‘‘He’s not scaly, and if I’d known you could have been bought with something other than my body,’’ I said, musing on the sense of humor fate seemed to have when it concerned my life, ‘‘I would have bribed you in a more traditional manner.’’

‘‘But your way promised so much more fun,’’ he said with yet another of his wickedly sinful grins. ‘‘Are you sure—’’

‘‘Quite sure. Gabriel is . . .’’ I stopped for a moment, not sure how to put my tangled feelings into words. ‘‘He’s warm. And strong. And concerned about people. He’s very grounded, if you know what I mean—very much of this earth. I’m not elemental like Cyrene, but I am created from her, and to me, Gabriel feels right. He’s also very urbane and elegant, not in the least . . . oh, I don’t know, primitive. There’s a sort of raw, dangerous feeling about the other wyvern I’ve met, but Gabriel is much more sophisticated than that. I could see him on the cover of GQ, if they’d ever let a dragon on it.’’

Savian’s smile got a bit broader.

‘‘He’s also arrogant about some things, is overly confident in his abilities to control the world, and has a single-mindedness that I suspect is going to cause a lot of friction between us,’’ I added, sure that Gabriel had appeared in the doorway behind me.

‘‘Only if you let it,’’ the man himself answered, moving up to stand next to me. He was a little out of breath, as if he’d run the whole way. ‘‘You left out the part about my possessiveness,’’ he added with a warning flash of his eyes at Savian.

‘‘You’re a dragon—that goes without saying,’’ Savian said with a shrug and a quick glance at his watch. ‘‘Shall we proceed? Time is passing.’’

‘‘How much?’’ Gabriel asked.

‘‘Right to the point. I like that. You know what the standard payment is for a thief taker?’’

We shook our heads.

He named a figure that would keep Cyrene in bath salts for an entire decade.

‘‘I’ll triple it,’’ Gabriel said immediately, without so much as blinking an eye at the fact that he was talking about an amount in six figures.

‘‘That’s a lot of money,’’ I said in a low voice. ‘‘More than is necessary, I think.’’

‘‘On the contrary, that’s exactly the sum it would take to get me to tear up the order for your arrest,’’ Savian said.

‘‘Done,’’ Gabriel said, and shook the hand Savian offered. ‘‘Send your information to the Weyr Bank and I’ll have the money transferred to you.’’

Savian inclined his head in acknowledgment. ‘‘I feel obliged to warn you that other thief takers won’t be so accommodating.’’

‘‘Other thief takers? There’s more than just you and Porter after me?’’ I asked.