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"The king isn’t shielded," Mychael said in the barest whisper

Tae’s lips were curled in a half smile and he hadThe people in the crowd probably thought his s’s speech, and his ’s presence

"--our only concern," Sathrik continued "Like myself, Lord Chancellor Nukpana has sworn to uphold and protect the sanctity of the goblin throne and…" Sathrik gestured to where Sarad Nukpana was supposed to be standing The king froze as annoyance, confusion, then wide-eyed realization and terror passed in a wave over his face

Sarad Nukpana’s sally inclined his head

For all to see, he was acknowledging his lord and king’s coiven so

The assassin took it

A bolt took King Sathrik Mal’Salin square in the chest and passed co up to the fletching in a royal guard standing directly behind his king

His dead king

A second bolt caught Sarad Nukpana in the upper chest, spinning hiround

"Mortekal!" more than one voice shouted

Deidre?

Oh, unholy hell

"No!" Cyran Nathrach screaed him off the balcony

Tah the crowd to his !" Khrynsani guards surrounded Sarad Nukpana, lifted hi his body with their own

Deidre’s bolt was sticking out of his shoulder

He wasn’t dead The bastard was still alive

"That monster has more lives than a cat!" Imala snarled

Tam turned and started to run toward the last turn we’d taken to get under the square, the place where he could get to the street--and his ot his own ripped off in the process There was soot Tarowled "Everything your parents did will have been for nothing! Is that what you want?"

Ta One sharp twist of his head and he could rip out Mychael’s throat They both knew it Mychael could have rip on Tam He didn’t Instead he relaxed his hold

"Tam, we strike e can win" Mychael’s voice was low and intense "We e will get theh until that ti He’d always been the one pulling Sathrik’s strings Noas official

The king is dead Long live the king

Like hell

Chapter 11

Sarad Nukpana was the goblin king

Sathrik Mal’Salin’s assassination had reduced our archvillain population by one Sarad Nukpana had taken a crossbow bolt in the shoulder That would slow a normal person down for a couple of days Unfortunately for the population of the seven kingdoms, Nukpana wasn’t normal I wasn’t even sure if he even qualified as a person anyet that bolt dug out of his shoulder Then h thefor sure if theabout was Deidre But Cyran’s scream told us that he’d seen his wife--and probably had seen her either captured or killed As to why Deidre went for Sathrik first… it et you know you can hit Sarad Nukpana had made it easy for her That didn’t explain how she’d been able to stick a bolt in Nukpana, or how he knew of her plans All of that didn’t matter, at least not now

Sathrik Mal’Salin hadn’t needed to tell us his evilhim up for an assassin’s bolt, Sarad Nukpana had told the world his intentions He not only wanted to wipe out the Resistance, but the entire Mal’Salin dynasty My mind reeled at the implications With Sathrik dead, Nukpana would step in and take the king’s place with hisat his side, ousting the Mal’Salins and creating a new ruling family dynasty The Resistance would take the blame for the assassination Sarad Nukpana would claidom was in chaos on the eve of their triu The Resistance would be hunted down to the last ht now, chaos was good

The assassination had caused a virtual sta other than theoing away fros and need for concealh the city where we could pass unseen or at least the risk would be less