Page 22 of The Dragon King’s Claw (The Dragons of Serai #17)

I made an annoyed sound as I swiveled on the bench to face the King. “What are you doing here?”

“Me? What the fuck are you doing here?”

I drew my head back. “Pardon me, Your Majesty? I'm an Eljaffna. This is where I belong. It is not, however, where Dragons go.”

“Am I unwelcome?”

“Of course not. This is your city. Your kingdom. You are welcome everywhere, I'm sure. Just not at my table.”

King Tor'rien snorted and sat down.

I scrunched my face at him. “That was about as far from an invitation as it could get.”

“Enough of this, Tekhan.” The King leaned back against the cushion that went only halfway up the back of the bench and stretched his arm across the cushion top, much as I'd been sitting mere moments earlier.

“Yes, indeed. This has gone on long enough.” I slid away from him, only then noticing his knights—four of them—taking positions around our booth. As if the King hadn't drawn enough attention to himself. “Damn it all.”

King Tor'rien didn't know what he was doing.

Simply by entering that place, he was putting a target on his chest. And not just with the Eljaffna who now thought they stood a chance with him.

It was our secret that put the King in jeopardy.

One bite, and a man could take control of the Dragon King.

That alone would be tempting, but then there was the man himself.

Very few Eljaffna could resist pursuing him.

And warning him would mean betraying my people.

So, I'd have to get him out of there myself.

Son of a bastard. He was blood-blocking me. On top of that, he would see my actions as encouragement.

I slid out of the booth and past the two knights on my side.

There was nothing I could say to get King Tor'rien to leave.

My only option was to lead him away. I ducked my head as I wove through the crowd.

It was too late for the King to go unnoticed, but I hoped that at least I would remain incognito.

“Tekhan!” King Tor'rien shouted.

I groaned as the motherfucking idiot called my name.

Then I put on speed. Maybe I could still get out of there with no one realizing which Tekhan he meant.

I hunched down and then burst into the stairwell.

Taking the steps two at a time, I went past the second floor where all the straights were sucking and fucking each other.

The door to the first floor appeared. Rapid footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Dragon footsteps. I dashed into the corridor that led from the stairs to the front door, providing a way through the ladies-only section without anyone invading their space.

And then I was outside, in the cool night.

I paused to breathe deeply and then ran.

Yup, I ran away. The King would view that poorly, but I was trying to save us both while keeping distance between us—both literally and figuratively.

Why had he come there? How did he even know where to find me? It was baffling.

A hand grabbed my upper arm and hauled me around, using my momentum to swing me in an arc. I hit a solid chest. The air burst out of my lungs, and I latched onto a pair of broad shoulders to steady myself. Without surprise, I looked up into the Dragon King's face.

“Never fucking run from a Dragon! Never!” He leaned down and growled without speaking—just the sound. Then added, “I would have expected you to know that.”

I lifted a brow and inspected the King's face.

His pupils were dilated. His breath came briskly even though that run shouldn't have winded him.

His pulse beat just as rapidly beneath my fingertips, explaining his breath.

On his lower lip was a spot of blood. He had bitten himself, perhaps in fury, but most likely it had been accidental.

You need to be careful when you have fangs, even blunted Dragon fangs.

My stare narrowed down to that smear of blood. My hands clenched. The inside of my mouth went dry, every cell eager for liquid, every taste bud crying out in thirst. My fangs ached. It would be such a waste to let that blood dry.

The King had been speaking to me. I couldn't tell you what he'd been saying. The thirst had me. His lips parted again, more words coming forth, but I stopped them with one action—a flick of my tongue over his lip.

As he stared at me, stunned, I reeled back.

Head lolling. Gasping in pleasure. A drop, even less, and my cock was hard, ready to explode.

My mind swam. I couldn't let go of him. I needed to bite.

And fuck. Both at the same time. I ached everywhere, craving his blood in my mouth and his flesh in my channel.

It was basic, so primal, and part of me detested that.

But that same part knew that nature could not be denied.

She could be avoided for a while, but she was a persistent bitch, and every time you made her leave, she came back stronger.

“You win,” I whispered. “But only if you act immediately.”

With a triumphant grin, the King leaned in, his hands grasping me even more tightly than I held him. Just before his lips met mine, a shout came, then the clang of Talon bells. I jerked away and stared down the sidewalk, back the way we had come.

“Ignore it.” The King reached for me again.

Horror and bafflement filled me, doubtless crossing my face as well because the King cursed.

I ran past him, teeth clenched in annoyance and with a little resentful gratitude.

The Gods had just saved me from making a huge mistake.

If the King could say that to me—suggest that I ignore a call to all officers in the area, no matter rank—then he wasn't a man I should be with.

And he certainly had no business following me.

“Go away!” I snarled over my shoulder. “You don't care about the cases. So go back to your castle, Your Majesty.”

“I was caught up in lust,” he growled as he kept pace with me. “I didn't mean it. I know what those bells mean.”

I ignored him as he'd wanted me to do with the Talon bells, but I stopped short when I saw the talons rushing into Newfangled.

“What the fuck?” I whispered.

“Claw Shinkai!” a talon called to me as he rushed over. “Thank the Gods you were nearby.”

Nearby. Yes, you could say that. “What's happened?”

“There's been a body found.” The talon grimaced. “It's one of ours, sir.”

One of ours. Those were words no talon or claw wanted to hear.

“Who?” I demanded.

“Don't know yet. But we need your help. Could you come in?” Then the man's face went blank. “Uh. Are you? I mean, Your Majesty.” He bowed. “I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you right away.”

I spun and narrowed my stare at the King. “Stay here.”

“The fuck I will,” the King said.

“Son of a bastard!” I spun back to the gaping talon. “Show me the body.”

“Yes, sir!” The talon headed into Newfangled. “Move aside! I've got the King with me! Move for the King!”

Again, the King, who wouldn't be any kind of help at a crime scene, overshadowed me.

The talon should have been calling for people to move aside for me, not King Tor'rien.

Of course, it didn't matter, and I was petty to be thinking about such things when one of my brothers was lying dead. In a spot I frequented.

Dread ran down my body from skull to foot. Could this be Hallaxgral again? So soon? I had slept the day away, believing the game was over. Won. But that didn't mean he wouldn't start a new game.

Newfangled was brightly lit, its patrons scowling in the stark light. It was the first time I'd seen it that way, and it was a bit startling. The mystery was gone from both the setting and the people within it. Sexiness couldn't survive under that kind of light. It needed shadows to exist.

All the doors hung open, people standing in groups, watching me and the King as we passed.

I glanced at a circle of men and saw the angle of their stares—followed it to my chest. Shit.

I buttoned my shirt as I strode after the talon.

Bless his professionalism for not commenting on my attire.

But then, I was off duty. I could wear whatever I wanted.

Only a few talons secured the scene. I assumed they had been on patrol in the area. But I could hear more arriving behind me. Someone must have discovered the body mere moments after I left the building. That timing didn't sit well with me.

Then the talon entered the stairwell.

Shit.

Up we went to the third floor. By the time we reached the men-only section of Newfangled, I was over my surprise.

I expected more connections to myself or the King.

So, when the talon took me to the very booth I had occupied less than twenty minutes prior, I didn't react.

The King, however, made a sound of shock.

There, sitting in the same place I had, in the same fucking pose, was a body. Light spheres hovered around it, illuminating every detail of the Argaiv's face. His broken wings cushioned his back, forcing the corpse upright. His eyes were open, staring into his lap. At a leather satchel.

I'd get to the satchel soon. First, I had to deal with the identity of the claw. Because I knew him. He'd been a claw for over seventy years longer than me. I knew this because we had clashed heads often when I was just a talon.

“Claw Greishen,” I said.

“You know him, sir?” the talon asked.

“Yes. His name is Claw Yi Greishen. He's been with the Talons for over two centuries.”

“Great Gods.” The talon bent his head in respect. “And to meet such an end. It's not right.”

“No, there's nothing right about this.” I went closer and bent to inspect the body. Then I reached for my notepad. Which, of course, wasn't there. I wasn't wearing my work coat. “Damn.” I looked at the talon. “Talon . . . ?”

“Talon Heen, sir.”

“Talon Heen. I apologize if we've spoken before and I don't remember.”

“No, sir, we haven't. But I've seen you in the halls. That's how I recognized you.”

“Good. Do you have a notebook I could use?”

“Oh. Uh.”