I’d been watching Caldren for years. Pend had never asked me to, but Pend needed someone who looked after his affairs without asking him any questions. He was bound by magic, and I was not.
I’d been there, in the shadows, when magic shriveled his hand when he raised it to strike against the laws of magic. He’d learned to sword-fight with his other hand afterward, and now one would barely notice the withered hand. But it had taught us both a lesson.
I’d never let my king be hurt like that again.
The dragon shifters were able to wield magic that no one else could. As a woman I could never be a dragon shifter and I could never have that kind of power. But I had other kinds of power.
One of those kinds of power was knitting itself together in my belly as I went about my work.
I always stayed far away from the Twisted Pines. I sent other spies to investigate the Twisted Pines, but none of them ever came back.
Most interestingly of all, despite all the trouble that seemed to swirl around Caldren Deragon, he never seemed to be present at the scene of any of that chaos. Instead, he was always moving around his pub. Anyone could watch him through the brightly lit windows of the Twisted Pines, joking with customers, playing the fiddle, hopping behind the bar to serve drinks. He seemed like the merriest of men.
It was a lie. How could anyone be happy after being cast down from the dragons and the line of succession? While I knew he was in the center of the rebellion, I could never catch him in anything. Somehow he was always giving us the slip. He must be getting others to do his work, or maybe he was getting someone to pretend to be him.
But tonight, I’d caught him meeting with people in a strange house. Further examination had revealed they’d stolen from the king.
Pend would never want to admit it, but Caldren was certainly his father’s son. He seemed to enchant everyone to follow him with his wit, charm and confidence. But without a more sanctioned way for him to utilize his talents, he’d found his own avenues.
I headed to the castle, and the servants melted out of my way as I walked through. Everyone knew how much King Pend valued his assassins. Perhaps, he valued me most of all.
We’d soon find out. Pend’s wife had died the night his hand shriveled, and I wasn’t the only one to share his bed since. There’d been no other heirs, and not every woman who ever filled in for his wife had retired peacefully. Some had disappeared.
I liked my odds, but I always had an escape plan anyway.
I made my way into his study. Pend sat in front of the fire, his drink empty on the table beside him. He was staring into the flickering flames, brooding. I wondered sometimes if he missed his first wife, or any of the other people he’d murdered. Pend had always done whatever it took to gain power.
I took his drink cup and carried it to the bar, fixing us both new drinks. He’d never exactly invited me to join him each evening, but he always seemed to appreciate my presence. I knew how to read a room and when to melt away. That was a helpful technique in surviving the royals.
I carried the drink over to him.
He clinked his glass with mine absently. “I’m curious what you been up to tonight.”
“I wanted to talk to you.” I sank to my knees in front of him, but dared to rest my elbow familiarly on his knee.
“Good news or bad?”
“Some bad,” I admitted. “And some I just don’t know whether you’ll see as good or bad.”
“Well then let’s get on with it. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I’ve been watching Caldren. There is no doubt about it. He’s leading a band of rebels out of the Twisted Pines. Tonight, for the first time I saw him leave the Twisted Pines, but he appeared at the Pines simultaneously.”
I watched Pend’s face, but he simply nodded. He’d known what Caldren was doing if we didn’t have direct proof. I’d always wondered if he’d want me to strike Caldren down, but I had the feeling something stayed his hand besides the magic.
I went on. “I think he’s found an entrance to the tunnels that he was using to move while he has someone else fill in his place at the Twisted Pines.”
At the mention of his precious tunnels, Pend’s fingers tightened on the arms of his chair, but he nodded. “Lesson learned. Never disinherit a son. It’s better just to kill them.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to turn this into an opportunity, my King.”
“My sons both turned out to be such disappointments.”
“Both of them? I know Jaik has fallen in love with an inappropriate woman but he remains loyal to you.”
“Not for long. Just as I should be preparing to pass the throne to him, he has made it clear he would reduce my legacy to ruins. He’s weak—I might as well just put the Lord of the Scourge on my throne myself.”
“Perhaps he is just not ready for the throne. But in time, he might come to be.”
“Perhaps.” Pend did not seem impressed by the idea.
I hoped that perhaps he would consider replacing his son with another. “Maybe you can try again.”
Pend regarded me skeptically. “You know how hard it is for our people to conceive. It took magic to force all the Elders’ wives to bear their sons.”
“It is hard…typically.”
“What are you saying, Faleen? Are you making me an offer?” “No, my King. I’m telling you it’s already done.” I ran my hand over the slight curve of my stomach, that was not quite visible through my clothes.
I knew he would want to have me examined by the royal physician, and tested to be sure it was his son growing inside me. But I knew it was. I had served King Pend since he plucked me off the street when I was a begging orphan child, and I was always faithful to him, in every way.
Pend studied me with hard, curious eyes. “I don’t know what to say, Faleen. This is quite the surprise.”
“It comes as a surprise to me as well.” I hesitated. “To be honest, my King, I doubted whether to tell you that it was yours. But then I thought, if I were to give birth to a child who becomes a dragon, you might notice.”
“I’m glad you told me. We will have to talk more about this, but it may be a joyous thing. And an advantageous thing to both of us.” I bowed to him and started to leave but he caught my wrist in his hand and reeled me back toward him. “I am inclined to think it is both joyous and advantageous, Faleen.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips. It was tender; he’d never kissed me outside the bed. I sank to my knees gratefully in front of him when he let me go, and he smiled as I reached for him.
I was smiling when I left his den. Out in the antechamber, I found Rond skulking as he so often was.
I gestured for him to come. “Walk with me.”
“Why not? You always ask so nicely.”
I wondered how long it would take for news of my pregnancy to reach Jaik’s spymaster, Branok. Probably not long. He and Lynx had terrified half the city into passing information to them. If they hadn’t been such pains in the ass, I would have been impressed by them.