true, Centarlo? Are you slacking off when you’re supposed to be working?”
“Well, technically, yes. But Setin here felt faint in the hot sun, and I brought him over to cool off for a moment and fan him—so he wouldn’t get heat stroke. He needed to lie down because he was about to pass out. And, yes, I admit, I was smoking a quick cigarette while I waited for him to come around…uh, sir. Just to settle my nerves. You know how it is.”
The piercing green eyes swept over him. “I see. A contraband cigarette.” He turned to Setin. “Is that what happened?”
Setin nodded his head up and down emphatically. “Oh yes, Your Worship. I was all faint-like.”
“Uh huh. Then tell me, what is it you’re doing there on your knees like that?”
Setin glanced up at the guard, whose face was carefully blank, though something flickered in his eyes. “Uh…I was praying, Your Worship. Praying for better health.”
Bonnett’s lips twitched. “Ah. Is that right? Well, get up, both of you, and come with me. Sergeant, you can go back to whatever it was you were doing. Tell the detail officer I’m detaining Centarlo and Setin, and they’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes sir!” the guard said, quickly giving Bonnett another salute. Without another word, he took off out of the alley, moving at a fast clip.
Bonnett stared after him with a frown. “Is there anything either of you would like to tell me about Sgt. Talzar? Anything he might have done or said that was out of order?”
“No, Your Worship,” Setin replied. “Thank you though.”
Bonnett glanced over at Rasc, whose face was carefully expressionless. “You’re sure? Very well then. I wouldn’t come back here anytime soon if I were you. That guard will be watching out for you.”
“Yes, sir,” Setin said and Bonnett nodded.
“Come with me then. If, that is, you’re sufficiently recovered from your ‘fainting’ spell.”
“Oh yes, sir. Seeing you was like a tonic to me.”
“Mm hm. Well, come along.” Bonnett’s lips twitched again, but he led the way out of the alley with them following close behind. They’d had a narrow escape from Talzar’s fists, not to mention the guard’s tendency to demand sex from the few prisoners who were left. Most of them were Farlians or people like Rasc who had gotten caught up in Prince Tibiel’s schemes and were now paying the price.
And Setin had been right to lie about what he was doing on his knees. Talzar would have only made him very sorry later on if he’d said anything. Though once the Farlian finished, it would have been Rasc’s turn, so he counted it as a lucky escape for himself too. Otherwise, he probably would have had to kill the guard, and it would have been difficult to hide the body. Not impossible, but it would have been a lot of work.
Bonnett was heading for the palace, and it had been a very long time since Rasc had been inside its cool, dark halls. He wondered what he’d done to warrant such a visit and why Colonel Bonnett was taking them inside. Was this going to be a good thing or something extremely unpleasant? Judging from recent experience, it could easily go either way.
Chapter Four
It was no chore at all for Rasc to follow Colonel Bonnett as he walked across the palace grounds on his way to see Prince Larz. His long red hair lay across his broad shoulders, making a nice contrast to the black uniform he wore, the badass one, with the dark leather-looking material stretched tight across his ass. Rasc wondered how old the colonel was—surely no more than his early twenties. Tygerians, especially from the noble families like Bonnett’s, judging from his high-toned accent, soared up through the ranks at an impossibly young age. But then their entire army was made up of young men. Young men had made up the bulk of Allied losses too before the treaty was signed. Rasc himself was only thirty-one, though he felt much older.
To his surprise, Bonnett led them inside and directly down the broad main corridor to what used to be the king’s privy council chamber, and now had a Tygerian guard stationed outside. The man saluted as Bonnett came up to the door.
“Is he in his office?”
The guard nodded. “Yes, sir. His mate is with him, but you can go in. He said to interrupt him as soon as you arrived, sir.”
The guard opened the door and ushered them inside. Bonnett overtook the guard