Page 33 of The Dragon King's Assassin

“And?”

“And they said that the person who hired me didn't do it for power; they did it because they want you dead.”

“I assumed they wanted me dead. That's rather the point of hiring an assassin.”

“You're not listening to me.” I grabbed his upper arm. “This is personal. You angered someone so much that they hired someone to kill you.”

“Well, I already knew that this wasn't about my crown.”

“What?” I dropped his arm.

“Only a Dragon can claim my throne, and then, only after they've won the crown tournament.”

“The crown tournament?”

“I won my throne with strength and skill, Lock. I had to fight fifty-six other Dragons who believed they'd make a better king than I. And I killed every last one of them.”

“You killed fifty-six Dragons?” I blinked. Shit, that was a bigger kill tally than mine, and he'd done it all in one go.

“A crown tournament is to the death. It's meant to dissuade those who are not dedicated to ruling.”

“So, there is no one in line for your throne? No one who would immediately become King?”

“No. If I died, the kingdom would be run by my advisers until a tournament could be held to determine the next king.”

“Your advisers, eh?” I lifted a brow.

“They wouldn't be allowed to make any major decisions. They'd merely be caretakers until the next king was crowned.”

“Oh.”

“So, this cannot be about my kingdom.”

“You could have fucking mentioned that earlier.”

He shrugged. “I thought it was common knowledge.”

“Fine. We've established that this is personal. You must know who you've angered so badly that they'd want you dead. So, who is it?”

“I am a king, Lock.” He lifted his chin. “I anger many people.”

“Not to the point where they pay a lot of fucking money to have someone murder you. Come on! You must have some idea.”

Taroc grimaced, rolled his head back, and stared at the ceiling.

“It would be someone wealthy,” I prompted. “Someone who doesn't care about your throne. This isn't about replacing you. This person has no political agenda.”

“Most of the people I've angered have a political agenda.”

“Good. Who doesn't?”

He lowered his head to glare at me. “I don't know!”

“For fuck's sake, Taroc, how many wealthy people without an interest in kingdom politics have you pissed off?”

“Honestly? All of them.”

“What?”

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