”
But he felt the need to warn me anyway.
As we ate the next few bites in silence, I agonized over what I could possibly have to say to him. I'd already told him about my ride, and other than talking about my dragon, I had no idea what Rushland Covington, the son of a powerful duke, would want to talk about.
“How was your time at home?” I said, stumbling over the words and feeling a stab of guilt in my chest at the thought of not being at home when Evie returned. But that would be several hours still.
His fork hovered over his cake for a moment, his gaze fixed on the table. “Same as ever,” he said, taking a quick bite.
I set my fork down and stared at him. “Do you always evade meaningful conversation? Or do you only do that with me, because I’m not worth the time?”
