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Some of the tension left my shoulders.
That, at least, I understood.
I looked toward the door. Ash was still out there dealing with a father who'd apparently been extorting him for years, and suddenly the thing I'd spent most of my adult life fearing would have to wait a few more hours.
“I still need to see him.”
“I know.”
“And I’m not leaving him alone with this.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Ignatius studied me for a moment. “But you can be there for him without telling him what Doryu found tonight.”
I stared at him. “You expect me to pretend I don’t know his father’s been taking money from him?”
“For now, yes, because at the moment, all we have is a pattern of payments and part of a conversation Doryu happened to overhear. We don’t know what his father is threatening him with, and we don’t know what Ash might do if he discovers we’ve been looking.”
That didn't sit well with me at all. I'd spent the entire day wanting Ash to tell me what was wrong, and now I was supposed to walk into a room with him knowing his father had apparently been taking money from him for years and pretend I knew nothing about it.
Ignatius watched me turn the keys over in my hand.
“Uncomfortable, isn’t it?”
I looked at him. “What is?”
“Knowing something that changes the way you see the situation and not being able to talk to him about it.”
Something about his tone put me on guard.
“Your secret is yours to tell. Whatever Ash is hiding appears to have been weaponized against him, so I’m not suggesting the circumstances are remotely the same. I’m suggesting you remember how complicated secrets can be before you decide his refusal to tell you means he doesn’t trust you.”
That landed considerably harder than an accusation would have.
I'd spent the entire day hurt because Ash wouldn't trust me. I'd convinced myself that if he'd just tell me what was happening, I could help, while conveniently ignoring the fact that there were things about me he'd never been given the opportunity to decide whether he could live with.
Being a dragon was only the beginning.
Ignatius knew that too.
“You're frightened that telling him what you are will change the way he understands what's happened between you.”
My hand tightened around the keys.
“It might.”
“Because you think Ash could be affected by you.”
I looked at him sharply. “You know what I am.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know he could be.”
Something shifted in Ignatius's expression.
It wasn't surprise exactly. More like confusion, as though I'd given him an answer that didn't fit the question.
“What?”
