“We'll be smart about it. Now that we know what we're dealing with, we can take measures to protect ourselves.”
“What measures?”
“I'll remove all Shanba from the castle for the time being.”
“That will only be another form of hiding. We need to draw this person out.”
“Yes.” Cyn chewed at his bottom lip. “Bait. How do I be the bait and still protect myself?”
“It's too difficult in the castle. You have too many people coming in and out. In the Forgotten, my clan can protect you. They can help us trap the Shanba.”
“They can be controlled as easily as anyone in the castle.”
“Yes, but my people are better suited to dealing with villains. We can herd them through the streets, right into a trap. I'll spread the word when we get back and tell everyone to watch for any Shanba who enters the Forgotten. I'll warn them to keep their distance while monitoring them. We know how to trap dangerous things, Cyn.”
“My Dragon knights are just as adept in dealing with scoundrels.”
“No offense, but they aren't. They are trained to deal with direct attacks, not this sort of underhanded subterfuge. I think you need to stay in the Forgotten a little longer. But we need to let our enemy know that you're there.”
“And how do we do that without tipping our hand?”
I grinned. “The same people who gather knowledge know how to spread it.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Three days later, the King's whereabouts had been selectively shared around the city. Selectively, because we were trying to keep Lord Juri from finding out. The Midnight Clan was on high alert, watching for Shanba and anyone else who looked suspicious. We had a loose plan for my clan to close in around the Shanba as they closed in on us. Then we'd pounce. The problem was our target had proven to be a coward, sending others to do their bidding. So we couldn't be sure that they would enter the Forgotten. They might send another enchanted killer instead. With that in mind, I'd given the order to apprehend, not kill. If we didn't find the diadem on them and their eyes held a telltale glint of green, they weren't the person we were looking for.
I didn't like it. It wasn't a perfect plan. There were too many things that could go wrong. Too many twists that could happen. But it was the best we could do. And Raltven were good with twists.
Dragons, however, were not good at waiting.
“What is taking so long?” Cyn growled. Again. He'd gotten more and more growly with every passing day. “Soon, word of my location will reach the castle, then Juri will send an army to fetch me.”
“You're the King. It's your army. You can tell them to fuck off,” I said as peered around a curtain and through my window at the dark streets of the Forgotten.
Night had fallen hours ago. Cyn and I had fucked several times, showered, ate dinner, and now we had run out of things to do. There was only so much sex you could have in one night. I'd probably pull out my deck of cards soon. Oh, who am I kidding? We'd fuck again. The mating was still fresh, and Cyn was a Dragon. His stamina was unmatched.
“He'll demand I return to ruling, and he won't be out of line to do so,” my mate grumbled.
“But he'll have to concede that we need to handle this.”
“Juri's way of handling this would be to round up all the Shanba in the city and search them for the diadem.”
I made a face. “That's not such a bad idea.”
“Yes, it is,” Cyn said sternly. “Such an action takes time. And it's not quiet. Our prey would likely be alerted and could escape before we capture them. Not to mention, it would humiliate the innocent Shanba population. I don't wish to do that.”
“What if you locked down the city?”
“They have a mind-controlling relic, Ru. They could simply enchant a guard. And if they escape now, there's no telling when they'd return and try again. They could stay away for months, waiting for me to lower my defenses, then enchant someone close to me.”
“Like me,” I muttered.
“Hopefully, our bond will protect you from that. I see no reason it shouldn't, not after it broke the original enchantment.”
“I don't know if it works like that. The enchantment was already in me when we mated. Your magic encountered it, saw it as opposition, and obliterated it. But now that the mating bond is settled, I may be—”
“Ru, stop,” Cyn interrupted, gripping my arms. “We can't worry about that now. We need to focus on—”
