Chapter Sixteen
“Where are you going?” the Dragon King demanded.
“I'll just be a moment.” I left the King at the palace steps and hurried to the outer wall.
Extra horns stood on guard at the massive opening that had once housed the gate.
I went to the left wall and knelt before the jagged edge.
Ignoring the guards eyeing me, I removed a silver charm from my jacket.
Holding it to my chest, I said a prayer for the man who had lost his life there, and then set the charm within a crevice.
When I stood up , I found the King standing behind me, keeping the guards at a distance.
“I said I'd only be a moment.” I slipped past him.
“I thought you didn't care.”
I stopped and turned to look at him. “About what?”
“The dead. You seem too reasonable to worry about spirits and such.”
“Reason doesn't negate respect. A life ended. I didn't know the man, but he served his king and died in that service. That deserves respect.” I turned and headed for the palace. “It was nothing. Just a charm and a prayer to honor the dead.”
King Falken caught up to me. “I will provide for his family.”
“That is none of my concern.”
He snorted. “No, of course not.”
I ignored the King as I came abreast of Orro. “Thank you for your help today, Lord Orro.” I stroked Leera's head. “And you too, Leera.” I held out my arms. “I'll take that.”
Before Orro could hand me the steel box, the Dragon King took it.
“I'll take that,” the King said. “Thank you for looking after Master Sevarin.”
Orro looked from me to the King and then to Leera. They seemed to shrug at each other. “Sure. Let me know if you need my help again, Master Sevarin.”
“Thank you. I will.” I watched the Ricarri man and his dog enter the palace and then looked at the King. “Don't you have to handle those thieves and speak to the captain?”
“The captain won't be here for a while. In the meantime, my knights will interrogate them. ” He went up the stairs. “I just want to know if they had anything to do with the gate falling.”
I hurried up the stairs. “You think they were the same team that destroyed the gate?”
“Honestly, it would be surprising if they were. But I have to be certain before I hand them over to the Talons and then the Courts of Teeth.”
“Don't you want to interrogate them yourself?” We entered the palace and headed for the central stairs.
“No, my knights will take care of it. I want to speak with you, and then I'll leave you to your work.” He looked over at me. “I assume we're going to your lab?”
“Yes. I need to look over my notes and conduct an experiment to prove my theory.” I frowned as I realized I didn't have what I needed. “Do you know what a resonant enchantment loop is?”
“You mean one of our kingdom's greatest inventions? Yes, I know what it is.”
“Good. I need an item with a resonant enchantment loop. And I also need an item enchanted with a normal spell. Several of each, if possible. As small as possible. Can you find those for me?”
“No.”
I scowled at him.
“I'm the King. I'm not going scurrying about the palace looking for enchanted items.”
I rolled my eyes.
“But I'll have someone else do it.” He paused at the bottom of the central staircase. “Torli!”
“Seriously?” I crossed my arms and shook my head. “You think he's just hanging around waiting for you to shout for him?”
“You shouted for me, Your Majesty?” Torli came running up, his red hair flopping around his antlers.
King Falken smirked at me before turning toward Torli. “Torli, I need you to find several small items with resonant enchantment loops and several small items enchanted without resonant loops. Have someone bring them to Master Sevarin's lab as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Torli ran off.
“Has Commander Ronru questioned the alchemists?” I asked.
“Yes, but all of them have schedules they've kept to the last few days. He also spoke to the horns on duty, and none of them remembered anyone coming up to the wall walk who wasn't a soldier.”
“Just because someone is following a schedule doesn't mean they can't make time to plant an explosive.”
“But the guards didn't see anyone.”
“There are no alchemical agents to render a person invisible, but there could be a magic spell.”
“So an alchemist and a magic-user working together?”
I nodded. “Or one of them buying a spell or explosive from the other.”
“Damn it all! For that matter, it could be a random person who purchased the spell and the explosive.” He started up the stairs.
I followed. “If it were a horn, they wouldn't need a spell.”
“But the other horns on duty would have seen them planting the device.”
“I disagree. You have horns posted at intervals along the walls. Late at night, they're all focused outside the walls. They wouldn't have been paying much attention to each other.”
The King grimaced. “It's possible, I suppose.”
“Is Commander Ronru investigating the guards on duty that night?”
“I haven't given that order.”
“Maybe you should.”
He stopped on the landing for the fourth floor and handed me the box. “I'll speak to Ronru, and when I speak to the Talon Captain, I'll ask him to send a claw to do some digging as well.”
“Really?” I took the box and gaped at him.
“Yes, why are you surprised?”
“Kings don't take advice as well as others. Especially if it's advice they don't like.”
“I want to find who did this. If it's one of my horns, it's even more important that I know.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I'd prefer it if you didn't leave the palace with only one guard.”
I blinked, shocked even more. “Was that a request?”
“I'm trying to abide by our contract.”
“I don't believe asking me to leave with guards was part of my terms.”
“No, but leaving freely was. I've realized that if I force you to take guards with you, I’m not being true to our contract.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered. “That was honorable. Thank you.”
“I don't want to trick you, Sevarin. If you're unhappy, that will make me unhappy. What's the point of a relationship if you're miserable and constantly manipulating each other?”
A warmth filled my chest. Usually, people try to find loopholes in contracts. Falken was doing the opposite. For me. “I will endeavor to take more than one guard with me when I leave the palace.”
“Thank you.” Falken grinned brightly. “I'll come by your lab after I finish speaking with the captain.”
I nodded and watched him head downstairs. What he had said made sense. I could leave at any time, and if he angered me, I might. It behooved him to keep me happy. Still, I think he genuinely cared about me, and that made me feel safe. When I feel safe, I can bend a little.
“As long as you don't bend yourself in two,” I muttered as I headed to my lab.