Page 42 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

I felt eyes on my back and had to smile when my mate reached for me through the bond.

‘I think that was the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen you do.’

‘Then I pray I have many more opportunities before this shitshow is done,’ I returned with a rush of love and reassurance, then followed Ruin out of the ballroom, not allowing him to be at ease, so every noble we passed understood that he’d been directed to remove himself from the room by me.

While I, of course, walked with the ease and comfort of the man who was giving orders. Not taking them.

I closed the door to the study the king had directed me to use in the event of official duties or messages during a formal event, then turned to face Ruin who, to my surprise, remained at attention, standing in front of the huge desk at the center of the room, looking out the window—in which he could see my reflection, I realized.

“At ease,” I said, reluctantly.

Ruin’s chin dropped and he whirled on me. “If you really want there to be no suspicions of our intentions—”

“We do not share any intentions that I’m certain of yet,” I snapped, storming over to stand in front of him. “So, you speak quickly and with an abundance of caution: What the fuck are you doing here?!”

“I told you, I was—”

“Perhaps you’ve grown accustomed to dealing with empty headed nobles, or children. I am neither. Four days ago, you fled when—”

“You were going to kill me!”

“Well, I’m not now—unless you earn it. So, report, soldier. That’s an order. Report your fucking nuts off until I tell you to stop.”

Ruin glowered, but tugged at his jacket, and dropped his tone before he started to speak. “With all due respect, sir, we are in a strange room, in a stranger’s castle. We have no idea if anyone can hear us, or—”

I stood in front of him, let him see how little I cared for his discretion. “And you’re in an entirely different kingdom than the one you were ordered to enter.”

“I told you, I’m fulfilling those orders to the best of my ability.”

“Then you tell me why you ran from me, and how anything you told me has to do with Hanson and his dragons?”

Ruin huffed. “Hanson is a wealthy Lord I can manipulate to gain access to the Court, and I have—precisely as I was trained. And, they’re not his dragons… sir,” he ground out.

“Then, whose are they?” Were they the missing Fyrehold dragons after all?

“They’re their own. Wilds. Ferals. They listen to Carnage—reluctantly.”

Not the answer I’d expected. “Why? And how did you manage that?”

“Because I’m using them to tie Hanson to me—the man has ambitions, and he’ll use anyone he can to achieve them. He ushers me into the Fyrehold King’s sphere and keeps me comfortable, so I help him. The dragons stay close because Carnage told them to. When we’re done, he’ll release them.”

I glared at him to cover for my confusion. “You’re using wild dragons to corner an ambitious noble? For what purpose?”

“I told you the purpose,” he insisted.

“And yet, you’ve told me nothing about who or how you found these dragons, or what evidence you’re actually collecting and intending to provide to the king.”

“Because if I tell you, you’ll kill me, then take the credit I earned in Vosgaarde for your own gain. I am many things, sir, but I am not stupid. And I’m under no one’s thumb. Not even yours. I’m fulfilling the orders you oversaw, and I will argue that point before the king and queen themselves if necessary.”

My anger rose, but I kept a leash on it. “You left a devastated squad with dead dragons, in your former location, to show up in a neighboring kingdom and—”

“I told you what happened there. I continue to serve the purpose I was given from the start—and in exactly the way I was trained to do it. You told me that our role is to know when to step out alone and solve the problem. Well, here I fucking am. Except now I have two problems—finding the mole, and fixing your shit.”

“What the fuck are you—”

“Your ‘assistant?’ And she’s trained? I don’t know how she managed it so fast, but it’s clear Bren has her claws into you. She’s still just a farmgirl, no matter how many hours you’ve put into her. Don’t growl at me, I get it. She’s a good fuck, but—”

I stepped right to his toes, standing over him by an inch, without a word. Ruin’s mouth snapped closed. Petty satisfaction warmed my chest. But I kept my voice as low as I could without whispering, and let him hear the leashed fury simmering me.