Page 15 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

Cursing, the King chased after me. When he caught up, he demanded, “Where are you going now?”

The Dragon knights took positions around the King—one in front and one behind.

“To the Brujai's leather shop.”

“Did you see which one he came out of?”

“No, it happened too fast.”

“How will you know which is his?”

I looked at the King. “It's obvious.”

As comprehension lit the King's face, Sir Gilhu said, “Not to me.”

I sighed and went to the first possibility. “He came from this direction, and I got an approximate area, so his shop must be on this side of the street within fifty feet.” I opened the door, peered in, then shut it.

“It will be the only shop without someone manning it,” the King said to his knight.

“Thank you.” I waved at the King. “Someone with brains.”

“Excuse me?” Gilhu growled.

“How nice it must be for you,” I said to the knight. “So relaxing.”

“What?”

“To not have thoughts running through your mind.”

The King and Vasren snorted.

Gilhu growled.

“Sir Gilhu!” The King growled louder. And with more menace.

The knight winced. “Sorry, Your Majesty. But he insulted me. I may not be a genius, but I'm not thoughtless either.”

“You are correct on all counts, Sir Gilhu. My apologies. I'm not at my best today. Tensions are high, patience is thin.” I glanced at the knight, saw him nod crisply, and then opened the door of the next shop. “Ah. Here we are.” I walked into the empty leather shop.

Racks of leathergoods stood to one side of the store while the other featured lengths of tanned leather in several colors and types.

Thread used for leatherwork stood in military order on shelves, the spools lined up by color and thickness.

I did a cursory glance at the goods and then dropped to my knees.

“Here we go,” Gilhu muttered.

“Gilhu!” the King snapped.

“I'm so sorry, Your Majesty.”

“Claw Shinkai, we need to clear the shop before the King can enter,” Sir Vasren said.

“Good. Keep him outside.” I got my light tube out and started my inspection.

“Your Majesty.”

“No,” was all the King said.

I looked at him over my shoulder.

He leaned against the wall beside the door, crossed his arms, and grinned at me. No, smirked.

I did all the things that an annoyed person does—sighed, rolled my eyes, and grimaced. Had to be done. How else would he know he had displeased me? Then I returned to my work. It was more important than my irritation. Or the source of it.

I don't know how long I spent going over every inch of that shop, but it was long enough that I caught the Dragon knights yawning. The thorough search yielded a lot of information, but most of it only confirmed what I had suspected. Still, it was necessary. I needed to know for certain. Now, I did.

Someone had coerced the Brujai.

When I found the little painting of a Brujai woman, my stomach soured.

I had never regretted taking my time to investigate before.

But looking upon her face, I knew that as I searched her husband's shop, time was running out for her.

There was no evidence of children, so Hallaxgral couldn't have taken a son or daughter.

It was this woman he held hostage. Had to be.

Then I found the ledger. Inside it, tucked in the back, was a document. Ownership papers for a house in the city. Maybe I hadn't wasted the Brujai woman's time after all.

With the address memorized, I rushed out of the shop.

“Damn him,” the King muttered and followed me.

Outside, I found the royal carriage waiting. I gave the driver the address and jumped inside. The King nodded at the man before following me.

He sat down next to me and gave me a look.

“That man was not a murderer,” I said.

The King lifted his brows.

“He did what he had to do to save his wife. Possible lover, but I believe she's his wife since he bought a house for them.”

“And that is where we're headed?”

“Yes.”

“You do know that it's after nine at night?”

I looked out the window. It was dark. No, I hadn't noticed. Street lamps illuminated the city. Still, the time of day should have registered with me. Or time of night, rather.

“I'm happy to continue this on my own, Your Majesty.”

The King shook his head. “I can help you if you let me. It's your stubbornness that turns my presence into a burden.”

“It would help if you listened when I told you to do something.”

The King held up his hands. “All right. I concede you know best with this investigation, and I will allow you to offer me suggestions that I will most likely follow. But that is the extent of it, Tekhan. You cannot continue to speak to me as you have been doing in public.”

“In public?”

“I honestly don't care about your attitude. But my knights are already getting anxious. Angry even. They know that public perception is important to keeping the peace. If I'm seen allowing such behavior, my people will lose respect for me.”

“That is reasonable.” I nodded. “Very well. I will amend my tone.” I paused and added, “In public.”

King Tor'rien chuckled. “I don't know why I find you charming.”

“You what?” I felt my horror slide into my expression.

He laughed harder. “Charming. I find your behavior refreshing, Tek.”

“Stop with the Tek.”

“I will stop calling you Tek when you start showing me respect in front of others.”

“Agreed.”

“Well, that was easy.”

“You offered me something I wanted.”

“What else can I offer you to tempt you into capitulation?”

Shivers took hold of me again. Good shivers.

The kind that headed downward. I reeled them in before they did something to make my interest obvious.

Or more obvious. Because this interest was only a remnant of my feeding.

I knew what the King tasted like now, and I wanted more.

My body craved him. And that was something I could never reveal. The weakness had already set in.

Being around him had been hard enough before. Now, it would become grueling. Torturous. The only way through it was to pretend that I wasn't affected.

“Nothing, but thank you, Your Majesty. Oh, and I'm sorry I ran off without thanking you earlier for your contribution.”

“My what?”

“Your blood, Your Majesty. Thank you. It healed me most vigorously.”

His expression softened. “Did it now? Well, I'm happy to contribute any time you have a need, my Claw.”