Page 79 of The Dragon King's Assassin

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lord Crushei was dragged into the throne room by two guards under the watchful eyes of Captain Vettan, who brought up the rear. The Shanba lord struggled against the chains that bound his wrists and the grip of the knights, but he did so in a way that expressed affront, not fear. Even after they halted him before the throne to be glared at by the King, he retained his indignation.

I stood behind Taroc on the dais, to the left of his throne, while Ren sat beside him on the right. My view was almost as good as the King's, so I saw every nuance of emotion that ran across Crushei's face. None of them was fear.

“This is an insult against my people, Your Majesty, and it will not go unanswered. You have no right to treat me like a criminal merely because I made up some story about your assassin flirting with me.”

Oh, vindication. How lovely.

“You are not here because of my assassin,” the King said. Then he paused and added, “Well, you are, but not because of that.”

“What then?” Crushei looked from the King to me. “What lies have you told about me, human?!”

“Do not speak to him,” Taroc said in an even tone. “He has accused you of nothing more than the lie that you've just admitted to.”

“What the fuck is going on here?”

“We have discovered your treachery, Crushei. You may have murdered the only witness to your crime, but he left proof for us to find.”

“Don't forget the violinist, Your Majesty,” I said.

“Oh, yes. Two murders and one attempted assassination.”

“Murders? Assassination?” Crushei finally showed some fear. “What in Tareth's name are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about the assassins you hired to kill me and the people you killed to cover it up.” Taroc withdrew the note and held it up for Crushei to see. “It wasn't wise of you to sign the evidence.”

“What is that?” Crushei leaned forward to peer at the letter.

“Show it to him, Captain.”

Captain Vettan came up the steps, took the letter back down with him, and held it in front of Crushei for him to read. He stared at the Shanba as if he were seconds away from dismembering the man . . . while he was still alive.

Crushei's frown returned. “Yes, and?”

Taroc drew back, one hand flopping to his lap. “And? This letter proves that you hired Lord Yusef to procure an assassin to kill me.”

“What the fuck are you talking about!” Crushei shouted. “That is a letter I wrote to your steward, requesting an audience with you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I sent that note to your steward, Lord Paslan, to request his assistance in arranging an audience with you. I knew you would be reluctant to see me after the incident with your assassin, and Paslan has intervened on my behalf before, gaining me audiences with you or pushing up the time for those I had scheduled. Why in Tareth's name do you think this is a request for an assassin?”

“This note was found in the desk of Lord Yusef Lancarester this morning, just hours after he was discovered to be an intermediary between the wealthy residents of Mhavenna and assassins. He brokered death, Lord Crushei, so it is rather hard for me to believe that you were requesting anything other than that.”

“I have no idea how my note wound up in someone's desk other than Lord Paslan's, and I do not even know who this Yusef is.”

“The note is not the only evidence. Yusef recorded the initials of every assassin, target, and client in his log books. CV was found beside an assassin's initials and mine.”

Crushei started to tremble. “I'm being set up. Someone is making it look as if I am guilty, but I swear to you, I am not. I've never even contemplated your death, much less hired someone to kill you. We argue, Your Majesty, yes, but you have done wonderful things for this city and my people. I would never want to jeopardize that by having you murdered. How would I know that the next king wouldn't be a tyrant?”

I couldn't see Taroc's face, but his silence was enough to tell me that Crushei had planted a seed of doubt. Fuck, I was starting to doubt his guilt myself.

“Perhaps we should summon Lord Paslan to clear this up, Your Majesty?” Vettan suggested. “He can verify Lord Crushei's claims.”

“Yes, I agree. Fetch him, Captain.”

“Yes, Sire.”

---