Page 84 of The Dragon King's Assassin

Chapter Thirty-Five

In the morning, I woke up early and crept into the bedroom I'd been using, carrying my clothes from the night before. From a secret pocket within my vest, I removed the coins and the velvet pouch I'd taken. As I mentioned, the coins were enough to start a new life with, I could even buy a place nicer than Yusef's. But what was in that pouch was even better. When I opened and upended it, glittering jewels cascaded into my palm.

“Holy fuck,” I whispered. “Holy fucking fuck! This is enough to set me up for life. Fuck my reputation; I never have to work again.”

I flung a look around the dressing room, suddenly paranoid. An assassin always has a place to hide things, but I had to make sure no one was watching me first. I put the jewels back in the pouch, then closed the dressing room door. Once I was assured of privacy, I went to my trunk, pulled everything out, and hit the hidden latch that unlocked the false bottom.

Within the compartment were the few possessions that were priceless to me and my life savings—a Raltven dagger given to me by Fahar when I was inducted into the Wraiths, its corkscrew blade sheathed in a leather tube; the black-gold chain Gren gave me when I completed my apprenticeship, and a leather pouch that contained eight gold, six silver, and twenty-two copper coins in it, most of which was left over from the advance I received to kill Taroc. I put the new gold coins in the leather pouch with the others, placed the velvet pouch beside it, replaced the padding that kept everything from jostling, and clicked the false bottom back in place.

With my wealth secure, I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed into the bathroom to shower. There was an enormous bathtub against one wall, its basin shiny like the inside of a shell, but as much as I would have loved to lay about in hot water for an hour or so, I didn't have the time for that. Instead, I stripped and got into the shower stall, its blue tiles making me feel as if I'd been submerged in the deepest part of the Fresien Sea. I pressed my palms against the wall and bent my head into the spray. The wet heat sluicing over my shoulders loosened my tight muscles. I felt as if I could finally relax, but it had nothing to do with the shower. It was the money. Funny how being rich can take a weight off your shoulders.

When Taroc cast me aside—and he would eventually, no matter how many sweet things he said to me—I wouldn't have to worry about finding work. I could sail off with Teng, go to another kingdom, and build a new life for myself. One that didn't include the Dragon King.

A spear of pain lanced through my chest at the last thought, and I rubbed at my sternum absently. What the fuck was that? Was I . . . ? No, I couldn't be having feelings for him. He was incredibly handsome, undoubtedly the most powerful man in the kingdom, and could fuck like a beast, but he was also a pompous asshole who thought of me as property.

But as soon as I thought those words, I realized they were a lie. Taroc had made it abundantly clear that he didn't think of me as property. Nor had he been a pompous asshole when he confessed that he wanted me to be the one man in his entire fucking kingdom who knew the real him. When I said he had me good now, it had been a subtle confession. So subtle that even I hadn't recognized it. I did have feelings for him. Strong ones.

“Fuck,” I whispered. “I think I love him.”

Which meant that when Taroc did cast me aside, I wouldn't just need to start a new life, I'd have to deal with the pain of losing him. Yeah, this was gonna hurt. But that was in the future, hopefully a distant one, and I didn't want to waste time worrying about what would or wouldn't happen. If I loved him—and I wasn't sure about that since I'd never been in love before—it was done, no going back. So I might as well enjoy the Dragon King for as long as I could.

A knocking on the bathroom door startled me.

After cursing again, I called out, “Yeah?”

“The King is requesting that you attend him,” one of the knights shouted back.

“I'll be right there.”

I rinsed, dried off, and dressed as quickly as I could, then sprinted over to the King's bedchambers. He wasn't in them. While I paused in the doorway, I heard voices coming from further down the hallway. I followed them to the dining room and found Taroc at the table, eating breakfast while he spoke with Captain Vettan.

I went to stand beside the Captain to listen in, but as soon as Taroc saw me, he waved me toward a chair across from him where another plate of food had been set. I just stared at it for a second before I realized it was for me. Hesitantly, as if someone might stop me, I went to the chair and sat down. Once I was seated, a servant came forward and poured a cup of coffee for me.

“Thank you,” I whispered to the woman. Holy shit, he really is trying. Did he have feelings for me too?

“These were the only suspicious items we found, Your Majesty.” Captain Vettan set down a piece of paper and a dagger with a nasty glance my way. “The dagger's been cleaned, but I can smell blood on it. Could be nothing, of course.”

“Another note?” Taroc asked as he lifted the paper and read it. “What is this? 'Service to be rendered tomorrow night. Please remit payment by midnight tonight or the transaction will be canceled.'”

“Oh, fuck,” I whispered.

Taroc focused on me. “You recognize this?”

“I recognize the wording. May I see it?”

The King passed it over to me.

“Yeah, this writing matches Yusef's ledger.”

“Yusef wrote this? So this concerns my assassination?”

“I believe so, Your Majesty. A broker doesn't merely arrange jobs, he also ensures payment. Before a job is completed, the broker secures the payment and holds onto it until the kill is verified, then he releases it to the assassin. That way, neither side has to worry about being swindled.”

Taroc sat back and stared at the dagger. “Thank you, Captain, that's all for now.”

“Shall I have Lord Crushei executed, Your Majesty?”

“Not yet. I need to think about this.”

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