Chapter Fifteen
“Shall we hire a carriage?” I asked Orro as we left the shop. “You shouldn't have to carry that all the—”
A cacophony came from a shop ahead of us, drowning out my words.
Leera crouched and barked as a puff of dust poured out of the shop.
We hurried forward along with several other pedestrians, but then a group of masked and cloaked people came running out of the shop carrying bags.
They tossed the bags into a waiting cart and then formed a line to move more along it.
“Cease!” I shouted. “In the name of the Dragon King!”
“Son of a bitch,” Orro muttered when a man broke off from the line and approached us.
The other pedestrians were running in the opposite direction, but I wasn't a man who ran away from people in danger.
I went forward to meet the thief, noting his large build.
He wasn't Ricarri: the skin showing through the eye-slit of his mask was tan.
The lack of wings ruled out Argaiv or Lelurra.
Beyond that, I wasn't sure. He could be a Dragon, Raltven, or human.
What was certain was his malicious intent. He wasn't coming to me to talk.
So, as he neared, I bent over and rammed him in the belly. The man grunted and fell onto his ass while Orro laughed uproariously. Leera rushed forward and locked her jaw around the man's throat. He reached for her, but Orro stepped forward, his humor vanishing.
“I wouldn't do that,” Orro warned. “Right now, she's just holding you for me. But if you attack her or I give the command, she'll take out your throat. Shall I—” he broke off to punch two men who had come to their friend's aid. One, two, and they were down. “Now, as I was saying.”
The man held out his arms in a show of surrender.
But there were more of them than we had counted on. Even as Leera held the man down and his two friends lay comatose, more men abandoned their theft to surround us.
“Tell that dog to back off,” one man snarled. “Do it now, or we'll kill all three of you.”
Grimacing, Orro snapped, “Leera, to me!”
Leera instantly let go and went to sit beside Orro.
“We're going to beat the two of you now, and if your dog enters the fight, we'll put it down first.”
“Leera, stay.” Orro stepped forward, holding his arms out to his sides. “You can try, boys, but it's going to take a lot more than you assholes to bring me down.”
I stretched my shoulders and clenched my hands, ready to show these fools that Volpers may be slender, but we could be vicious when the need arose.
The problem was, as Orro and I prepared to bash them with our fists—and my horns—they withdrew weapons from their coats. Several knives and a club appeared.
“I guess that evens things out a bit,” Orro drawled and grinned.
Damn Ricarri.
The rest of the city was cowardly. No one tried to help us. Where were the damn Talons?
Just as the men closed in, a roar shook the glass panes in all the shop windows.
Everyone went still, wide eyes turning toward the sky.
And there he was—an enormous beast of bronze scales, enormous wings, white horns, and a barb-tipped tail.
He flew into view with six dragons behind him, and then descended toward us.
“It's the fucking King!” someone shouted. “Run!”
They turned around and ran for their cart.
It was futile. Even as the Dragon King landed, transforming as he descended to better fit the street, a blue dragon snatched the driver up in a talon.
Startled, the horses raced away with the cart.
The other men jerked back from the street to make a run for the shop.
Another dragon, this one green, swooped in and grabbed several of them, but many made it into the shop. Not that it would save them.
More dragons transformed and landed behind the King.
They prowled toward us in a glorious, naked display of muscled male flesh that made my mouth go dry.
They were breathtaking in appearance and attitude, comfortable in their own skin and deadly without weapons.
Their nudity only enhanced their menace.
The Dragon King and his knights strode past me, the King sending me a brief glare, and went after the remaining men. As Orro and I watched, men went sailing out of the shop to land in an unconscious heap. One after another, they tumbled through the doorway to land upon the fellow thieves.
There was a pause, and things went quiet.
Only the distant screech of dragons playing with their prey could be heard.
Then the King strode out of the shop with his knights.
A Lelurra man hurried after him, gushing in gratitude.
The King stopped to nod and shake the man's hand.
That's when a unit of talons finally showed up.
I grimaced and shook my head as men in uniforms rode up on horses.
The sound of hooves hitting cobblestones echoed in the quiet.
It might have been impressive if I hadn't just seen several dragons do their jobs for them.
The talons pulled to a stop before the King and dismounted. The King went forward.
“Come on,” I said to Orro. “I want to hear this.”
“Agreed!”
Orro, Leera, and I raced over, stopping a couple of feet away from the King. He was not pleased.
“Sire, please take my coat,” a human talon said as he shrugged out of his coat.
“Fuck your coat!” The King shoved the man in the chest, sending him stumbling back a few feet. “Where the fuck were you when they robbed this man?” He pointed at the shop owner. “You're supposed to keep the city safe.”
The man straightened, a gold emblem on his sleeve catching the light. “We had just patrolled this street, Your Majesty. We were coming back around when a citizen hailed us down and informed us of the robbery.”
As they spoke, the runaway cart appeared, driven by an Argaiv talon. He parked the cart and climbed down to unload it. Some talons went to carry the stolen goods into the shop under the watchful eye of the shop owner.
“The thieves knew your schedule,” the King concluded. “Don't you have ways around that? You should alter your patrols. Even a child could make a plan to skirt a schedule!”
“Yes, Sire.” He cleared his throat. “You're right. I'll inform the Captain.”
“Do that. Then tell him to present himself to me at the Royal Palace. We need to discuss ways to ensure that something like this never happens again. Oh, and tell him to bring a unit of talons with him. My knights apprehended several thieves who will need to be transferred to prison.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Now, help clean up this mess!”
“Yes, Sire!” The man motioned at the remaining talons, and they rushed off to help carry the goods inside and clean up the shop.
I admit that the King's aggression on behalf of one of his citizens impressed me.
As did his confident stance despite his public nudity.
Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, but still.
I liked my body, and yet I wouldn't be comfortable standing on a public sidewalk naked while speaking to clothed people.
“Holy fuck,” Orro murmured. “He's hot enough to make me turn into a bottom. Look at that dick. It's making my mouth water.”
I chuckled. “And that's at rest. You should see it erect.”
Orro lifted his eyebrows at me with a delighted grin. “Oh, really?”
Sex didn't embarrass me. It was a physical need. So I met his stare and nodded. “And he has incredible stamina.”
“Damn!”
The Dragon King, heading over to us, frowned. With Dragon hearing being what it was, he'd probably heard everything.
“What did I tell you about leaving the palace without guards?” King Falken leaned down to bring our faces together.
“I had Lord Orro and Leera.” I motioned at them. “And I left you a note to tell you I had left with security.”
“They are not proper guards! I saw you. Those men were about to hurt you, Sevarin!”
“They were about to try.” I lifted my chin.
Orro chuckled.
The King turned his head to glare at Orro.
Orro was unfazed. He grinned and said, “Master Sevarin struck first, Your Majesty. You should have seen him. Everyone else ran, but the Master Alchemist shouted at those assholes to stop, and when one of them came over to confront him, Master Sevarin nailed him in the gut with his horns! It was fucking beautiful!”
The King jerked back to stare at me.
I shrugged. “I know how to defend myself. Why do you think I have these?” I tapped my curling horns. “They're not just decoration.”
Orro chortled louder. “You are fearless, Master Sevarin. And as dangerous as a Ricarri.”
“Thank you.” I inclined my head.
As I did, the royal carriage rolled up beside us. One of King Falken's naked knights went to open the door for His Majesty with all the decorum of a uniformed attendant.
“In the carriage. Now!” The King motioned into it.
“I'm not leaving without Orro and Leera.”
“Fine! Everyone in!”
“One moment, Your Majesty.” Orro ran back to collect the steel box of infected enchantments and returned, all with Leera at his side. He stowed the box on top of the carriage and climbed in, Leera jumping in after him.
“What is that?” The Dragon King pointed at the box.
“Evidence.” I got in and then waited to watch the naked King climb into the carriage.
The sight of him drawing up one leg—one I shall never forget—was enough to brighten my day.