Page 14 of To Kill a King

That was how she did it! The kitten! It was just his luck that the most powerful mage remaining in his kingdom was also a shapeshifter. Walter had promised if they kept Aliya dehydrated, she wouldn’t be able to change shape. Clearly, her father didn’t know what he’d been talking about. Or he’d been flat-out lying.

Malkov cursed and slammed his fist against the armrest. Shadow arched her back and skittered to the far side of the desk.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. The wedding festivities must have addled his brain. But the other feline had been so small he hadn’t even considered the possibility.

Narrowing his eyes, he studied Shadow. But, of course, she couldn’t have known…she was just a cat.

Reaching for her, he threaded his fingers through her long black fur. He exhaled as the vibrating purr chased the headache away.

She shifted from side to side, massaging the edge of his desk with her front feet.

“What am I going to do?” he asked her. “If I can’t even control my wife, how can I expect to maintain power?”

He had to get her back. Even as a shapeshifter, there were few places in the realm where she could hide from his tattoo or Brooks’ magestone. The Mage College was an obvious choice, but she had to know that would be the first place he’d search.

Shadow licked her nose and tilted her head, moving his hand to scratch under her cheek. She purred louder as he hit the desired spot.

He leaned back in the chair and studied the oval-shaped skulls mounted above his door, their elongated canines on full display. The remains of the two sun elves who’d killed his parents.

Already the vultures at court circled, sensing weakness. The King's Guard were loyal, but he couldn’t risk having them scattered across the realm in a search for Aliya. He needed them here.

And as the Master Artificer constantly reminded him, he required a power boost to finish the construction of the Whisperers…his ultimate weapon, and the only way he could hope to defeat the elven army.

Perhaps a visit to the Mage College would kill two birds with one stone, allowing him a decent volume of magic and eliminate a hiding place for his new wife.

Malkov glanced at his ledger book. On the off chance he failed to find her there, he could bring in outside help. With a high enough reward, he’d have eyes in every city, on every road, in the kingdom. How much could he afford to offer? The alchemists developing his new weapons devoured the crown’s excess funds, and that was no less of a priority.

A tight smile stretched across his lips. No one said he had to pay the reward. If the hunter and the bounty both disappeared upon delivery, no one would think twice, assuming the unfortunate left quietly to enjoy their prize unmolested.

“Mrow?” Shadow protested when he withdrew his hands and stood. It was time to refresh his magic, too, or Brooks’ magestone would die. There were still a few prisoners below with sufficient levels of power to meet his needs.

He unlatched the door. “Send a message to the scribe. One thousand gold pieces for the safe return of Her Majesty, Aliya Larimar Cerel. The reward is void if she is returned… damaged.” The guard outside saluted and pulled the door closed.

Turning to the one remaining man in the room, he said, “Brooks, get her back. Alive. She can’t have gone far.” Shoving himself from his chair, Malkov stepped past him. “I’ll be in the dungeon.”

Chapter 4

Aliya

Aliya awoke with the sunrise, a great deal warmer than she had been. Her cloak lay bunched up under her head for a pillow. She didn’t remember doing that, but the material felt much more comfortable than using her arm. As the memories from yesterday flooded back, she groaned. She was sleeping in a stranger’s bedroll…and not just any stranger, an elf! Would it be acceptable to bury her face in the blue fabric and go back to sleep? Something scraped against stone, and she cracked her eyes open.

Across camp, Elessan sat next to three piles of firewood, fletching more arrows for his quiver. The early sunlight cast shadows over the angular features of his face. Two pointed ears poked out from between strands of hair. His skin looked much darker than she had realized last night. The dim lighting led her to assume he was merely the tan of a sun elf. Lilac-colored eyes caught Aliya’s gaze.

“A mountain elf? I thought they were extinct?” She blurted the words before thinking. Aghast at her manners, she slapped her hand over her mouth.

A wave of sorrow passed over his face, distorting his features and twisting her gut.

Well done, Aliya. And here he’d been so nice with not hauling her back to Malkov…maybe she could be rude enough to convince him to change his mind.

“True, there aren’t many of us left,” he said.

In the morning light, he looked young. Were he human, he likely wouldn’t be more than a few years older than she was. Elves were basically immortal, though, so their age was hard to guess from physical appearance alone. At least, according to her tutors. But her teachers had been wrong about elves’ predilection for kidnapping young women they came across, as well as their simple-mindedness. Perhaps they were mistaken about other qualities, too.

His eyes were a stunning lilac. If she wasn’t careful, she would lose herself staring. And wouldn’t that be awkward?

What would she look like with eyes that color?

“I’m sorry,” she said.