Chapter 2
Two
A round us, the court exploded into whispers, and Eona?’s expression was carefully controlled, but her eyes were so round that she looked like one of the paintings of the moon goddess.
“Emperor Tallu”—her smile was strained—“my brother is quite handsome and has many fine qualities, but?—”
“I’ve made my decision.” Tallu looked me over, his finger moving to a lock of hair that had fallen loose from the tail at the back of my head. He tucked it back behind my ear, and I was sure that time froze. The feel of his finger was warm, and the scent of him overwhelmed me.
This close, he smelled like lightning, a sharpness that made my nostrils flare. There was something else, but I couldn’t pinpoint it, couldn’t grasp anything except the way his finger lingered on my face.
Then, he turned back to his throne. The world snapped back into focus, and I realized that everything was wrong. All of Mother’s careful negotiations, twenty years of training and planning, were gone in an instant.
I grabbed at his wrist, my hand closing around silk and delicate bones. He turned to me, and his eyes dropped to my hand.
A cold blade pressed against my throat.
One of the Emperor’s Dogs stood so close behind me that I could feel the outline of his body, the sharp edges of his armor. Tallu didn’t even look at him, flicking the fingers of his free hand.
The blade disappeared.
“I’m deeply honored, Your Imperial Majesty,” I managed, “by your suggestion, but Eona? has been training to be your empress, and I am merely a northern hunter. I have no desire to be your consort.”
“Are you saying you don’t consent?” Tallu was taller than me, just enough that on the step above me, it felt like he towered, the power difference between us a physical thing.
“I would never dream of challenging you,” I said slowly. “But it is not my wish to be your consort.”
Only your assassin.
“Unfortunately for you”—Tallu leaned in close, purring into my ear—“your consent is not required. Your father made a bargain to save his precious kingdom. Now you must pay, or that deal is undone, and the Imperium’s navy sails for the Northern Kingdom. Yield to me, Prince Airón.”
There were still scorch marks on the rocks that guarded the bay protecting the Silver City. The whales had only barely had one generation since the war. Father told of a time when there were enough to fill the bay, to overturn the massive metal ships the Imperium sailed.
Now, we barely had enough whales to patrol our waters. There was a fraction of their number left. It would take a hundred years for them to recover. Maybe even two hundred.
“Of course,” I said, mind whirling. I had to be smarter. I had to be smart enough to best Emperor Tallu, even when he was able to threaten my home like he was ordering the bedding aired out before summer. “I will fulfill the contract my father brokered.”
“Good,” he said. He stepped back, his expression dropping back to chilly neutrality as he turned, his robe flowing around him. He stepped up onto the dais. “The deal is fulfilled. You may return north, Princess Eona?. Take Lord Fuyii with you or don’t, but he needs to be on his way out of the Imperium by the end of the week.”
“No.” Eona?’s round eyes found mine, and she wet her lips before softening her tone. “My lord, in the Northern Kingdom, it is necessary to have family from the betrothed present at the wedding. Otherwise, it’s not a valid ceremony.”
“We are in the Imperium,” he said. “Such a conceit is not necessary here, and I doubt your father would appreciate my stealing both his children for so long.”
“My lord—” Eona? lowered her head, the motion a clear act of supplication in the complicated physical language of the Imperium.
“I am not your lord.” Tallu flicked his robe so that it fell perfectly when he sat on his throne. “The correct form of address is Your Imperial Majesty .”
Eona? paled, licking her lips again, but before she could say anything, I grabbed hold of her elbow, squeezing once.
“Your Imperial Majesty… Betrothed.” I gentled my address, trying to remember the physical sign of apology and coming up with a vague memory of a specific head nod that I had no urge to try in case it actually meant screw you and everyone in your extended family . “We have spent our whole lives together. Let us have a few days to say goodbye. I would take it as a gift, a favor to me.”
Tallu stared at me, his chin resting on his hand again, and I was faced with a sudden, sharp memory of his fingers brushing over my skin, his fingers touching me.
“No,” he said finally, his voice echoing. “She must leave before the tide turns. You may have a few hours, but your sister is leaving tonight.”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding my head carefully. “Is there somewhere more private we might say goodbye?”
“Of course.” Tallu flicked his fingers, and one of his masked guards stepped forward. He leaned back and whispered in the Dog’s ear.
The guard stepped down and led us through a side door and back into the Turtle House area of the palace. Nohe waited, hands clasped.
When she saw the guard, she bowed low. “Sagam.”
“Prince Airón is staying as the emperor’s betrothed. The girl is going back on the first ship north. They are to have somewhere private to say their goodbyes.” The faceless guard—Sagam—took a step back as though he was going to follow Eona? all the way to the dock and possibly even the Silver City to make sure she returned safely to our mother.
“The greeting room should suffice. Unless you would prefer your quarters, Prince Airón?” She looked at me, her tone neutral, and I couldn’t read anything in her expression.
“My quarters. At least give my sister the grace to know the emperor won’t be keeping me in a prison cell.” I grinned to show it was a joke.
Nohe’s lips twitched reflexively, and then she glanced at Sagam.
“Is that also a northern wedding tradition?” our guard asked, and only the tone of his voice said he was teasing. His body was so still I couldn’t see his chest rise with his breath.
“Oh yes,” I said. “A holdover from when ancient warriors used to kidnap ice nymphs for brides. Now, it just means a lot of very well-appointed prison cells to keep up with tradition.”
“This way,” Nohe said, drawing my attention back to her. She gestured toward the hallway, using the same respectful gesture she had with Eona?.
We passed through a set of doors into an inner courtyard, then up a set of stairs to a large set of rooms. The receiving room opened to a balcony that wrapped around the building, two servants standing ready along the wall, their hands clasped in front of them.
“These are the guest quarters you’ll be staying in until the emperor decides which rooms you’ll be in permanently.” Nohe walked to a set of two doors, opening them to reveal a bedroom larger than my mother’s in the Silver City. “If anything here isn’t to your liking, please inform me immediately.”
She waited, and I looked between her and Sagam. “I appreciate such a kind gesture of hospitality. As the emperor has been clear regarding the time constraints, right now, my desire is to be alone with my sister.”
Nohe bowed low, the other servants following suit, all with their fingers forming triangles above their foreheads. She rose and walked through the other room, taking the two other servants with her. Sagam lingered. Wearing his mask, only his eyes were visible.
“I will fetch her with enough time to make the ship.” He bowed, not nearly as low as Nohe. It was respect one would show to someone of equal rank.
So, being the Emperor’s Dog gave him a position closer to my peer than servant to the emperor’s betrothed. He left on silent feet, so quietly that if I hadn’t been watching him closely, I wouldn’t have known he had gone.
When we were alone, Eona? drew me close, wrapping me in a tight hug. In Northern, she said, “No, we have a few hours. We can find a way to?—”
“A way to what?” I murmured into her ear, purposefully speaking quickly, using the slangy language she and I had developed as children. For anyone who wasn’t from the Silver City, it would be nearly impossible to translate. “Switch positions? How many windows have you trained to climb into? How many ways have you learned to… gut a fish?”
“I won’t leave you alone here,” Eona? said sharply. “I won’t. I’ll come back as a maidservant. I’ll disguise myself. We are two halves of the same soul, Airón.”
“No,” I said, whispering into her ear. No one could hear what I had to say. “I will do both parts, be both sides. I will do this. I will end it for Mother and you and the Silver City. And you, my precious sister. You will live . It is a boon I couldn’t have hoped for. Do you understand?”
“Not without you,” she wept into my shirt.
I drew back, pushing her to arm’s length. “Go back to Mother. Tell her I will be the son she raised.”
The message hit. We were both the weapons our mother had raised instead of children. Eona? wiped at her face, her tears drying as she paced back and forth. “Do you know enough of the language of court?”
“I was at your lessons,” I said, crossing my arms sulkily.
“And were you paying attention, or were you thinking about the weapons you could talk Mother into commissioning?” she countered. “Your best bet will be to play ignorance. Claim that Lord Fuyii was worthless as a teacher.”
“He was worthless,” I muttered.
“He was able to instruct the students who paid attention,” Eona? said primly.
“Meaning you.” I pinched her cheek. “Always with the ‘yes, master’ and ‘no, master.’”
She grabbed my wrist, staring at my eyes. “You will be careful? You will try to survive?”
I knew what she meant. To anyone else, it might just sound like a reference to the cutthroat nature of the court. To me, it was a desperate hope, the one we’d secretly shared even though we knew better. One didn’t survive killing an emperor and thrusting the Imperium into the chaos that would follow.
“I will do my best,” I said.
“I will see her!” a voice bellowed out in the hall, and I recognized the anger and the petulance in it.
Whatever was said back evidently wasn’t satisfactory. I grimaced a smile at Eona?. “Still think he was a good teacher? Or simply using you because he thought you were his pass back into the Imperial Capital? No one would say no to one so close to the empress.”
Eona? rolled her eyes in amusement. She crossed the large receiving room and opened the door. Sagam stood on the other side, his arms crossed as he braced against the full fury of Lord Fuyii’s impotence. Nohe fluttered nearby, her expression pained.
“There!” Fuyii tried to move around Sagam, but the guard grabbed at his jacket, dragging him off his feet.
“It’s alright,” Eona? said. “He should be allowed to say goodbye.”
Fuyii’s eyes went wide, and his face twisted in rage. “You ungrateful brat . Now that you’re atop the throne, you think you don’t need me? You’ll always?—”
“Let him in,” Eona? said, stepping back, her hand lingering on the doorframe.
“Are you sure?” Sagam asked. He released Fuyii, and the man stumbled back, righting himself and tugging at his jacket before pushing past Sagam.
Eona? looked at me before turning back to Sagam. “We’ll be fine.”
She shut the door, and Fuyii strode in, his gaze taking in the room before turning to Eona?. “You don’t even know how he’s shunning you! Putting you in guest quarters when you should be in the family palace! Making you stay in Turtle House only asserts that you are not his intended. That he has no intention of welcoming you into the family.”
“He has no intention of marrying me,” Eona? said, passing Fuyii and settling onto one of the pillows around the center table. “He made that clear.”
“He what?” Lord Fuyii looked at me, and I nodded. “No. He must at least follow the terms of the bargain. There is a way out of this. Did you suggest becoming his consort bride instead of his empress? The position has fewer benefits, but you would still be in the palace.”
“He did mention becoming consort,” I said. “What do you mean there are differences?”
“This is why you need me.” Fuyii turned to Eona?. “Both are considered the emperor’s wife, however, a consort is the mistress of her own household but still within the emperor’s household. The empress is mistress of the emperor’s household, but a consort has her own. It’s independence, but the cost is power, although not much, as the consort still has the emperor’s ear and his affection. She also has her own duties. In the past, emperors have given consorts minister-level positions, sometimes to the detriment of the empire.”
“So it sounds like they’re powerful people,” I said, considering the silky way Emperor Tallu had said my consort . What position was he planning for me?
“It would also fulfill the requirements of the agreement between the Imperium and the Northern Kingdom.” Lord Fuyii sniffed. “Which seems to be all your mother cares about.”
“Yes,” I said, looking at him. “Lord Fuyii, why were you banished? You were Minister of the Treasury before you left. That’s a powerful position, otherwise Mother never would have taken you on as Eona?’s teacher.”
“ Both of your teacher,” he said sharply. “Not that you took in any of your lessons.”
“Why were you banished?” I asked.
“Emperor Millu was confused about my intentions with Krustau. My mistress was from there. She worked for the ambassador’s household, and her father was a high-ranking official. We exchanged letters when I was considering marrying her to make our child legitimate.” He drew his chin back. “The emperor took it as disloyalty, and others in court convinced him that I was intending to betray the Imperium to Krustau. As though I would ever ?—”
“How did he find out?” I asked.
“I never knew. His Imperial Majesty had copies of my letters with my mistress, impossible copies. They were word-for-word identical, but I burned the letters; I never met with her in public. How could he have known what was written in them? And in isolation, without any context, they did appear to be a payout from the Krustavian treasury, but that is just how the Krustau commit their marriage negotiations.” So, he wasn’t about to admit that Tallu had been behind his downfall, meaning he was still hoping Eona? would risk her reputation to save him. Lord Fuyii turned to Eona?. “I have been nothing but loyal to the Imperium, and I would be nothing but loyal to you. Your mother took me in when I had no one else. I will pay that back.”
The gleam in his eyes said differently, and Eona? could read his greed as well as I could. “It is not me you need to beg.”
“What?” Lord Fuyii frowned. “The emperor? I will not go groveling to him, not to the boy who ruined my life… That is, not a man who was only a boy when I knew him.”
“He ruined your life because he exposed you?” I asked mildly.
Lord Fuyii’s lips went pinched. “That is what I have recently learned. That the copies of my letters came from him. He always had a reputation… ah, well, that was years ago.”
“So if she argues for you, her first act as consort would be to beg her husband to let back in a traitor Emperor Tallu exposed?” I asked, looking at Eona?. “That sounds like a bad deal, sister. Perhaps you would be better arguing for a tiger as a pet. At least that would get you an entertaining pet and not an exiled minister who thinks he owns your success.”
“You dare to be so rude . I am your better! I am your superior. I am your teacher.” Fuyii raised his closed fan to slap it across my face, but I was faster, grabbing it in midair and using it to tug Fuyii closer to me.
“Be careful, master ,” I said. “Eona? wasn’t lying. She is not the one you should be asking for help.”
“I will not beg that insidious worm Tallu for a favor,” he hissed. “Your sister owes me. She is in my debt.”
“But I am not.” I dropped his hand. “And I am the one who will wed the emperor. I will be his consort.”
Fuyii went pale. “If Tallu is emperor, he needs a wife. He needs an heir. He has no need of you .”
“Why would he take me then?” I said.
Fuyii shook his head. “I always thought the firstborn agreement was to disrupt the Northern Kingdom. If your sister had a child, then the Imperium could invade, claiming it for her child. If he takes you… well, it would leave the north without an heir. Perhaps that is his intention. To throw the north into political chaos.”
I didn’t say that I would never have been my mother’s heir, as that honor went to our eldest female cousin, Irad?o, or, now that she was not staying in the south, Eona?. Southerners didn’t understand our matrilineal clan system and never would. Instead, I said harshly, “You never told us that. You never told us that the emperor intended to use Eona? as a pawn in order to do what he couldn’t twenty years ago.”
“Grow up, boy! You are about to be the royal consort! Tallu must have a plan. He killed his father and now sets up no legacy for himself? He is too smart for that. A viper, indeed. He is worse than his father.” Fuyii straightened. “Perhaps he doesn’t want an heir yet, as that would give someone smart an opportunity to break away from his rule. Any traitor could kill Tallu and put his child on the throne. No. If Tallu told his father of my plot, then he has more spies than fish in the ocean. Your days are numbered. He will come up with a reason to kill you and then use it as an excuse to attack the Northern Kingdom. Congratulations, Prince Airón. You will be the downfall of your beloved Silver City.”