Treasure Read Free Page B

only made sense to him and only made sense to everyone else long after the fact.
    He'd never clandestinely met a merchant in the dead of night, however, and Taka did not like that he was doing so now. But he knew better than to try and stop it; the best he could do was stay with Kyo and keep him out of as much trouble as possible.
    Reaching the door of the office, Kyo knocked. A deep-timbre voice called for him to enter, and Kyo pushed the door open and slipped inside. Taka followed him, eying the man they were to meet—and immediately hating him on sight. He was everything Taka loathed:  flamboyant and loud and arrogant, even just sitting there watching them.
    He was beautiful, in a dark and striking way, though Taka hated admitting it even privately. Certainly he was not conventional.  He was broad, and though it was impossible to tell from the way he was sitting, Taka bet he was also tall. His hair was a deep, rich blue, half-covered by a vivid scarf of deep violet and decorated with gold stars and silver crescent moons. His robes were also violet, with an expensive-looking sash of gold and silver bands embroidered with black pearls.
    Taka did not recognize him, but suspected he knew the man by reputation. Eyes the same dark blue as his hair fastened on Taka, startling him with their focus, and he drew a sharp breath only when the man looked away to regard Kyo once more. "Good evening."
    "Good evening," Kyo murmured. "I assume that since you are waiting here, you are willing to consider my offer."
    "Offer me terms I like, Highness, and we'll talk."
    Kyo laughed softly and, to Taka's dismay, reached up to shove back his hood. "If you had not known it was me, Master Raiden, I would have cancelled the deal and gone home. Perhaps your reputation is not exaggerated."
    "Depends on what aspects of my reputation we are discussing, Highness. I would have been quite surprised if it had not been you." Raiden replied, confirming Taka's suspicions. He was no less than Master Shimano Raiden—the wealthiest merchant in the city and the only one to hold every permit and license for trade it was possible to obtain.  His company was one of the oldest in the country; if Taka recalled correctly, it could practically trace its roots to the Last Storm.
    What was Kyo thinking? He was not certain he wanted to know. "I do not like this."
    Raiden looked at him again and quirked a brow. "I am fairly certain it is not yours to like or dislike." He looked at Kyo, jerking his head at Taka. "Who is he?"
    "My assistant in all things," Kyo replied and gestured with one hand for Taka to relax.
    Making a face, Taka nevertheless obeyed, unwinding his own hood and wrapping the fabric around his shoulders, smoothing down his shoulder-length hair. "I repeat, I do not like this—whether it is mine to like or not." He met Raiden's dark eyes, daring the man to argue with him. He was a royal secretary, arguing was what he did best. There was no other way to get a royal to do anything.
    Instead, Raiden just stared at him, and Taka once more found it hard to draw a proper breath. Why did Raiden stare so intently? Before he could find his voice and ask the question, Raiden turned away and stood up, moving to an ornate wooden cabinet. Opening it, he pulled out a crystal carafe holding a wine so dark it nearly looked black and a tray that held four delicate-looking crystal glasses. They were stem-less, as was common in the country that produced the dark wine:  Piedre, kingdom of death. Raiden half-filled three glasses and presented one each to Kyo and Taka, then took the last and resumed his seat. He took a sip, then licked traces of the dark wine from his pale lips.
    He glanced again at Taka, something flashing in his eyes—and that was a look Taka knew, a look he loved to remove from the face of every smug, entitled noble who thought a secretary would be panting at the chance to ride their cocks and accept whatever favors they handed out.
    Just as he started to