“You'll return tonight,” he growled.
I lifted my brows.
“Please,” Cyn added.
I chuckled. “All right. I'll see you tonight.”
“One last thing.” The Dragon King hauled me into his arms and laid one on me.
By the time Cyn let me go, I was in a daze and stumbled out of the room. When his knights looked at me askance, I cleared my throat, nodded at them, and hurried out of the apartment.
Chapter Nine
Gathering information in the Forgotten was a delicate process. By the time night fell, I was nursing my third pint in the Broken Wing—a tavern frequented by all races. I was waiting for Neb and Huso, two of the younger, working members of the Midnight Clan, to return. Inquiries were best done casually or very quietly, and those two were as quiet as mice. As they scurried about the Forgotten, whispering in people's ears about the attempted assassination of the Dragon King, I sat in a corner, cloaked in my shadowform, listening hard.
No one had said anything about King Cynric.
Then I saw the boys walk in.
I straightened and dropped my shadowform. The boys shook off the snow and wound through the room, keeping their heads down. No one bothered them on their way to me. They may be teenagers, but they were still Raltven. As they neared, I waved a barmaid over and ordered two hot ciders for them.
“What have you found?” I asked when they sat down.
“Not a damn thing,” Huso said with a grimace.
I looked at Neb.
He shook his head.
Quiet as mice.
“Fuck,” I hissed.
The barmaid set two steaming mugs down before the boys, then asked, “You want anything to eat?”
“Yes, bring them plates of whatever you have that's hot and good.” I handed her a few coppers.
“Sure thing.” She hurried off.
“But we didn't find anything,” Huso said.
Neither boy had touched their mugs.
“You did the work, so you get paid.” I lifted my chin at their drinks. “Drink up.” Then I stood and handed each boy five coppers. “And enjoy your meal. You earned it.” I smacked Huso's shoulder as I passed.
“Thanks, Ru,” Huso said. “We'll keep our ears open.”
Neb just nodded.
“Say hi to your parents for me.” I pulled my cloak in close and headed out into the cold.
It was frigid enough that I hailed a carriage, though that was after I left the Forgotten. Carriages-for-hire did not enter my district.
The driver deposited me before the castle gate, and I went up to the guard shack, hunched over and huddling against the wind. The men on duty had already spotted me through the window and had their swords unsheathed by the time I opened the door.
“My name is Ru'din,” I said. “The King is expecting me.”
They laughed their asses off.
