Page 45 of To Kill a King
She held up an arm. Elessan took it, helping her stand. He slowly released his hold when he seemed certain she wouldn’t topple over. “I may as well go find out what I’ve signed myself up for.”
“His name’s Jalius Cogtinker. And he’s a little…odd.”
She nodded her thanks and led Elessan out the door.
Her healer loitered against a stack of wood pallets, smoking a pipe. A girl, possibly no older than Aliya, with her frizzy hair pulled back into a braid, was whispering with him. She jumped at Aliya’s approach, displaying a puffy black eye. With a furtive glance at the gnome, she spun and scampered off down the alley.
“Ah, Your Majesty.” Jalius gave her a lopsided smile and quick head bob. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”
“Thank you.” She bit back the retort ‘no thanks to you’ and faced him. Her heart skipped a beat. They may as well get this over with before she lost her nerve. “You asked for a favor?”
He chuckled and exhaled a cloud of fumes. “Straight to the point. I think I’ll grow to like you, Your Majesty.”
She waited as the silence lingered. The muscles between her shoulder blades tensed as her pulse thudded in her ears.
Jalius took another deep puff on the pipe and blew a double smoke ring in Elessan’s direction. “The elf says you’re a mage, and the king tried to murder you.”
Aliya pressed her lips into a thin line. She crossed her arms and jutted one hip out as she tapped her foot on the ground. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with these people knowing so much about her, but she trusted Elessan. And what was done, was done, so there was no changing it now.
He nodded. “You’ve got more than your share of magic. And you’re in a unique position to use it.”
Aliya’s stomach churned as a bitter aftertaste rose in her throat. Suddenly, she knew what he wanted. No. He couldn’t ask that of her.
He flashed her a quick grin. “I want you to kill a king, Your Majesty. Your husband, to be specific.”
She flinched. She couldn’t—she’d barely escaped his clutches the first time. “You’re talking treason,” she hissed.
He glanced around the empty alley. “Who’s going to tell?”
She sighed. Fair point. And it would be nice to have Malkov permanently out of her life.
As long as someone else did it. She was no murderer.
He clicked his tongue at her. “Regardless, the deed needs to be done. His reign of terror must end. You’re the only one who can do it—you hold a legal claim to the throne, connections among the nobility, and you’re a magic user, so the rest of us can rally behind you.” He leaned forward. “Not to mention full access to the castle, and probably the king’s own rooms.”
She shuddered at the memory of her most recent visit there, just last night. “But—”
Jalius crossed his arms and fixed her with a hard glare, his pipe dangling from the corner of his mouth. “You promised me a favor. This is what I want. The boon the Mage Underground demands. If you do this, Your Majesty, we’ll support you however we can in the act, and back you as queen.”
“But I don’t want the crown.” A life of lying, manipulation, and constantly wondering which ally would be the next to stab her in the back was not something she aspired to.
Elessan squeezed her shoulder.
“Are you not a woman of your word, Your Majesty?”
Aliya sighed. Yes, she was. Dang it. “Very well.” Brushing a hand over the top of her head, she groaned. She’d just have to figure out some way to make it happen. The gods knew her magic wouldn’t get it done. Maybe she could hire an assassin…?
Jalius pulled out a dagger and gestured toward her.
She stepped back. “What?”
“Give me your hand, please. For the Irrevocable Vow.”
A what? “Do you doubt my promise as sovereign?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I have no reservations regarding your intention, Your Majesty.”
Only her drive to fulfill it. The words hung between them as she glared at the gnome.