Heroes' Reward (34 page)

I looked at
Taro. It was all because of him. He was the reason we’d been called to work in
the most prestigious post as soon as we were Bonded. He was the one who caught
the attention of the Empress, which resulted in our being sent to Flatwell,
where we found Aryne. He was the one the Empress had trusted with the code,
enabling Aryne to ultimately become Empress herself. It was because of him that
Gifford had sent us to Flown Raven, where we’d become embroiled in local
affairs, which a Pair wasn’t supposed to do. He was why everyone thought we
were the most talented Pair in the world, and why the Triple S was prepared to
release us to act as Aryne’s advisors.

Advisors.

None of this
would have happened if I had been Matched to another Source. I’d known, as soon
as we Bonded, that he would pull me into all sorts of strange situations.

“This is all
your fault, you know,” I told him.

And he, being a
smart lad, knew exactly what I was talking about.

He winked.

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