Page 19 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

The King did the same on his side and then raced around the back of the carriage to enter an alley beside me.

The darkness closed around us, but I still pressed myself against the wall and went still.

No more than two minutes later, the tall form of a cloaked Eljaffna raced by.

The King, who had mimicked my position, pushed off the wall and glared after the man.

“Hurry!” I grabbed the King's hand and pulled him with me.

“Where are we going?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

He was silent a for few moments. Then he asked, “The papermaker?”

“The only connection and the only direction we can take.”

With that, all conversation died. We came out of the alley and onto another street, then ran down it.

Another. Another. We kept running. The Pruleng workshop was one block down.

No one would be there at this hour. That would make things easier.

Hallaxgral wouldn't have a crowd to disappear into.

But neither would we. I hoped that he wouldn't be looking for us since his man was following the royal carriage, but I wouldn't rely on that.

I knew he'd be prepared for any eventuality. So I slowed to a stop when the workshop came in sight. The King stopped beside me. Together, we surveyed the area.

“The roof?” the King suggested.

I considered it. “He'll have the boy below. The roof might be the safest entry point.”

“You think they're in the basement?”

“They have to be. It would be the best option for hiding the boy. Unless he owns Pruleng.”

“He must. How else would he be able to sneak a child into that place?”

“If he broke in when they were closed, he could. And then he'd have to find someplace to hide them.”

“That seems risky.”

“I think that's rather the point. This is a game to him. Risk makes it sweeter.” That's when I remembered I hadn't told the King about the second note—the one left on the boy's pillow.

I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over.

“I believe I am his target, Your Majesty. He wants to play a game with me.”

“He's referencing something you said to me at the restaurant.”

“Yes, I know.”

“How would he know that?”

“Obviously, someone working there is also working for him.”

“But how would he know I was going to take you there? And how did they overhear us? We were in a private room.”

“They knew you there. You've frequented that restaurant. It wouldn't be hard to discover that.”

“It's not the only restaurant I frequent.”

“He must have had people at all of your favorite spots. Now, enough of that. We can talk about it later. Right now, we have to find a way onto the roof.”

“That's easy enough.” The King stepped forward.

I grabbed his arm. “Stay in the darkest shadows.”

He nodded and altered course to creep alongside a building. Was he following my directions because he had agreed to or because his blood inside me forced him to? I couldn't even tell, not under that much stress.

Shit. I had to watch myself with him. One wrong word, and I would betray my race's secret. The King wasn't an idiot. He'd figure it out.

I went next, just a few feet away from him, moving slowly while keeping an eye on our destination.

Pruleng owned the whole building and it was in a business area, with no homes nearby.

The other businesses were all closed for the night as well, so the entire block was quiet.

Perfect for hearing people who were trying to sneak up on you.

Eljaffna were almost as good as Raltven at sneaking around, but Dragons? Not so much.

“Shh!” I hissed at the King when his heel dragged.

He winced and nodded.

I went back to scanning the building as I crept closer.

No signs of life. Was I wrong? I was rarely wrong.

I had to trust my instincts. At last, we made it to the alley beside Pruleng.

I peered up the side of the building. The stone was smooth—no handholds.

Nor was there a ladder. Some buildings had them in case of fires. Not this one.

“There's no way up,” I whispered.

The King looked up, and then to either side. “Come here.”

“What? Your Majesty, this is hardly the time for one of your—”

He grabbed me and pulled me into an embrace. Stunned, I stared up at him. My chest tightened. I couldn't look away. Why did his gods make him so beautiful? It wasn't fair.

“Hold on, my Claw.” The King bent his head to bring our foreheads together and tightened his hold on me.

Before I could form a response, my feet left the ground. I looked down and saw water beneath us. A column of water rushed upward, pushing directly against the soles of our shoes to lift us steadily alongside the building. My jaw fell.

I knew Dragons had gained Water Magic upon the release of their god from the prison their goddess had put him in.

But it was new to them and most of them hadn't put in the time to master the element.

The finesse the King displayed was the sort that only someone who had spent years working with a magic would have.

To direct the water into four points and use the same upward pressure on all of those points, increasing it as he did? It was damn impressive.

Not wanting to distract King Tor'rien, I didn't speak until he had deposited us on the roof. Then I stepped back and met his gaze. “Do your knights know you can do that?”

He shook his head.

“Dear Gods,” I whispered. “That's the sort of thing you should keep quiet. It could benefit you.”

“I know.” His voice was deep from the lowered tone and slid over me like silk in the night. “But I trust you. And we need to save this child.”

The child. Shit! I'd forgotten why we were there. This is why I work best alone. And why the King should have gone back to his damn castle. But then, how would I have gotten onto the roof?

“Thank you.” I waved at the roof access—a small enclosure nearby—but then preceded him there. The door was locked. So, I knelt and pulled out my lock-picking tools.

“You know how to pick a lock?” King Tor'rien asked.

“To fight crime, sometimes you need to behave like a criminal.” The lock clicked, and I put away my tools before standing up. Then I held a finger to my lips.

The King nodded crisply, and I opened the door.

Darkness greeted us. Thick with silence. I stepped inside, waited for the King to come in, and then closed the door. We would have to wait for our eyes to adjust. It wouldn't take long, both of us had great eyesight. But until then, we pressed up against each other in the blinding black.

The King wouldn’t be able to resist taking advantage of the situation.

I knew it. But even prepared, I still shivered and clenched my teeth to hold back a moan when his hands massaged my chest. Hearing proof of my weakness, he pressed his advantage.

Literally pressing me against the wall as he bent his head to nuzzle my cheek.

“If you wanted to get me alone in the dark, you only had to ask,” he whispered into my ear.

I pushed him back and blinked as my eyesight focused. We were on a landing at the top of a stairwell. “You know I was waiting to see.” I moved around him.

“See what? How long it took before I kissed you?”

I was on the first step. I gripped the railing and glared at him over my shoulder. “The child, remember? His life depends upon our success. So, please stop using this to flirt with me!”

Even the darkness couldn't hide the King flinching under my harsh reminder.

And it was harsh. He had just reminded me of the same thing mere moments earlier.

But I blamed him for that as well. And if I didn't get to that boy in time, I would never forgive the King of Rushao.

He and I would be equally responsible for a child's death. How was that for a first date?

With that thought urging me on, I hurried down the stone steps, my feet light so I wouldn't make a sound.

The King was not as light-footed, but he tried, and I didn't have time to rebuke him yet again.

Instead, I focused on going down and down and down, past door after door that led to each floor of the building.

Sure, Hallaxgral could have been keeping the boy on any floor, but I doubted it.

The easiest place to hide the child would be the basement.

So, down we went until we couldn't go any further.

The final door was marked “B.” I carefully opened it, not even glancing at the King.

Something in my chest shivered, urging me to go faster even though the boy shouldn't have been in imminent danger.

Did imminent matter when a child was involved?

No, it did not. Any amount of danger was unacceptable.

We entered a dark corridor, but with our eyes adjusted to the complete black of the stairwell, the corridor seemed bright. I scanned the ground, walls, and ceiling as I crept along it. Hallaxgral might have left traps for us. I would have.

But nothing impeded our progress. We slowed only to open each door off the corridor to inspect the rooms beyond. None of them held the child. None of them. We cleared every storeroom off that corridor and then were left facing a blank wall.

No one was there. The basement was empty.

“What the fuck?” I whispered, my stare darting side to side.

“We must have missed something.” The King gestured at the closest room, the door still open from our inspection. “We need to look again. Or maybe they're upstairs.”

I nodded and took a step toward the last room we had inspected. Then I heard it. A ticking. I stopped.

Tek, tek, tek, it went, calling me.

I spun back to the blank wall and pressed my ear against it.

The sound was coming from the wall. Stepping back, I scanned the expanse.

Seamless. No, wait. There were indentations.

Three. I set my thumb, middle finger, and pinky into the divots and pushed.

Something clicked. The wall slid back until there was enough space for us to slip around it.