Page 80 of The Dragon King's Assassin

We spent the next few minutes in a tense silence while we waited for the Captain to return. Crushei was at least wise enough to hold his tongue, though he did stare balefully at the King. As much as I disliked the man, I had to admit it was strange that the note did not address Yusef, or anyone, for that matter, and yet Crushei had signed his full name with his title. That's just not the way I would write a note to a man orchestrating the killing of a king. But then again, I wouldn't have written anything at all; I would have conducted that kind of business in person. Perhaps he thought the vagueness of the letter would protect him.

The Captain returned with a broad-shoulder Argaiv dressed in robes finer than what the King had on. His dark hair was braided back and held in place with a silk ribbon that matched the color of his boots. On his chest, a seal of his station hung off a thick gold chain.

The Steward bowed to the King. “How may I be of service to you, Your Majesty?”

“Captain, the note.” Taroc waved toward Lord Paslan.

Captain Vettan passed the letter to the Steward, who looked it over.

“Do you recognize this note, Lord Pascal?” the King asked.

Pascal frowned. “Uh, no, Your Majesty.”

“You fucking liar!” Crushei shouted. “My life hangs in the balance, Pascal. Tell him the truth!”

“Have you accepted bribes from Lord Crushei before, Lord Pascal?”

“Never, Your Majesty.”

“He will execute me, Pascal! Are you seriously going to deny this because you don't want him to find out about some bribes?”

The King stood up and went to stand before Lord Pascal. “I don't care if you've taken bribes, Pascal. Someone has hired two assassins to kill me and this note is evidence that it was Lord Crushei. He pleads innocence and swears that he wrote this note to you, not to the man who hired the assassins. Now, I need you to answer truthfully because if I execute Lord Crushei and then there is another attempt on my life, I will hold you accountable.”

Lord Pascal paled and his wings shivered, making a rustling sound. “All right! Yes, I take bribes, and I have taken them many times from Lord Crushei.”

“Thank you,” Crushei said in relief.

“But I swear to you, Your Majesty, I did not receive this particular note.”

“What?!” Crushei straightened, then lurched toward the Steward. “You son of a pig!”

“I'm sorry, Lord Crushei, but that's the truth. I've never seen this note before.”

Taroc rubbed a hand over his face and glanced at me. I shrugged.

“Take Lord Crushei to a cell in the dungeon,” Taroc said to the knights. “I need to think more on this.”

“Your Majesty, please!” Crushei shrieked. “I did not do this!”

“I am not convicting you, Lord Crushei. But you will remain imprisoned until I can prove either your guilt or innocence.”

Crushei hung his head, his antlers—no longer gilded—nearly hitting the knights. They angled themselves out of the way and carried him from the room.

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