Tenzin took one rubbing from his hand. “The real value of the goblets is authority. René doesn’t want that authority. He’s spent his life running from anything that will require more than the most superficial commitment. He wants treasure.”
“Don’t lie. He wants the goblets too.”
Tenzin shrugged. “I may have threatened to cut off various parts of his body if he took the goblets.”
“I’m going to guess he was both afraid and oddly turned on by that.”
Tenzin just said, “He is a very odd man.”
Ben turned the gold bar in his hand. “Okay, so he wants treasure. Why is he helping us?”
“Because if he takes it without some major distraction, they’ll know he has it and he won’t have any peace, nor will he have a safe house when he inevitably pisses someone off again and needs a place to hide.”
“So he wants to steal from the Poshani… but still stay friends?”
“I didn’t comment on the likelihood of his plan succeeding or the probability of the Poshani figuring out who stole from them.” She glanced up. “Which they will do. They will probably find out.”
“So how are we getting away with it?”
“Silly Ben.” She elbowed him. “You’ve been hired to steal for them. Which is probably the best hired job ever, in my opinion.”
The wind turned, and a low rumbling sound came from over his shoulder.
Ben turned and his eyes went wide. “Tenzin.”
“Yes?” She was reading the note.
“There’s a very large bear right behind us.”
“Hmmm.” She didn’t look up. “Does it have cubs with it?”
“I don’t see any.”
“Male or female?”
“I’m not going to ask.” He reached for her arm. “You have the bag?”
“Yes, what—?”
Ben yanked her up straight into the air just as the bear’s attention turned toward them.
Tenzin gave a whoop of pure joy and raced high into the air, arcing up and over Ben before she circled back to hover over his head.
Moonlight glinted on her fangs when she smiled. She held out her hand. “Fly with me.”
He flashed back to a dream nearly forgotten. Him and Tenzin, skimming over white-barked birches, turning together, their blood and bodies linked in the air.
This is what was always meant to be.
It was as if he could hear her voice in his mind.
Ben rose and met her in the air, linking their hands as she drew him deeper and higher into the velvet-black night.
36
When Ben opened his eyes, Tenzin was staring at him. He jolted awake and sat up. “I didn’t miss that.”
“Miss what?”
“You staring at me while I sleep.” He rubbed his eyes and sucked in a breath when he realized she was completely naked. “I admit I like this variation on the theme though.”
Tenzin crawled up the pallet, straddling his legs as she kept her eyes on him with predatory intent. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth, opening her lips to his as he placed both hands on her backside and squeezed.
“Mmmm.” She squirmed over him and pressed her breasts into his chest.
“You like that?” Ben did it again.
“Yes.”
He slid a hand over the curve of her backside, cupping her flesh and running his fingers along the crease of her thigh until he found her wet heat.
She pulled her mouth away from his and let out a long breath. “I do understand why so many women want to have sex with you.”
“If you can think about that, I’m not doing my job right.” He trailed his fingers up and down, learning the curves and secret corners of her body, taking his time as he toyed with her pleasure.
Her hands ran down his chest and her amnis teased him, kissing along his body where her hands and mouth couldn’t reach. Whispers of air laved his skin.
“How do you make the air do that?”
She gripped his erection and began to kiss down his chest. “If you can think about that, I’m not doing my job right.”
Fuck. “Do I need to be worried about fangs?”
Her low, wicked laughter only made him harder.
* * *
They returned to the camp later that night, splitting up and remaining at a distance to avoid the Hazar. The preparations for the ceremony seemed to draw everyone’s attention. Human voices became the dominant background noise through the night as the darigan erected more platforms and small stages. More and more wagons began to arrive.
Ben met Tenzin back at their perch in the fir tree. “Okay, what is our goal here?”
“We were hired to get Radu’s goblet back to him,” Tenzin said. “That is our goal.”
“And Vano?”
“If everything goes according to my plan, Vano will be worse than dead. He’ll be irrelevant.”
Ben had to agree with her. For an egotistical asshole like Vano, irrelevance was a fate worse than death. “I think I’m going to try to get closer.”
She shook her head. “You can’t let them know you’re still here. Whatever Vano told Radu—”
“That’s exactly the point. We don’t know. We need to find out what the rumors are and what the mood in the camp is, and René will know, but the note he gave us told us almost nothing. Probably by design.”
“I wish there was someone slightly less self-interested we could trust.”
He took a steadying breath. Brigid wasn’t wrong when she said “getting a leg over” helped. Ben’s head felt clearer than it had in months.
“I have a thought, but—”
“Tatyana?”
He turned to her. “How did you know?”
Tenzin glanced at him but kept her eyes on the camp in the distance. “You have good instincts. I believe she could be a reliable source, and she doesn’t seem overly eager to curry favor with anyone.”
“Even if they find me, it’s not the end of the world. You’re the only one Vano thinks is dead.”
“I don’t like it.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I will admit that with all the other wagons and trailers arriving tonight, it is probably