The King's left eye twitched. “I see.”
“Will you look at this?” I pointed at the mechanism. “The wall didn't fall because of the rot.”
King Falken blinked and refocused on me. “What?”
“Look!” I motioned at the mechanism again. “It's whole.”
The King came forward and crouched to look at the gate mechanism. Then he lifted his head to search the debris. “No silver.” He stood up. “It didn't spread.”
“No.” I looked across the pile of rocks to the city street beyond.
A group of men stood on the sidewalk across the street, all of them hooded and all standing in the shadows. Sure, the explosion could have drawn them there, but there were other people watching, and the difference between them was extreme.
“Explosion,” I murmured.
“What?” King Falken had been staring at Orro again, making the courtier uncomfortable, but he jerked his focus back to me.
“There was an explosion.”
“The armory door exploded as well.”
“Yes, but only after Vanre burned it. Have there been other cases of rot where it's exploded?” I looked from him back to the cloaked men, but they were gone.
“No,” the King said. “But if this wasn't the rot, what was it?”
I turned back to face him. “That's the question we need answered, Your Majesty.”
Chapter Thirteen
I sat on the palace steps and watched the horns clear the courtyard, my tail swishing around my feet with my intense focus. The King sat beside me, his hands clenched into fists. Orro and Leera had gone to bed, fleeing the King's glare.
“What are you looking for?” The Dragon King glanced at me and then refocused on the clean-up.
“Evidence,” I murmured, scanning.
“Of a bomb?”
“Of anything that would have caused the wall to fall.” I looked at him. “How could someone have gotten past your guards to plant an explosive?”
“I don't know. There are races with a talent for going unseen.”
“Raltven.”
“Yes, and also Argaiv.” He leaned forward on his knees. “Why were you with Orro?”
“What?” I glanced at him.
“I found you out here with him. Why? After that incident in the dining hall, it surprised me.”
My tail curled around my leg. “I went to apologize to him.”
“You went to apologize?”
“Yes. I thought about my behavior and realized I'd been wrong. So I went to his room and apologized.”
“You apologized in his room?” The King's eyes twitched.
“That's where he was.”
