Page 60 of No Ordinary Drakeling
“Yeah?”
“Why were you in my village that day?”
For a moment Zane considered lying to Tiri, but it didn’t sit well with him. He valued honesty and did not want to start off his matebond with secrecy beyond the clandestine money he filtered into Tiri’s account. The sprite was too stubborn for him to have any other choice in that regard. “Your people have been stealing from shops that belong to the Council. We were there to question Chesvarin about it since he refused to speak to anyone but Ellery. He wasn’t cooperative, so we have fallen knights and sentinels watching your people to arrest anyone who commits another burglary.”
Tiri’s expression was one of pure shock. His mouth went slack with it. “The chieftain said we were given gifts.”
“They weren’t gifts. They were stolen in the middle of the night from store owners who live in remote areas where they don’t get a great deal of business. Robberies are the last thing they need.”
“Chieftain Chesvarin must’ve been upset to learn there are scoundrels in our village.”
“Baby, he told everyone they were gifts. I’m pretty sure he was in on the burglaries. My guess is that he ordered them himself.”
Tiri’s face was a mask of confusion, and Zane hoped to hell he hadn’t ruined their date by telling him the truth about Chesvarin. He wanted to get close to Tiri, not alienate him. The sprite lifted his fork to take another bite, and Zane wished he could get inside of his head to know his thoughts. His own were centered around moving forward with their relationship and forging the type of matebond he’d learned about since he was a child. One where not only were their hearts engaged but with a deep, abiding friendship that was the center of their lives.
