“Nothing. I was just . . . it seems a bit extreme.”
“Oh, it does?” I rolled my eyes. “Imagine how it felt to me.” I got up to open the door.
He grabbed my hand and yanked me back down. “I'm sorry that I played a part in your pain, Tekhan.”
I looked away. “I'm sorry I blamed you. It's not your fault.”
“No, it is. Even if it was out of ignorance. I acted on instinct, going in there. Had I known it was putting you at risk, I never would have gone in there. I'd rather you be with someone else and safe than with me.”
I lifted a brow, not certain I believed him. It was too romantic. It felt like something you say without meaning.
“My Gods,” King Tor'rien whispered. “You think I'd rather you be tortured than with another man? Tekhan, even had I known that I would find you in time and we would come together at last because of your capture, I would have preventedit if I could. I want you safe. Always. No matter what it costs me. That's what it means to . . .”
“To what?”
He grimaced. “I just realized why you don't believe me.”
“Why?”
With impeccable timing, Sir Vasren opened the door.
“Shit, here I am, wasting time again.” I jerked my hand out of the King's grip and jumped out of the carriage, muttering, “Fucking hormones.”
I oriented myself in a few seconds and then took off running toward the section of Fuleng Park where Kun-lo used to work. Of course, the areas had changed over the years and some markers on the map in the case file were now gone, but I directed myself using the street as a starting point. Soon enough, I stood on a path that ran through the center of Kun-lo's old territory of the park.
The King caught up to me as I scanned the area. He didn't continue our argument, thank the Gods. Instead, he waved his knights out. “Look for any patch of disturbed ground! Hurry!” And then he rushed ahead of me, scanning to either side of himself as he went.
That's not the way I worked. I had to conduct a survey first—see it all so I could track it in my head. Work through it. In seconds, I calculated what spots would be best for burying a body. It would have to be somewhere as far from the path as possible. Somewhere with some cover. Those trees. Maybe. That bush? No. By the bend? Absolutely. But further in. There were even more trees there—a miniature forest of them.
I ran for the trees.
Not a nature man, I stumbled through the undergrowth. My focus was on the ground, which helped except for the obstacles above. I batted aside branches with growls and then violent smacks. But then I saw it—a person-sized patch of fresh soil.
“Here!” I shouted. “Over here!” And that's when I realized I hadn't thought to bring a shovel. “Oh, fuck me.” I dropped to the ground and started scooping up dirt with my cupped hands.
Crunches and cracks came from behind me as the King and a couple of knights converged on me through the woods.
“Oh, fuck,” the King muttered. “Find a gardener. Get us shovels!”
“Yes, sire!”
And then he was beside me, his royal hands flinging dirt and his pants getting stained by the soil. At that moment, I forged an emotional bond with the King far stronger than I thought possible. I had sensed danger from the beginning. I just hadn't realized the threat was against my psyche. My core beliefs. The foundational reasoning that I based my life upon. Now, that foundation was shaking. Cracking. I had to admit that emotions could magnify a relationship and transform it into something more than mere lust. I was feeling things for Tor'rien. Deep things that could take root and grow into more. No going back. I had been warned. I'd done most of the warning myself. In the past, I listened to myself. But Tor'rien changed me. He changed everything. There was no going back now—that's what I deduced as I watched a king dig in the dirt to save a life.
“Damn it,” I muttered and grabbed Tor'rien's hair. It was falling into the dirt and getting in his way. I pulled it back and tied it in a loose knot.
As I returned to my frantic digging, the Dragon King slid a smile my way.
“Not now!” I hissed at him. “I was just helping you work more efficiently.”
He grunted.
A few minutes later, his knights returned with several other men and a lot of shovels. There were too many shovels for the area we needed to dig up. So, the King eased me back, out of the way, and we stood together, holding dirty hands as human gardeners and Dragon knights dug up the past.
Chapter Twenty
“Your Majesty!” Sir Gilhu straightened and set his shovel tip down like a spear. “We've got something.”
I rushed forward with the King to peer into the hole. It wasn't all that deep, but it was long. The size of a grave. In it, of course, lay a coffin. The men pried the lid open to reveal a man lying within. He was small, even for a human. Androgynous, with delicate features and full lips. Beautiful, especially in repose. So lovely that several people sighed. A man like that should be clothed in silk and laid out amid rose petals. Instead, he wore simple clothes with a rough weave and all that lay beside him was an Air stone. A dark air stone—no glow of magic left within it. Drained.
