“Not at all.”
I started to relax.
But then she went on, “I'm outright declaring it.”
“What the hell is wrong with you people?”
“I told you—we'redragons.” She shrugged and sauntered away. And damn if she didn't do it with a satisfied air. “Come along, Elaria. We don't want to miss the execution.”
Chapter Twelve
I'd thought that Verin had increased security when he'd checked on the wards that morning. But the wards were defensive, which means they'd been constructed to keep people out, not hold them in, and Verin had seen no reason to add extra soldiers to the security measures. When he'd ordered the palace secured, however, it had to be enforced physically. The Royal Guard was now on high alert; patrols roamed the halls and soldiers were stationed at every possible exit. And all of this had happened within the time it had taken me to find the maid.
Queen Savassa and I passed several guards on our way to Verin, all of them gave her crisp bows before returning to their duties. As predicted, Verin had found Chan. I followed Savassa past a few guards who stood at attention in the corridor and into an elegant suite. A modest-sized sitting room greeted us. A dining area waited on the right but we followed the sound of angry growling into the bedroom on the left. Verin—back to his usual form—stood over Chan's body with his hands clenched into fists, shoulders bunched, and face drawn into harsh lines. His nudity was almost irrelevant with so much rage radiating off of him, but I have to admit that I took a moment to appreciate his epic ass and the glorious expanse of his back. Nope, not even the body of my would-be murderer could distract me enough to ignore that ass.
“What a stupid place to hide,” I muttered as I drew up beside Verin.
Verin's head swiveled toward me and his expression softened a bit. “I don't believe he was hiding.”
“What do you mean? This is his suite, isn't it?” I wrapped my hand around Verin's fist and he opened it to weave his fingers through mine.
Chan's body was propped half inside a wardrobe, crumpled as if Verin had pulled him out of his hiding spot, killed him, and dropped him like trash. What kind of an idiot hides in his own closet when he's being hunted by a dragon king? And what else would he be doing in that closet but hiding?
Verin lifted my hand to kiss it before he answered. “Yes, these are his rooms but I didn't kill him.”
“What?!” Savassa demanded. “Who then?”
“I don't know, Mother,” Verin snarled. “But I found his body in this closet and it's already starting to decompose.”
I sniffed and caught a whiff of decay. “Now that you mention it, he does look less than fresh but it's definitely Chan.”
“And he's definitely dead,” Savassa added. “But not by dragon teeth or claws. He's whole—no wounds.”
Verin grunted as if this was obvious. “I think he took the poison he used on us rather than face me.”
“That was some strong stuff,” I noted with another look at Chan's corpse. “Virulent enough that it dramatically increased the rate of decomposition. But that's not surprising; we knew it was potent.”
He nodded. “We know it's strong. But now we need to determine what it is.”
Verin started to turn away, but I grabbed his arm. He looked back at me with a raised brow.
I grabbed a cloak from Chan's wardrobe and handed it to Verin. “You can't go walking through the palace naked; you'll start a riot.”
Verin chuckled as he took the cloak and slipped it on. “I think you overestimate my appeal.”
My eyes went wide. “Are you trying to be humble or are you a unicorn?”
“A unicorn?” His expression went baffled.
“A mythical beast,” I explained. “A gorgeous man who doesn't know that he's gorgeous.”
Savassa laughed. “He's a unicorn all right. Which makes him extremely rare since he's also a dragon—another type of mythical beast.”
“I amnota unicorn.” Verin rolled his eyes. “I'm a realist. Women find me attractive because of who I am, not how I look.”
Savassa and I both burst into laughter.
Verin scowled.
