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“Câlisse.” Then I muttered “Fuck” because if I was going to swear it sounded better in both languages.

Keegan was still staring at the screen. “You think it's blackmail?”

“I think I'm going to ask him.”

I grabbed my phone and keys because sitting there discussing Ash as if he were a problem we could solve suddenly felt unbearable. I needed to see him, and more than that, I needed to know what his father had done to make him pay for years and why the possibility of me discovering it frightened him enough to push me away.

I'd made it halfway to the door when Ignatius stopped me.

“Max.”

Something in his tone made me turn.

He'd left his wine on the table now, and the man watching me bore very little resemblance to the amused billionaire who'd enjoyed convincing me I was about to face a council interrogation.

He asked what I planned to say when I got there, and the question irritated me because I didn't have anything resembling a plan.

“I don't fucking know. Maybe I'll start by asking why he's been paying his father for years.”

“And when he asks how you know?”

That slowed me down.

Ash was going to be furious.

I knew that before I even left the apartment, and part of me thought I could live with his anger if it meant dragging whatever was happening into the open. What I wasn't prepared for was Ignatius asking whether I could live with Ash still refusing to tell me why.

“He's being blackmailed. His father is threatening him, he's apparently been paying the bastard since God knows when, and now he's dragging me into it. I'm not going to stand back and pretend none of that is happening because Ash doesn't want to talk about it.”

Ignatius waited until I'd finished before pointing out that nobody was asking me to.

“My point is that you're about to walk into Ash's home with information he didn't choose to give you and ask him to trust you with something he's apparently terrified to reveal. You may have very good reasons for doing that, and he may desperately need someone to help him drag this into the open, but don't confuse wanting to protect him with having a right to every secret he has.”

That took enough heat out of my anger for me to actually listen. I didn't like what I was hearing. But unfortunately, that didn't make it wrong. “I want him to trust me.”

Something sharpened in Ignatius's gaze, and for some reason, I knew immediately I'd just given him exactly what he needed.

He asked whether Ash knew I was a dragon.

Keegan looked away. Drake suddenly became interested in collecting empty bottles, and even Doryu seemed to find something fascinating on his screen.

“No.”

Ignatius didn't need to ask the next question, but he did anyway.

“Does he know you're lifebound?”

My jaw tightened. “Obviously not.”

He nodded slowly. “Then perhaps you understand why I'm suggesting a little caution.”

“This is different. My being a dragon isn't why his father is extorting him, and telling Ash right now won't fix whatever the hell is happening.”

“No, it won’t. And I’m not suggesting you walk into the middle of his crisis and announce it because you suddenly feel guilty.” Ignatius leaned back, apparently prepared to give me more credit than I’d expected. “There’s a time for honesty, Max, but telling Ash you’re a dragon tonight won’t help him deal with whatever his father is doing. It would give him something else enormous to process when he’s already struggling with this.”

I frowned. “So you’re telling me not to tell him?”

“I’m telling you not to tell him tonight simply because discovering he has a secret has suddenly made you uncomfortable about keeping your own. That would be about making yourself feel better, not helping Ash.” Ignatius paused. “Deal with the emergency in front of you first. Then, when this is over, you tell him because he deserves to know what he’s getting into with you.”