Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(11)

“I have thought of that on occasion,” Declan admitted. “It would make things simpler. I was not behind this attempt. We need to focus on what is important. Guard, you must search the town and find this would-be assassin.”

Lee walked into the tavern dragging his prize behind him. “I’ll save you the trouble, Your Highness. Donovan and I took care of it.”

“Is he alive?” Declan looked down at the man but there was no spark of recognition in his eyes.

“Of course,” Lee replied. “He was a wimp, though. One friendly tap from the vampire and he went out. I guess you faeries aren’t as tough as you like to say you are.”

The way the faery’s face was swelling up, it looked like more than just a love tap. That man had been lucky Lee had been there or Danny might have taken him apart. I was sure Lee had been the voice of reason. We needed him alive. I was certain Danny would get his kill in later after certain questions had been answered.

Declan flushed, embarrassed by the accusation. For all of his flaws, Declan didn’t back down from a fight. It must have chafed to be treated like something that needed protection. Now he had to admit the outsiders, people he considered common criminals, had handled the situation better than his precious guard. Declan shook off his emotions and charged on. “He must be brought in for questioning. We must figure out if this is a lone, unstable person or part of a larger plot.”

I was betting on the larger plot. I hadn’t been in Faery for more than a day, so it would surprise me if I already had enemies. It usually took me a couple of days before I had a group who collectively wanted to kill me. This wasn’t about me, though I had been the target.

Someone didn’t like the royal family.

Dev was getting his feet back under him and now that the immediate threat was over, he stared his brother down. I got the feeling he was ready to fight Daniel for a piece of Declan. “You will inform the guard that I can handle myself.”

“Do not be ridiculous, brother. I am not going to tell the guard to back off you,” Declan declared. “You are a precious resource for this kingdom. Not only are you a royal, you are second in line for the throne and an ascended god. You must have a guard. My only mistake was not placing a guard on Zoey. I believe I tried to get you to allow it.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “That royal guard of yours would have been helpful.”

“Finally, she listens to reason,” Declan said.

“They would have been good at carrying out my corpse,” I admitted. “Your guard did nothing until Lee raised the alarm. They didn’t notice the assassin. My wolf did and Neil had me covered before your boys thought to show up. Keep your guards, Dec. I’ll put my wolves up against them any day of the week.”

I looked down at the man unconscious on the floor. His face was a mottled mess, and I could tell very little about him except that he’d pissed off Danny.

“I don’t think I know him,” Dev admitted.

“Neil, Zack.” Lee called his little army to come forward. “Get his scent. Memorize it.”

Everyone in the tavern watched as the wolves got on all fours and ran their noses everywhere. They took their time and cataloged the lightest of smells that could come in handy later.

“Why do they need to do this?” Declan frowned, watching them. “When he wakes up, we will ask him questions and he will answer.”

Lee’s brown eyes rolled. “Yes. He’ll just tell you everything he knows because he wants to help.”

“Well, I intended to torture him,” Declan admitted.

Daniel looked down at the man who probably didn’t have long to live. “I’ll get him to talk.”

Dev agreed. “Nothing you do, brother, can be as persuasive as Daniel when he gets his freak on. Trust me. One look at Dan’s beast and this * will be begging to make a full confession. We’ll handle the interrogation.”

“I have to think about it.” A stubborn look settled on Declan’s face.

“She is our wife.” Daniel’s fangs had popped out.

“Fine, you can ask the questions,” Declan agreed with a long-suffering sigh. “We will hold him at the palace until he recovers enough for us to beat him again. I’ll get our best healer on it. I want him healthy for his torture.”

The boys argued about which fun torture method would work the best, the wolves continued their scent adventure, and I couldn’t help but think. No one knew about my possible pregnancy. I’d been married to Devinshea for roughly two weeks. It wouldn’t occur to these people, who waited decades to get pregnant, that I might already be carrying a child. Since it was obvious Declan had kept his big mouth shut, I discounted the attempt had been made because of the child. I didn’t set policy or have anything to do with politics. I hadn’t even met my mother-in-law yet. So while I was the pawn, I wasn’t the true target. Someone thought my death would hurt a member of the royal family.

This had to be about Devinshea.

“You’re sure you don’t know him?” I asked husband number two.

He studied the assassin again. “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. Dan messed him up.”

Neil and Zack were on their feet again. Zack looked at his boss. “If it helps I think he works with candles.”

“Yeah, he smells like beeswax,” Neil agreed. “It’s all over his hands. He also smells like cabbage. Eww.”