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I touched Nate’s arm and leaned close to him. “They can all leave except Orion. I want to have a one-on-one chat withhim.”
Nate’s eyes darkened. “You think he’s in league with the roguestoo?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “So don’t go into full grizzly mode on him right away. There’s just something off about him. Different from the ones who are just thinking I might be causing more problems than I’msolving.”
Nate bristled. “If anyone says anything—” he started, and I patted hisarm.
“It’s fine. I don’t blame them. Let’s find out what’s going on with the muskrat, allright?”
Subtlety might not have been Nate’s strongest point, but he managed to single Orion out without being totally obvious about it. My bear shifter ambled over to the doorway before telling the guards they were dismissed. As they filed past him, stances relaxing, he caught the muskrat shifter and tugged him to theside.
“Just one more thing I wanted to go over with you,” he said, as if it had nothing at all to do with me. A couple of the other guards looked over curiously. From across the room, I felt the tension clench through Orion’sbody.
No, he wasn’t happy about this development atall.
Alice hopped off the table. “Should we go somewhere a little less... expansive? I feel better when I’ve got the walls closer at myback.”
“Yes,” Nate said. “I think a little privacy is in order for thistalk.”
“I... don’t understand?” Orion said as Nate ushered him to a side door at the other end of the hall. “What’s this about?” He carefully did not look atme.
“I think we’ll figure that out once we’ve gotten to the talking part,” Nate said. “Come on.” He gave the muskrat shifter a light cuff to the head to nudge him onward. Maybe not that light, actually. The smaller guywinced.
Orion had done a good job playing the joker in the middle of the line, but as we tramped deeper into the palace, his nerves started to show. He raked his hand through his bristly black hair. His narrow jaw worked. When Nate opened a door down the hall and motioned him in, his legs balked for a second before hecomplied.
I followed, glancing around approvingly. Nate hadn’t picked anything that resembled a chilly interrogation room. The room looked like a study: built-in bookcases stuffed with books and binders, a desk at one end and three leather chairs at the other. Alice, who seemed to enjoy a higher vantage point, hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk. The rest of us took thechairs.
Orion twisted his hands in his lap. His gaze darted to me and then settled back on hisalpha.
“You have to know,” he said in a strained voice, “I had no idea that attack was going to happen. I haven’t done anything to threaten the security of the estate or my kin here. Iwouldn’t.”
“IthoughtI knew that,” Nate said in a low voice. “But after what happened the other night, I’m sure you can understand we need to be absolutely sure of all of you. If something is bothering you, you can tellus.”
Orion’s choice of words hadn’t escaped me. He’d picked them very carefully. He hadn’t known about the attack. He hadn’t done anything to hurt his kin. That left a whole lot of other things he might have known or done—or that he might meanto.
“Orion,” I said, as gently as I could manage, “you can obviously tell we singled you out for a reason.Somethingis eating at you. Something that wasn’t a problem for any of the other guards. I don’t know if you realized, but one of a dragon shifter’s abilities is a sensitivity to people’s emotions and motives. I know you’re scared of me. I just want to know what it is you’re afraid I’m going todo.”
He wet his lips. “Isn’t it normal to be a little nervous of someone who can transform into a mythical creature a gazillion times bigger thanme?”
Damn it, he had me smiling again. “My dragon form isn’t quite that enormous. And actually, from what I’ve seen, your reaction isn’t normal. Most of your kin and the other kin I’ve talked to know that my job as dragon shifter is to look out for all of you. I’m on your side. An ally, not an enemy. Unless you’ve been doing something you know would make youmyenemy.”
The muskrat shifter looked at his hands. His fingernails had ragged edges, as if maybe he’d been nibbling on them. His mouth twisted. “I haven’t done anything,” hesaid.
“But maybe you’ve been thinking about it?” I suggested. “I’ve got to assume that if the rogues got to Keith, they’ve tried feeling out some of the other guards too. Maybe you’ve talked to them. Maybe you’ve considered doingmore.”
His shoulders tensed. He didn’t need to say anything. I could read his guilt as clearly as if it was printed on hisshirt.
It radiated off him strongly enough that Nate picked up on it too. He stood up, looming over his guard. His voice came out in agrowl.
“If you’ve had any contact with the rogues atall—”
I held up my hand, and Nate swallowed the rest of his threat with arumble.
“Just tell us,” I said to Orion. “We’ll figure out the truth one way or another. If you really are loyal to your kin and your alpha, then after what the rogues did here today, you should know that helping them at all is going against everything you’re supposed to standfor.”
“I just wanted to hear what they had to say,” Orion blurted out. “Some of the things they said, it sounded as if they had ideas that would make things better for all of us kin, not justthem.”
He snapped his mouth shut as if he hadn’t meant to say even that much. His fingers dug into the seatcushion.
