Page 20 of Knotted By the Triad

“We release him with everything exactly as he left it,” I instructed. “The Dragonblight stays in the compartment. So does the delivery slip. As far as he knows, we detained him long enough to verify his paperwork and found nothing wrong. But we put eyes on him and have our people send word if he veers off track with his delivery. And when the exchange happens, we’ll step in.”

“I'll put Shadow guards on the wagon to keep an eye on the driver,” Zian said. “He won't know they're there. I’ll also have some go to the drop-off site to scout the area.”

I nodded, then looked at Daemin. “Daemin, bring members of the assassin clan with us, just in case things go south.”

Daemin nodded, glancing at the time and location on the slip.

“I’ll contact my people tonight,” Daemin said. “We’ll need to be in position well before midnight.”

“We will,” I vowed. I looked at the guard. “Put the slip back exactly where you found it. Then release them once the authorization check is finished and give them no reason to think this was anything more than a delay over their paperwork.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The guard bowed, took the delivery slip, and left to carry out the order.

Someone had gone to considerable trouble to move Dragonblight through Iron territory under my clan's seal. Tomorrow night, we would be one step closer to finding out who was behind these forgeries.

Daemin and Zian didn't immediately rise from their chairs to leave and contact their people. Instead, Daemin glanced toward the closed door before looking back at me.

“What about Zuri? Should we check on her?” he asked.

I frowned. “Why would we do that?”

His brows lifted slightly, as if my answer wasn't the one he'd expected.

“She was drugged,” I reminded him. “The best thing we can do is leave her alone and let her sleep it off. We'll speak with her tomorrow morning and establish the rules of this marriage once she's clearheaded.”

Daemin leaned back in his chair, but something in his expression told me he wasn't satisfied with that answer. He opened his mouth as though he intended to argue, only for Zian to speak first.

“We can deal with our new wife tomorrow.” Zian rose from his chair. “This Dragonblight issue must come first. Tonight, we need to prepare to intercept the delivery.”

“I agree,” I said quickly. “I need to check our weapons and make sure we have everything we'll need for tomorrow night's mission.”

Daemin stared at me for a moment before finally pushing himself to his feet. “I'll make sure my guards from the Assassin Clan are ready to go.”

“And I'll contact my Shadow Guards,” Zian said. “I want them in position before the wagon is released from inspection. I’ll send another team to scout the delivery location ahead of us.”

I nodded. They had their clans to prepare, and I had my own work to finish before tomorrow night. They turned to leave.

“Only contact people you trust,” I called out.

They both turned.

“Someone managed to copy all three of our current seals,” I reminded them. “Until we know who did it and how they got access to them, we have to be careful about who knows what we're doing tomorrow night. We have a mole. And they’re close to us.”

Daemin's expression darkened. “Understood.”

Zian gave me a nod. Then the two of them left, closing the door behind them. I remained in my chair long after they’d left. I just sat there, staring at the far wall. I had things to do, yet Daemin's question kept replaying in my mind.

Should we check on her?

I still didn't understand why he thought we should. Zuri was probably asleep by now, which was exactly what she needed after whatever Orion had given her. There was nothing any of us could do for her tonight that couldn't wait until morning.

Despite knowing that, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I remembered how furious she’d looked when we mentioned her father drugging her. I also remembered the moment her scent spiked, filling the room with her sweet fragrance.

The aroma of strawberry and chocolate had wrapped around me so suddenly that my dragon had surged beneath my skin before I could stop it, almost triggering a shift. I’d never felt anything like it. And the word it had growled when my gaze met hers was on repeat in my head.

MINE.

My dragon had recognized her as his. How was that possible? She was a Bane. I was supposed to care for Mei Lin. The others hadn’t said their dragons claimed her, only that they were affected by her.