“What?”
“That's what Katai said. He said Hallaxgral had kind eyes.”
“He was under stress.”
“Yes, and when most people are stressed, they don't notice the little things. Only the important things. Hallaxgral's eyes were important enough for Katai to remember. Something about them made his mind latch onto them in hope. He saw kindness there, and that made him hope that he wouldn't die.”
“Maybe.”
“I need to look in the case.” I got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to take care of my morning needs with alacrity. After handling that, I splashed water on my face, used it to slick back my hair, rinsed out my mouth, and rushed out of the bathroom to get dressed.
Tor'rien was still sitting in bed.
“I'm leaving, Your Majesty. Are you coming along?”
“Where are you going?”
I cocked my head at him. “You're a slow riser, eh?”
He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. “We had a long night.”
I snorted a laugh and pulled on my claw coat. “Stay here then. I need to move quickly today.”
“The fuck I will,” he growled and got out of bed.
I headed for the door anyway.
“Tekhan, don't you dare fucking leave this room without me.”
“I'm just going to gather the case files so I can take them back to the Hall of Talons.”
“Oh. All right then. But do not leave the royal apartments.” The King vanished into his dressing chamber.
I wanted to roll my eyes. I intended to. But instead, I smiled to myself as I headed downstairs. Katai had latched onto Hallaxgral's kindness, and I had latched onto the King's fear and fury. I kept seeing him in my mind, his face a mask of terror, and then the slaughter that followed. It was probably wrong of me to be flattered by fear and violence. But I was. They were evidence of Tor'rien's . . . affection. Yes, his affection.
“Slaughter,” I whispered, stopping just inside the office. “He killed those Eljaffna for hurting me. So why was it wrong for Hallaxgral to finish the job?” I shook my head. “Dear Gods, I'm letting emotions cloud my judgment. It's wrong because murder is wrong, no matter who you murder.”
But a voice whispered in my head that it wasn't murder; it was justice.
And there I was, back to justice. Hallaxgral had chosen a claw to target. And he brought to light the murder committed by a claw. The Eljaffna could be viewed as righteous executions as well. But there were other victims that didn't fit into the vigilante theme. It vexed me that I still wasn't sure what was going on or who Hallaxgral was. It vexed me further that I found it mentally stimulating.
By the time His Majesty had joined me, I had everything gathered and was sitting on one of the couches, waiting for him. Pondering. Processing. Preparing.
Behind the King were the guards from the upper floors—Sir Gilhu and Sir Heicren. They went with us as we left the apartments. I glanced at them as we rode down in the lifter. Followed constantly? No, the idea didn't appeal to me. Although, there was a nice sense of security that came with that. And we all know how much I liked to feel secure.
As we settled in the royal carriage, a human man came running up to slide a basket onto the carriage floor and then bow to the King. The King nodded at him before one of his guards closed the door. I didn't have to ask Tor'rien what was in the basket. I could smell fresh bread and fried meat. My stomach rumbled.
“You see?” The King smirked at me. “Without me, you would have forgotten to eat breakfast. How you haven't wasted away to nothing without me, I have no idea.”
Tor'rien pulled the basket closer as the carriage moved out. After rooting through it, he doled out our breakfast—fried pork, fresh bread, butter, apples, and muffins. There was also a carafe of cool water. We ate in silence. I was focused on Hallaxgral and the King respected my focus.
We arrived at the Hall of Talons during a shift change. Talons and claws meandered out of the soaring building while others trudged in. Some nodded to me, others ignored me, but everyone bowed to the King. They weren't even surprised to see him there. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
I took the Kun-lo's files back to storage and then went in search of the case that Katai had been buried in. Due to its size and when it had come in, it was in one of the larger processing rooms awaiting my instructions. I inspected it right there while the King stood across from me, helping me look.
“Has anyone touched this?” I asked one of the talons on duty.
“No, sir. It came in and has been sitting there ever since.”
