Page 60 of Kingdom of Rot & Ruin
“She failed her examination by yourLord Vession,” she spit back, venom dripping from her voice.
Ah. That’s right. She hated Vession.
Shava disappeared into the cave with the boy.
I stayed back, frowning. What kind of physical examination could a girl fail? Was she disfigured?
I would ask Shava later, when things had settled down with the boy. His presence here made little sense. Had the queen meant to execute a boy? Zariah was supposed to have brought me a Noble, not a mud boy!
Remember all the boys reaped with you who had disappeared over the years?
I shivered.
As if my thoughts were a calling card, Zariah’s large silhouette came at me again, another lump in its claws.
Please don’t be another traumatized mud boy.
Zariah dropped this larger figure much less gently than the boy, and it was easy to see why. A middle-aged, blond Noble with his fine robes dirty and blue eyes blood shot rolled over, gawking in shock as the large dragon ignored him and flew to a large boulder, perching himself at the top and glaring down at him. The jewels on his fingers glittered, making his appearance even more ridiculous.
Zariah roared, and the man whimpered. A wet stain spread across his crotch.
I rolled my eyes.
“He won’t eat you, if that’s your concern,” I spat.
The man whipped around, not even aware I’d been standing behind him.
I gave a sarcastic wave.
“Did he steal you, too?” The man sputtered, his fat face red and his breathing heavy. “I don’t think?—”
He stopped short as Shava emerged from the cave, frowning at the commotion.
“You! I remember you; the mud girl who caused a scene at the ball. I thought you’d be dragon shit by now.”
Her face twisted into a sneer at the finger pointed rudely in her face, even as she took a half-step forward. I put a hand out, moving to intercept her.
“I’ve got this, if you handle D,” I said quietly.
Her eyes narrowed. “I could rip his ass across this entire canyon, but this time, I don’t think I will. It’s … kind of nice to have someone else to do it for me.” Her gaze sharpened on me. “Youwilldo it for me?”
I grinned. “With pleasure.”
Shava gifted me with a saucy wink, her hips swaying as she went back into the cave. Ooh, promises, promises. Turning back towards the Noble, my opinion of him went further south as I caught his eyes following her ass.
If it was anyone’s ass, it wasmine.
The man was bigger than me, but plump and unfit underneath the hot desert sun. I grabbed him by his robes and threw him up against the cliff’s wall far too easily, despite our size difference. His back hit the stone and he let out an emphatic ‘oomph.’
“Tell me. What didyoudo to earn the queen’s displeasure?”
His puffy hands grasped ineffectively at my wrists, no real strength or purpose behind his grip. Perfectly groomed fingernails were useless in trying to gouge into my skin.
“It wasn’tmyfault!” He sputtered. “I told the queen to give me more time to pay up. It’s not my fault the project failed! Sheapprovedit, she?—”
I let go, letting him collapse to the ground.
“The queen sentenced you to death for owing hermoney?” I clarified, incredulous. My gaze raked over the jewels on his hand again. Surely one hand of rings would have been enough to cover whatever debt he had?
