Chapter Twelve
The King didn't follow me. I was both relieved and disappointed about that.
Then I was angry with myself for being disappointed.
I didn't leave to get him to follow me. He was the last person I wanted to see after that barbaric display.
Yes, all right, the barbarism began with me, but that didn't excuse what he did.
“Just because he's a king, it doesn't mean he can behave like that. That growl was practically a claim. I told him!” I slammed the lab door behind me and threw the lock.
“I specifically told him I wouldn't be claimed.
It's been three days! This is preposterous!” I flopped down on the cot and glared at the mugs on the counter.
I wanted to smash the mug he had used because of its connection to him.
For a moment, I contemplated leaving. But this was my kingdom too, and I couldn't leave it to literally rot. The King had already paid me my consultation fee too. He'd built a lab for me. The Dragon King had been—
“Ugh! He's been nice.” I fell onto my side and curled up on the cot. “Reasonable even. He stood up for me. But that growl.” I sat up abruptly. “No! I will not lie here and pout like a youth.” I got up and went back to my work.
I worked with intense focus, pausing only to eat the meal that the King sent me.
It only served to irritate me more, offering more proof of his manners.
As I worked, my mind processed things in the background.
I had been wrong. I shouldn't have reacted so violently to that Ricarri.
Yes, he was a big lug, but that also meant he missed things others might notice.
He had indeed insulted me by stepping on my tail, but he wasn't a Volper and didn't know to be wary of tails swishing on the floor.
Granted, he lived in a Dragon court among Volper courtiers, so he should have been more wary, but he was right.
I should have given him a chance to apologize.
I hated being wrong.
“Ugh!” I turned off the burner and stormed out of the lab.
It was late, but not so late that I'd expect a Ricarri courtier to be sleeping. The problem was—I didn't know where to find him. Luckily, in my wanderings, I came across a palace servant and asked him where Lord Orro's room was.
A few minutes later, I stood before the Ricarri's door. Grimacing, I knocked. And again. I was about to leave when Lord Orro jerked the door open.
“What the fuck do—oh. Hello.” He wore pants only, no shirt.
Unlike my suite, Lord Orro had only a bedroom, but there was a small dining table to the right of the bed and a sitting area before it. A shirt hung over the back of the loveseat.
After clearing my throat, I said, “I'm sorry to disturb you.”
“Not at all.” He leaned out and looked up and down the corridor. “Did anyone see you?”
“What?”
“Did anyone see you come here? I don't want to deal with the Dragon King's jealousy again.”
I frowned. Then I realized what he was thinking. “Ah, now you are guilty of assuming.”
“Am I?” He grinned, the minerals in his gray skin catching the light.
“I'm here to apologize, not for sex.”
Orro lost his grin. “Oh. Well, that's still nice of you. Would you like to come in?”
“Sure.”
He stepped back, and I stepped into the room.
“Would you like a drink? I have some ronjou.”
“That sounds lovely. Thank you.” I sat down on a chair in the sitting area while he went to pour our drinks.
Orro handed me a glass and sat across from me on the loveseat, making it look more like a regular seat. He took a swig from his glass, sighed, and leaned back to stretch one arm over the back of the loveseat. “Are you sure you don't want to fuck? I have a big dick, and I use it well.”
“No, thank you.” I paused. Normally, I would accept such an invitation.
Why had I refused? Because I wasn't in need.
Yes, that was it. I had slept with the King the night before and had been well satisfied.
“You were right. I reacted violently without explanation.
I've been so focused on finding a cure for the Silver Rot, and my lack of success has frustrated me.
I fear it's put me on edge. Please accept my apology.”
“I do. Thank you.” He lifted his glass to me. “And I'm sorry I stepped on your tail. I'll be more careful in the future.”
“Thank you.” I sipped my drink, savoring the anise flavor. “I didn't know there were Ricarri courtiers. I thought your people have their own kings and don't like dividing their loyalty?”
“It's a recent development. Ever since the Dragon King of Vix took a Ricarri mate, my people have seen the benefits of joining a Dragon court.”
“So you came here to seduce the King?”
He chuckled. “It was a thought, but we're not compatible, and he's not interested.”
“Then why stay?”
“I actually like it here. Idahk likes it too. It's nice being home, around my people, but that gets old. I like meeting new people from other races and seeing how they live.”
A soft huff came from the bed, and I jerked to look in that direction.
“Easy.” Orro held out a hand. “It's just my dog.” He turned to call to the animal, “Go back to sleep, Leera.”
The dog lifted its dark head, huffed once, and lay back down.
“Is that a Vanrussa?” I asked.
Orro sat up straighter. “She is. You know dogs?”
“Not really. But I've seen a Vanrussa before. I considered buying one, but then I found out how much they cost.”
He chuckled. “The trained ones can be expensive. If you get a pup, they're not so much.”
“Maybe in the mountains. Not in cities.”
“True. And most trainers want a referral. They want to know their dogs are going to suitable homes.” He shrugged. “I could get one for you.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You're helping the kingdom.”
“I haven't done anything yet.”
“That's not what I've heard. They say—”
A boom sounded, and we both jerked to our feet. Leera shot out of bed and came to stand beside her master, looking up at him for instructions. But Orro was already heading for the door. The dog kept pace with him, and I followed.
Shouts came faintly up the stairs. Orro raced for the stairwell.
I followed him and Leera down to the ground floor, and we flowed along with a herd of people, all headed outside to the courtyard.
Leera stayed right beside her master, her eyes scanning the crowd for threats.
My gaze went ahead of us as we left the keep.
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered and came to a halt with everyone else.
The gate and a good portion of the left wall had fallen. The gate mechanism must have failed, and the rot spread.
“Son of a bitch!” Orro growled. When Leera yipped, he petted her head. “Sorry, girl, no offense.”
I would have laughed at that if not for the destruction before me.
“Help me!” a horn shouted. “We've got to move these stones! Drillon's under there!”
Horns raced to pull stones from the pile.
More soldiers, off-duty and among the crowd of watchers, rushed forward to help.
Then the Dragon King strode out of the keep.
People parted for him as he came down the steps.
His grim stare shot to the rubble and then scanned the crowd, stopping on me.
The King grabbed my hand, but then he noticed Orro.
His eyes narrowed at the Ricarri and then at me.
“Your Majesty?” I jerked my hand free.
The King stretched his neck. “Come with me, Master Sevarin. I need your expertise.” He strode off toward the pile of stone that had once been the left wall, waving someone behind him forward.
Before I could turn to look, the King's Dragon knights hurried past me to help the soldiers move the rocks.
The King stopped a few feet back. “Stay here.” And then he left me to help them.
With so many people working on the pile, I knew I would only be in the way if I tried to assist. So I waited and watched, knowing what they'd find.
My chest clenched with guilt. This was my fault.
I had looked at the gate mechanism the day I arrived.
I should have warned the King to keep his guards away from it.
I should have done something, but I didn't think it was so far gone.
“Here!” someone shouted.
The activity stopped, and the King lifted a man out of the rubble. I had already known this was a body recovery, but seeing the King's stricken expression struck me to my core. I watched as he ran into the keep, carrying the soldier.
The King's voice echoed back to me, “Healer! Someone fetch the physician!”
I didn't follow them inside. I'd seen enough, and I knew no physician on the planet could help that man. He was already dead. Instead, I focused on what I could do. Veering around the rock pile, I went to the approximate spot where the gate mechanism had been located and searched the rubble.
“Hey.” Orro came up beside me with Leera. “What are you doing? That wall is unsteady. You shouldn't be here.”
“I need to see the mechanism.” I picked my way around the rocks.
“What mechanism?”
“The gate mechanism. It was infected with Silver Rot, but it wasn't extensive.” I glanced at him. “It shouldn't have caused this. Not yet. I've seen far worse infections in a building that remained stable.”
“You must have been wrong.” Orro kept following me despite the danger he warned against.
“I was not.” I bent and pushed aside some rocks. Then crouched lower as I whispered, “Fuck me.”
Orro lowered himself beside me as Leera guarded his back. “What?”
“This is it. Look.” I waved at the gate mechanism.
“But it's whole. Shouldn't it have crumbled as well?”
“Yes.” I stood and looked over the rubble. “And if it had infected the wall, there should be signs of it. Do you see any silver in the stones?”
He stood. “No, I can smell it. This is the only point of infection.”
I went still. “You can smell the rot?”
“I can smell the silver.” He held out his arm and turned it so that the lantern light caught the minerals in his skin and gleamed. “We Ricarri know our metals. Trust me, it's only here.”
“That's a very useful talent, Lord Orro. You might be of help to me.”
“Really?” Orro grinned. “You want my help to save the city?”
“If you're willing to give it.”
“Sure.” He stroked Leera. “Leera and I are all yours.”
“Is that right?” a low voice said.
I spun to see the King standing behind us. He was glaring at Orro.
“Lord Orro can smell the Silver Rot, Your Majesty.” I stepped back so he could see the mechanism. “And he says it's only here. He's offered to help with my investigations.”
The King's left eye twitched. “I see.”
“Will you look at this?” I pointed at the mechanism. “The wall didn't fall because of the rot.”
King Falken blinked and refocused on me. “What?”
“Look!” I motioned at the mechanism again. “It's whole.”
The King came forward and crouched to look at the gate mechanism. Then he lifted his head to search the debris. “No silver.” He stood up. “It didn't spread.”
“No.” I looked across the pile of rocks to the city street beyond.
A group of men stood on the sidewalk across the street, all of them hooded and all standing in the shadows. Sure, the explosion could have drawn them there, but there were other people watching, and the difference between them was extreme.
“Explosion,” I murmured.
“What?” King Falken had been staring at Orro again, making the courtier uncomfortable, but he jerked his focus back to me.
“There was an explosion.”
“The armory door exploded as well.”
“Yes, but only after Vanre burned it. Have there been other cases of rot where it's exploded?” I looked from him back to the cloaked men, but they were gone.
“No,” the King said. “But if this wasn't the rot, what was it?”
I turned back to face him. “That's the question we need answered, Your Majesty.”