“It's all right, love. It's all right.” Vasren shot me a furious look as he turned so that Katai couldn't see the grave.
“Yes, very well. Get him away from here.” I motioned him off.
Vasren didn't wait for the King to agree—a clear sign of how involved he was with the human—he just rushed away with Katai.
“Someone help me with this coffin.” I went back to the grave. Because even though Katai wasn't buried there anymore, it was still a grave. Kun-lo was under there. He had to be.
Before I could reach for the coffin, the King grabbed the edge of one side and yanked the thing out of the hole. There, wrapped in stained fabric, unearthed for us already, lay a corpse. An old one. Atop the remains, as if carelessly tossed there, was a note.
I closed my eyes in relief and annoyance. I hadn't been too late. But I suspected that note wouldn't be a concession. No, this bastard wasn't ready to give me the win.
“Tekhan?” the King called to me.
I opened my eyes and looked at the men who had brought shovels and helped us dig. I assumed they were gardeners like Kun-lo was. “Thank you for your help. Could one of you find the nearest talon on duty and tell him that Claw Shinkai needs a Talon team here?”
“Yes, sir. I'll go,” a man offered.
“Thank you. The rest of you may leave or you may stay if you wish, but please, keep back. This boy was a gardener here. He went missing a long time ago. Now we know he was murdered, and I intend to catch his murderer and bring him to justice.”
The gardeners pulled off their hats and backed away, but they didn't leave. They watched solemnly as I laid down on the earth beside the grave, right at the edge, so I could lean in and conduct a quick inspection before taking the note. Sitting up, I unfolded the paper, sniffed it, determined it to be fresh, and then read aloud, “You're only halfway there. I win.”
I looked up at the King. Then it registered. There had been something odd about Katai. Not him, but something on him that didn't fit. It was too shiny. Too expensive. It didn't match the clothes he wore. A brooch. I saw it again in my mind—a blue stone set in gold. As Vasren had left, I thought I saw the gem gleam. I hadn't investigated it since the knight and his lover were both so upset. But everything clicked into place when I read that note. And it was not a good click.
Jumping to my feet, I shouted, “Vasren!” And I ran. “Vasren, the pin! The brooch on Katai is a weapon! Remove the brooch! Cast it far from you! Vasren!”
I made it about twenty feet up the path when I heard the explosion.
“Vasren!” I ran faster. Took a corner. Stopped short. Panting, I bent over and braced myself on my knees.
Vasren must have heard me because he was on the ground, covering Katai with his body. About a hundred or more feet away, a black pit marred the grass.
Sir Vasren looked up and met my stare. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
I nodded.
And then another explosion came, this one further off. Much further off. I spun toward the sound, my jaw falling open as I stared at a plume of smoke rising above the buildings.
Vasren had dove to cover Katai again, but I just gaped at the proof of my failure. Yes,myfailure. I knew immediately what that smoke meant. Hallaxgral had promised me another body should I fail. I had thwarted his first attempt to fulfill that promise. But that didn't stop him from trying again. And I knew he was a man who would double his efforts when he was initially unsuccessful. Double or more.
“Dear Gods,” I whispered as I fell to my knees, still staring at the smoke.
The faint sound of Talon bells came to me as if announcing my loss. Hallaxgral had indeed won.
“Tekhan?”
I looked up at the King. My lust for him had just proven fatal. Instead of doing my job, I had been fucking him in a garden. And now people were dead.
“Damn,” I whispered and bent my head. Not in prayer but under the weight of all that had fallen upon me. “We are both damned, Your Majesty.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Get up!” the King hissed as he hauled me to my feet. “You don't give up, Tek. Never. And you certainly don't fall to your knees unless it's for me. For my pleasure. Do you understand?”
I blinked, my stare focusing over his shoulder. Someone was running toward us. A talon.
“Tek!” The King shook me.
“Yes, I understand!” I jerked myself out of his grip, pushed past him, and ran to meet the talon halfway. “What's happened? Where was that explosion?”
