Count talking to missing king (5)
I believe the answer is:
total
'count' is the definition.
(totaling is a kind of counting)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for total that I've seen before include "It might be grand" , "energy provider" , "Entirety" , "Count" , "Entire sum" .)