“It would help if you listened when I told you to do something.”
The King held up his hands. “All right. I concede you know best with this investigation, and I will allow you to offer mesuggestionsthat I willmost likelyfollow. But that is the extent of it, Tekhan. You cannot continue to speak to me as you have been doing in public.”
“In public?”
“I honestly don't care about your attitude. But my knights are already getting anxious. Angry even. They know that public perception is important to keeping the peace. If I'm seen allowing such behavior, my people will lose respect for me.”
“That is reasonable.” I nodded. “Very well. I will amend my tone.” I paused and added, “In public.”
King Tor'rien chuckled. “I don't know why I find you charming.”
“You what?” I felt my horror slide into my expression.
He laughed harder. “Charming. I find your behavior refreshing, Tek.”
“Stop with the Tek.”
“I will stop calling you Tek when you start showing me respect in front of others.”
“Agreed.”
“Well, that was easy.”
“You offered me something I wanted.”
“What else can I offer you to tempt you into capitulation?”
Shivers took hold of me again. Good shivers. The kind that headed downward. I reeled them in before they did something to make my interest obvious. Or more obvious. Because this interest was only a remnant of my feeding. I knew what the King tasted like now, and I wanted more. My body craved him. And that was something I could never reveal. The weakness had already set in.
Being around him had been hard enough before. Now, it would become grueling. Torturous. The only way through it was to pretend that I wasn't affected.
“Nothing, but thank you, Your Majesty. Oh, and I'm sorry I ran off without thanking you earlier for your contribution.”
“My what?”
“Your blood, Your Majesty. Thank you. It healed me most vigorously.”
His expression softened. “Did it now? Well, I'm happy to contribute any time you have a need, my Claw.”
Chapter Ten
The Brujai—whose name was Wuten—owned a home similar to the Chelli's. Except that for Brujai, it was a modest house. It was also dark. Not that I expected otherwise. The woman wouldn't be there. She'd be with Hallaxgral. Hopefully.
With the King dogging my heels, I went to the front door. It was open. Again, I wasn't surprised. Neither did the disarray I found inside alarm me. Someone had abducted Wuten’s wife, and he’d been too distraught to clean up. Perfectly natural.
I pulled out my light tube.
Behind me, the knights sighed.
“Feel free to leave anytime you wish,” I called over my shoulder. “I never said this would be stimulating.”
“Oh, I find it very stimulating,” the King drawled. “Especially when you get on your knees.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see him leaning in the doorway again, arms crossed with a wicked smile on his face. There wasn't time to deal with his behavior. I had to process the house as quickly as possible. So instead of getting onto my knees to inspect the floor (and give him what he wanted), I did slow sweeping passes with my light and prayed that I didn't miss anything.
The debris was thick. Glass, shards of wood, and overturned furniture. I had to inspect things before I moved them out of my way. Brujai scales abounded, but that didn't help me. If Hallaxgral was a Brujai, I wouldn't confirm it there. I moved on, the signs of a struggle becoming less evident. So, the abductors had broken in. The wife came to see what the commotion was, and they took her in the entry.
Soon, the damage disappeared completely, and I was left in a clean, Brujai home. Desert tapestries hung on the walls, carved wooden statues decorated side tables, and the upholstery was a bright fabric with geometric designs. The kitchen was less clean, with signs of recent feeding. I say feeding because the state of the kitchen in comparison to the rest of the home told me the husband was only fueling himself to get through the day. The poor man. He would never see his wife again. Not in this life.
