Chapter 12
Twelve
M y heart stopped. Around me, the room was suddenly deathly silent.
“No, Your Imperial Majesty. I don’t intend to kill you.” The lie tasted foul on my tongue, the flavor of it rising up my throat like bile.
Eona? should be here. She had been trained to say all the pretty words that now choked me.
“Well. There we have our answer. Someone is attempting to restart conflict with the Northern Kingdom.” Tallu steepled his fingers, looking around the room. “I will find out who it is, just as I have found all of the previous men and women who were attempting to undermine the Imperium. And I will make them pay for their endeavor.”
The lights in the room flickered, flashing violently before they settled into a constant glow.
“We will seek out whoever might have sent these men,” General Saxu said mildly. “I’ll start at the forts along the border with Krustau.”
“I have a feeling whoever sent them is considerably closer to home,” Tallu said.
He turned, glancing at the ministers. Lord Sotonam dropped into a reflexive bow, and the others followed suit, their expressions pale, cheeks hollow with fear.
No. None of these men would do it. These men would sooner throw themselves in the northern ocean than participate in a plot against the emperor. Could Rute be so obvious? Would he be so foolish?
“Your Imperial Majesty.” General Saxu turned, bowing low. “May I ask how you survived?”
Tallu leaned back in his throne, both hands resting on the arms of it. His fingers were pale, and I could see the bruising underneath the tattoo on his arm. No one had offered him his robe yet, and he looked naked without it.
For a blinding second, I was reminded of clutching him tight in the water, his body against mine, the muscles of his arms and legs working, trying to keep himself above water.
“We fought off two of the men who made it onto the soothsayer’s island. When it became clear that they had taken the entire temple, we chose the river. After swimming downstream, we found a way out of the caves and made our way back to the capital through the forest.” Tallu looked around. “Did the soothsayer survive? How many of the monks were killed?”
“The soothsayer lives,” Sagam said. “And all but three of the monks were murdered.”
Tallu’s face was blank, completely unfeeling as he considered Sagam’s words. Finally, he shook his head. “The monks will not come here?”
“No. They say their place is in the caverns.” Without his mask, Sagam looked strangely exposed.
His voice held no emotion, but I could read it in the pull of his lips, the way his jaw clenched in anger. He was unable to protect these people who had died because of the Emperor’s Dogs’ failures.
“Send guards. And food. Have the chefs prepare as much as they need. When they are ready to perform the mourning rites, let us know. We should be there.” Tallu looked away, as though he was just as uncomfortable with Sagam’s exposed expression. “It has been a tiring day. Inform us when you have any more information about where these attackers came from.”
The order sent everyone into motion. The ministers left quickly, grouped together like waterfowl who knew a predator could only attack them alone. General Kacha bowed low, and Rute stepped forward.
“Cousin, I am grateful you survived the encounter. I worried for you.” Rute’s brows were drawn together, his mouth pulled down at the sides.
“Are you?” Tallu tilted his head. “Are you truly grateful to not be sitting on this throne?”
Rute’s eyes widened before narrowing. I remembered his words about Empress Koque. He understood exactly what Tallu was capable of when his position was threatened.
Had he finally overplayed his hand? Was he about to find out how ruthless the viper on the throne could be?
“Yes,” Rute said hoarsely. “Terribly grateful.”
“We are glad,” Tallu said, “to have such a devoted heir.”
Rute bowed low, his knees trembling, and I could see the hesitation, the moment he had to decide if he was going to drop to the floor. Finally, he stood, fingers forming a triangle reflexively. General Kacha bowed again before ushering Rute out.
“Well. I guess I see where the politics fall now.” I looked around the empty room, pointing to where everyone had been standing. “General Saxu believes in you. But more than that, he’s a warhorse who’s tired of battle. General Kacha isn’t tired of battle, and he would paint the streets of the Imperium red with northern blood if he could. Rute is happy as long as his appetites are fed, and right now, General Kacha is making sure his proverbial plate is overflowing. Your ministers have been castrated to the point that they will follow whatever strong wind comes their way. You might have cut the rot from your father’s council, but it’s left you vulnerable. It’s left you without any strong allies.”
I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. “Is that about the size of it?”
“Prince Airón,” Tallu said, his tone flat. “You are tired.”
“Of course I am! I dragged your half-dead body down a mountain! I found us a ride back into this… well, we agreed it wasn’t a snake den, so a very fancy hyenas’ cave you call a court?” Exhaustion crept up my spine, loosening my tongue. I was tired. I had not expected whoever tried to kill him would frame the Northern Kingdom, but the idea of the Imperium setting sail before Tallu’s blood even cooled meant my job was even more important than ever.
Well. I could handle it. I could .
My vision turned hazy, wobbling in the corners.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting down, staring up at Tallu on his throne. He hadn’t moved.
“Emperor Tallu,” I said, “I say this as someone who hopes to survive to his wedding day. You need more allies than just me. The man you’ve threatened into marriage can’t be the only one in this court loyal to you.”
Then, because it had been a long day, I passed out.
I woke up in a room I didn’t recognize. The bed was massive, silk sheets and four wooden posts that held up a canopy. Bed curtains were pulled to the side, letting in orange afternoon light. I sat up, aware I was wearing a shirt that wasn’t mine and pants I didn’t recognize.
The room was large enough to have the bed, a writing desk, and several tables pressed up against the wall, the afternoon light reflecting off polished surfaces. One entire wall was made of bookcases, the spines a mix of different colors and materials. On the ceiling, carvings of dragons graced the crown molding, chasing each other around the room. They looked so true to life that I was sure they were going to dance down and consume me whole.
“You’re awake,” Tallu said.
I blinked, sitting up too quickly, the blood rushing from my head. Spots formed in my vision, and I spun to see Tallu sitting next to the bed. He was clean and dressed, his face tinted gold in the afternoon light. He put the book he was reading on a bedside table, the long sleeve of his robe skimming over the bedsheets.
Because this was his bed. I was finally in his bed.
My stomach tightened, and I inhaled sharply. If I was Eona?, I would be able to turn this into a seduction. Instead, my stomach growled, and I said like a moon wit, “Is there food?”
Tallu stared at me, his mouth flat, and for a second, I thought I’d blown it, and then I realized he was fighting a laugh. “Yes. The doctor ordered you to eat some gruel because you need hearty sustenance?—”
The sound I made was something between offended and horrified, and Tallu laughed, the sound sending a shiver up my spine as though I’d won a prize I didn’t know I was competing for. No, this was a seduction. I was seducing him . He was not seducing me with his sly sense of humor and the cold way that he commanded his court of sociopathic vipers.
“I had the kitchen make you something better.” Tallu stood, and I started to get up, but the gesture he made with his hand was so clearly an indication for me to relax that I focused on the impossibility of relaxing rather than my continued ignorance of imperial body language. I was in Tallu’s bed. I was being waited on by the Emperor of the Southern Imperium.
Crossing the room, Tallu looked over his shoulder. “Did you mean it?”
“Did I mean what?” I asked, even as I had a feeling in my stomach I knew exactly what Tallu was talking about.
“About us being allies. Did you mean it?” Tallu took the covers off some dishes on one of the tables, and my stomach rolled with hunger at the thought of the food. “Did you mean it when you said that you were loyal to me?”
I could lie. I could lie about this and use it to bind him to me, and the lies dried up on my tongue. Tallu returned and placed a tray on my lap. I stared down at the food until he began pointing out the various dishes as though I’d never seen flatbreads and cheese before. One of the dishes was a delicate vegetable sliced thinly with fried fruit and little puffs of fatty cheese mixed in.
Taking the offered fork, I stabbed at one of the pieces of fruit and said, “You and I share a common goal.”
Tallu inhaled sharply, and I looked up, finding his impossible russet eyes staring at me as though I was all there was.
“Don’t we?” I asked quietly.
“Yes.” His voice was distant. “Yes. We do.”
The words were mechanical, and he turned away, and I swore to the great northern bear and all of her children. I had messed up, and I wasn’t sure how. When Tallu turned back to me, his face was cold. “I will leave you to recover.”
I grabbed hold of his wrist. “Wait. Stop.”
He stilled, his eyes going down to my hand on his wrist. He was going to say something like, unhand me or you dare touch me. Instead, he looked up again, and there was the man in the back of the cart with me, and everything about the intimacy, the vulnerability, made me shiver.
“What happened? Did General Saxu discover who was behind the attack?” That wasn’t the question I wanted to ask, but I wasn’t sure how to phrase what I did want to know.
“No, nothing yet.” Tallu was so still that I was positive he was actually carved from wood.
“Any evidence it was the man already claiming your throne?” I said wryly. “The one who dresses the part of the emperor and was ready to leap into your seat before they’d even found your body?”
Tallu snorted. “No. I need to be careful how I approach him. I am known to only make accusations that are accurate. And all evidence says that, despite his proclivities, Rute hasn’t been in contact with anyone from Krustau or any of their intermediaries.”
“And General Kacha?” I asked. “He’s a military general who’s traveled the whole continent.”
Tallu shook his head. “Not that I know of. So far, I haven’t been able to find any real evidence that he’s behind any of this.”
“‘So far,’” I said. “Which means you still think they’re your best suspects.”
“Which means that if it’s not them, it could be any number of people who want me dead. The traitors on the Emperor’s Council that were banished. The families of those killed. Ministers. Courtiers.” Tallu leaned back, his arm pulling free and letting my hand fall onto the soft bedding.
“As your ally, I have to say at this point, it might be easier to just cross off those you know it isn’t . There must be a few people in the palace who are still loyal to you. A scullery maid? A deaf and blind scholar? Maybe one of the stable hands?”
Tallu laughed again, and I turned back to my food. “One of the servants wouldn’t have the ability to bring Krustavian soldiers into the Imperium.”
“Yes, and why them? Surely there were some assassins closer to home,” I said, feeling as though it was an admission, even though Tallu only turned to me with a frown.
“Why Krustavian soldiers? That is a good question.”
“I do ask them occasionally. Not everything out of my mouth is nonsense.” I bit into a particularly delicate tart and groaned in pleasure.
“I don’t think a single thing out of your mouth is nonsense,” Tallu said, and I looked up to find his eyes wide, narrowing when I licked my lip. “I do not deserve the gift that your mother gave me.”
It was my turn to stare at him. “What?”
“ You . Your mother gave me you, and I do not deserve someone of your insight and intelligence.” Tallu’s face was carved from granite, as though he thought he’d done something terrible, stealing me from my mother. “I hope she does not miss you too much.”
“My mother was mostly annoyed by my tongue,” I said stupidly, which was only partially true. My mother had smiled at me fondly and with a hint of horrible grief. She had loved me as best she could, knowing I was going to die.
“The more fool her, then,” Tallu said. “Because what you are is valuable. You are a treasure, Airón of the Northern Kingdom, and I am Emperor of the Southern Imperium. I know how to treat treasure.”
He stood, towering over me, and I was sure he was going to lean down to kiss me, but instead, he started to move away, and I shoved the tray aside so hard it ended up on the ground. Grabbing hold of his shirt, I dragged him over me.
Our lips crashed together. He was startled, his mouth opening, but I was too fast. If I let him go now, I would never have the courage again. I would never be brave enough to cross the gap between what I’d trained for and what Eona? had.
But this didn’t feel like a seduction. It didn’t feel calculated; it felt like an honest response to the way he’d called me a treasure . The way his tongue had shaped my name, the way he’d looked at me and seen me beyond my smart mouth and foolish wit.
“Airón.” His voice broke on my name. “Airón.”
I shoved at his clothes, and he let me push off his robe, the silk sliding to the ground, the ties of his shirt giving under my desperate fingers. I pulled it over his head, and he let me, his eyes disappearing only for a moment before he leaned in again, his lips firm and sweet on mine.
Then he was growling, pressing me back into the mattress, pushing me down and using his body to weigh me down. He was desperate, his hands shoving up under my shirt, palms flat on my stomach, and how had I thought this would be easy?
He grabbed one of my hands, his grip tightening on my wrist, and then he released it, pulling back.
“Do you want me to stop?” I asked. I looked up to see if he’d take the excuse, but he didn’t move, still hovering above me, his hand so tight on my wrist that I could feel the bruise I’d have tomorrow.
This was just part of the job, I told myself. This was just one more part of my mission. My heart hammered in my chest, and my palm felt so hot touching his naked skin.
A brutal scar crossed his chest, and I ran the pad of my finger along it, wondering what could have caused it, what weapon would be turned against a prince. It was old, healed over and puckered, shining silver against Tallu’s dark skin. His chest stilled, and if he was breathing, it was just barely a rise and fall, almost no movement. I looked away from his chest, letting my eyes fall down to the dip of cloth where his waistband was loose, the ties hanging open.
I could flip us over, pull down his pants, suck him into my mouth. It had been in the back of my head ever since Tallu had looked so cold and so perfect up on his throne, his voice clear when he said, “You will be my consort.”
And seducing this man, making him give in to me, that was power. Because then our fates would be my decision, in a way no other decision had been since I was born, one of a matched pair intended for destruction.
I moved my thumb, tracing between the muscled planes of his chest, feeling his smooth skin, broken only by scars and a scattering of hair that trailed down, leading to the tempting waistband of his pants.
His mouth was open, eyes wide, breath coming fast. His eyes fixed on me, terrifyingly open. It was my turn to look away and focus on the gorgeous expanse of his body.
I pressed forward, raising my other hand and cupping his cheek, kissing him. His lips opened, giving in to me, and it was a relief. I had been tense for days, my body existing in the impossible state of endless anxiety.
Had it only been a few days since I’d found out that I would be his husband? Even now, I didn’t understand why, didn’t understand him. But my body did. Whatever we did, both of us would enjoy it. And maybe that was enough. Maybe that was all I needed for now.
I could worry afterward.
He moaned into my mouth, grabbing hold of my face. It was his turn to press forward, his tongue plundering my mouth, forcing me back until my spine curved, my mouth open to his assault.
He was everything, and I was desperate for more.
I moaned, the sound small and almost inaudible over the thundering of my heart. Tallu answered it, groaning and pushing forward, impossible to placate, impossible to satisfy.
He wanted everything that I was, and if I didn’t give in, he was going to take it from me.
He reached behind me, tugging at the tie in my hair, then threading his fingers through the strands, gripping tight, yanking my head back further so that he had full access to my mouth.
I wanted to yield, give in. Was this what my sister’s wedding night would have been?
No. It was impossible because some deep part of me wanted Tallu. I needed to know what happened for both of us when he came undone. I melted against him, and he drew me even closer, one hand in my hair, the other gripping my waist.
“I can’t,” he murmured against my lips, but then he plunged forward again, the kiss even more intense. “I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t. I don’t deserve this.”
The confession left me wretchedly curious, and I opened my mouth to ask why, why the Emperor of the Imperium thought he didn’t deserve the smallest moment of intimacy. But Tallu took it as an invitation, his tongue sweeping inside, desperately seeking something.
I answered in kind, stroking my tongue against his, letting him pull me even closer, as though he could pull me inside himself.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” I promised him, even though what was the point if it didn’t mean anything? I had to be doing this in order to manipulate him. I had to be doing this so that he would give me what I wanted—information and access when it was time to… time to do my duty for the Northern Kingdom.
That had to be the reason.
I whimpered, flipping us over, landing on top of him.
My legs bracketed his thighs, and I felt myself desperately hard underneath the layers of imperial clothing. He pushed up, almost unseating me, but I had ridden northern wolves, and I could hang on. Both of his hands came down, closing around my waist.
“Do you trust me?” Tallu asked, pulling back and gazing up at me.
I stared at him, mouth open. No . No I didn’t trust him. He was the man I was sent to kill . I only needed him until I had killed his successor, Rute, and then I would kill him.
How could I trust a man who threatened the Silver City and everything I held dear?
Instead of answering, I pressed back, my mouth desperate as I kissed my way down his throat, and soon enough, he had closed his eyes. He whimpered, and now he was bare-chested and I was the one clothed, creating an odd power imbalance that made me rock my hips against him, so hard and desperate for… something.
I pushed off my shirt, the thin material getting tangled on my arms. My wrists were caught by the ties at the wrists, and Tallu tightened his hand on the loose fabric. The sleeves acted almost like handcuffs, and for a moment, I wondered how similar he and his father were in their preferences.
But he was staring up into my face, almost as though he had forgotten what we were doing.
“I wish you could trust me as I trust you. But I understand why you don’t.” Then, he unlaced the ties and delicately pulled the shirt free from my wrists. He brought one of my hands to his mouth, his lips kissing a line from the underside of my wrist up to my elbow.
I gasped, and he continued going, the delicate skin trailing goose bumps as he reached my shoulder, then my neck. I threw back my head, letting him take the lead, letting him set the pace.
He reached down, carefully picking at the laces of my pants, getting his thumbs inside the waistband and drawing a circle with the edge of his finger.
I moaned and felt his grin where he continued the fine line between tickling and pleasure as he worked my throat. I shivered, putting one hand on his shoulder, the other finally getting into his thick hair. The silken strands grounded me as he managed to undo me with a single finger and his mouth.
Suddenly, he rolled us, pushing me down onto the bed. For a moment, my heart sped with the opposite of pleasure as I prepared myself for—I didn’t even get a chance to finish the thought because he pulled back, pushing his pants down and then looking at me in question.
“Do you want to do this?” he asked. “We don’t have to.”
His cock was thick and heavy, protruding between his thighs, and it had been too impossibly long since my own cock had been familiar with anything other than my hand.
I didn’t trust him. I didn’t . But something else was blooming between us. I could have killed him in the caves. But he could have let his generals convince him I was behind the assassination attempt. So what did that mean for both of us?
I pulled back, then lifted my hips, desperately shoving my hands in the loosened fabric and pushing it down until my own cock popped free.
“We don’t have to.” I grinned up at him, a bubble of laughter forming between us. “I’m sure there’s other things we’d both be more interested in right now. I hear you have interesting strategy games here in the Imperium. Perhaps we could play one. Or do some embroidery. Maybe gild a manuscript.”
It was his turn to laugh, and then I shoved my pants all the way down, and he pulled them off my legs, stepping out of his own pants and undergarments while he worked. He prowled up the bed on hands and knees, a jungle cat approaching prey. His knees trapped mine, and I shoved upward, licking a palm and grabbing both of our cocks in one hand. When I tightened my grip, he groaned and began thrusting into the wet heat of my palm. Soon enough, the small lubrication of my saliva was gone, but precome wetted the way between us.
I shoved up, matching his thrusts, and he closed his eyes, frowning in concentration. No . I couldn’t do this without seeing him.
“Tallu,” I said.
His eyes snapped open, finding mine, and I grinned in relief as he lowered his head, kissing me, teeth finding my bottom lip as he snapped his hips, the line between pleasure and pain fine enough that I spilled over.
He followed immediately, come dripping from between my fingers and over my wrist. I moaned, panting, and carefully loosened my hand.
He started to roll off me, but I tightened my arm around his back, and he settled, the weight reassuring. Maybe I couldn’t trust him.
Maybe a small part of me wondered if I would be able to kill him when it came down to it.
But right now, I was satisfied. Right now, I needed nothing.