Page 94 of The Dragon King's Assassin

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Despite what I'd said to Teng, I only stayed an hour. I'd promised to be back soon, and I didn't want to ruin this new accord I'd formed with Taroc. However, an hour with a Neraky pirate and his stash of Hesian wine was more than long enough to get me tipsy. Maybe a bit more than tipsy.

I staggered off the ship and headed to a busier street to hail a carriage. It was still daylight so there would be some drivers brave enough to enter the Broken. Thoughts swirling in the alcohol soup of my brain, I went from contemplating Taroc's rare smile to the asshole who wanted to make sure he never smiled again. Then back to Taroc. Then my money—I had so much of it now! Then Taroc. Then oh, look, is that a bird? That thing better fly the fuck out of the Broken before some starving kid hits it with a rock.

To say my senses weren't at their sharpest, would be an understatement. So, I didn't hear the footsteps that would have warned me of someone coming up behind me. I only felt the blow to the back of my head, some brief pain, then everything went black.

Eventually, a rough hand yanked me out of unconsciousness, shaking me awake.

“What the fuck?!” I shoved my attacker away as I blinked my eyes open. Then I saw who it was. “Taroc?”

The King grabbed me by the front of my tunic and hauled me to my feet. With a shove toward his carriage, he growled, “Get the fuck inside.”

I caught myself on the doorframe and climbed in, stumbling toward a bench. Ren moved out of the way, jumping up onto the seat across from me.

“Hey, girl,” I mumbled and collapsed onto the cushion.

Taroc stormed in, slammed the door shut, and smacked the roof. The carriage lurched forward, sending me tumbling and Ren jumping to the floor. The King caught me and shoved me back onto the seat.

“I trusted you,” he growled. “And this is what you do?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He wrinkled his nose and turned his head to the side. “You reek of wine.”

“Yeah, I had a bottle with my friend.” I rubbed at my head, but there wasn't even a tender spot. I was certain I'd been hit.

“You had a bottle? A fucking bottle of wine while you were supposed to be hiring him to investigate Crushei?”

“I did hire him. Then he offered me some wine. Fuck, Taroc, someone hit me over—”

He cut me off with, “Did you steal a bottle of medicine from Dr. Chisuren?”

I winced. “All right, yes, I took a bottle of that magic potion he used on me.”

Taroc's face squished up, his eyes twitching and his skin turning pink.

“My friend wanted it. I told him what it did for me, but he'd never heard of such a thing. He asked me to get him a bottle so he could have someone analyze it.”

“I trusted you, sent you out on your own, gave you gold, and you steal a precious potion from my physician, then get so drunk that you pass out in an alley?”

“I didn't pass out!”

“Oh, and what would you call it?”

“Someone hit me over the head!”

He scowled and looked me over. “Were you robbed?”

“Fuck!” I patted my pockets and found the few tools I'd brought with me. Then, with a sigh of relief, I pulled out the gold coin. “No. It looks as if they just bashed me over the head and left.”

“Sure. Someone saw you and thought, 'hey, that man looks like someone I need to hit,' and they knocked you unconscious, dragged you into an alley, and left you there for the fun of it.”

“Fuck you, Taroc! I just got assaulted and you won't even believe me?”

“I found you reeking of wine in an alley.”

“And I'm telling you that someone put me there.”

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