Chapter 17
Seventeen
T he next morning, as soon as it was light enough, I checked the bedding. Even though I’d changed quickly after Asahi left, it was still damp. Sleeping in it had been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t stained red. There were a few hints of pink but nothing that would be noticed. Nothing that would let anyone look at me and immediately say, “You killed the imperial heir!”
I had left the damp clothing spread under the bed, and it was mostly dry, so I shoved it in the bottom of my luggage and hoped that it didn’t mildew too badly by the time I needed it again. It wasn’t exactly like I could have the palace wash the clothes I’d used to assassinate Rute and his servants.
No one mentioned anything at breakfast. Asahi stood a few feet closer than normal, and his eyes scanned from window to door to window. I looked around myself, wrinkling my nose.
“Where is Piivu?” I asked, turning to Nohe. “Was he given quarters?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Unfortunately, there was an…” She glanced at Asahi, and that was fascinating. Was Tallu trying to cover up his cousin’s murder? “Piivu suffered an accident. He won’t be back for a few days.”
“Is he all right?” I asked, eyes wide. Eona? could eat her words; I could play at innocence convincingly. “He wasn’t hurt too badly, was he?”
“He’ll be back soon,” Nohe promised. “I don’t know much more than that myself.”
I let it drop and made a show of picking up my fork to start eating. After I was left alone, with only the tense Asahi for company, I considered my options. I made the decision to see what Tallu was telling people himself. Would he believe the ruse? Or would he pretend to in order to accept the death of a cousin who had been acting over-confident in his role?
Standing, I moved to the door, but Asahi stepped between me and the exit. I tilted my head. “Asahi?”
“Emperor Tallu will be calling court soon,” he said.
“Oh?” And perhaps my playing at innocence was as bad as Eona? suggested because Asahi narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. “Am I supposed to remain here until he does?”
“Yes,” Asahi said, and that was clearly enough talking for him because he refused to answer any other questions, so I was stuck in my rooms at Turtle House. Terror flapped to one of the windows, his eyes bright with gossip.
“Well, I might as well nap while I wait,” I said pointedly. I walked into my room and shut the door.
Terror landed in my window immediately, and I opened it. He hopped inside. “Well, you didn’t die.”
“Sadly, no livers for you,” I said.
“I never said to save the servant. Or feed the corpses to the sea serpents. I could have eaten those!” He blinked at me, annoyed.
“What’s going on outside?” I asked, feeling trapped. “They won’t let me leave.”
“They won’t let anyone leave,” Terror said. “Guards everywhere, people nowhere.”
Someone tapped on the door, and Nohe entered with a set of clothes for me that were fancier than what I had on. She helped me change into them, the deep blue accentuating my eyes, the pale pants drawing attention upward to my face. I grasped her hand, and Nohe looked at me, startled.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head. “There are whispers that House Sotonam is under arrest and all their servants with them.”
I released her hand, blowing out a breath. Did Tallu believe the letters? Had I accidentally cursed the whole house?
Not that Count Sotonam deserved my sympathy, but the others… his wife, Rute’s mistress…
Nohe watched me, concerned, and I waved her off. “I was always suspicious of them.”
She nodded, her expression pinched.
Standing, I walked out, Asahi behind me as I took the familiar route to court. It was already full when I arrived, the whispers quieting as I approached, then starting again in my wake. Tallu wasn’t on his throne, and I hesitated before taking my own chair.
I looked out over the court, but the room was so packed I couldn’t see where the fissures lay. I could only make out the first few rows of people, each decked in their finest clothes.
The room dropped to silence, and I looked over to see Tallu had entered from a side door, his presence so heavy I felt as though the air itself weighed more. He wore a crown thick with jewels rather than the diadem he wore most days. His robe was dark as night, trailing behind him, with two servants holding up each corner.
General Saxu walked behind the servants, his expression grave. Behind him, I saw two other military commanders, although General Kacha wasn’t visible.
As Tallu mounted the stairs, I rose from my seat, hesitating. What would a true consort do?
At the last second, I bowed, and it seemed contagious, every member of the court following suit, their hands forming triangles above their foreheads. I tried to glance at Tallu, but the angle was wrong. I just saw his legs, the hint of his hand as he adjusted the robe before sitting. The servants fluttered, fixing the fall of it, and then they stepped back, seeming to disappear.
When I was upright again, he was watching me, head tilted, a curious expression on his face. Then he raised his hand, gesturing at my chair. The gold rings he wore were as long as his knuckles, creating the effect of melting gold down his fingers. I sat.
“Rute Sotonam is dead,” he said, his voice carrying, even though he spoke at a normal volume.
The court stood, still silent, although I caught glances between fellows, the curiosity palpable in the room.
“There are many rumors, and we thank you for your patience. Last night, my dear cousin and heir was executed according to my imperial order.” Tallu spoke clearly, his face expressionless.
The explosion of whispers was a chaotic jumble of words from where I sat. I blinked and turned back to Tallu.
“We have irrefutable evidence that he was collaborating with Krustau to commit regicide. An eyewitness saw his collusion with a Krustavian assassin, and we have discovered letters in my cousin’s own hand that promise Krustau reward for my own death,” Tallu said. “After questioning, we are clearing House Sotonam of any link to this wrongdoing.”
The room shifted and roiled, and now I saw space forming around Count Sotonam and a woman at his side. They raised their chins in silent acknowledgment that even having been publicly cleared, they were now marked, assassins by proximity.
“This will not affect our wedding in five days.” Tallu looked at me, and I tried to read his eyes. Did he suspect? Was he even wondering ? Where had the letters in Rute’s own hand come from? “I have every intention of marrying Prince Airón of the Northern Kingdom. It is my heart’s desire.”
The silence stretched, and I tried to think of what to say. “Of course, my lord. As it is mine.”
The corner of his lip twitched, but before I could tell if it was amusement or annoyance, he stood, servants rushing to grab hold of his robe. I pushed myself up, bowing with the rest of the court as he exited.
When I stood, every eye in the court was on me. Tallu had just told them that I was his heart’s desire, and anyone who wanted something from the crown knew that that meant the fastest route to Tallu was through me.
Cautiously, I stepped into the crowd and was mobbed.
Velethuil rescued me eventually, slipping his hand through the crook of my elbow and dragging me away with a joke or two, the laughter only a little forced as the court watched me leave.
When we were outside, he pulled me toward a hedge maze. His words were low, nearly a whisper, and he leaned close as he spoke.
“Be cautious. Whatever happened last night went beyond what Tallu has ever done before. And it will have consequences that even he cannot expect.” Velethuil turned to me, his eyes deadly serious.
The warning gained gravity for having come from the air mage who had single-handedly killed three battalions of imperial soldiers.
“What do you mean? You think there is a threat to Emperor Tallu or to me ?” I let Velethuil see my face, the one that all those men on the whaling ship had seen before I slit their throats. “Is this you talking or your patron?”
Velethuil tilted his head, very much like Terror. “ I am telling you. I have spent a long time in this court cultivating a reputation that makes them see me as invisible and silly, a trifle. So they speak and whisper around me and think I do not understand. They do not think that Prince Rute was collaborating with Krustau. And the whispers say that if Tallu has killed his father, brother, and now Prince Rute, there is nothing he will not do.”
“And perhaps they are asking the military if the military is also concerned?” I watched Velethuil’s eyes. He nodded slowly.
“ General Kacha does not believe Rute was working with Krustau. He believes that the Imperium is stronger only when the imperial expansion is ongoing.” Velethuil kept his words quiet, but I could hear what wasn’t being said.
“So perhaps those in court who worry what Emperor Tallu will do without any leash or heir have found an advocate in General Kacha,” I said. “Someone who can make the emperor hear their voices?”
“I would not want to be caught between them when General Kacha makes the court’s opinion known to the emperor.” Velethuil pulled us to a stop. “I say this as one prisoner to another.”
“I thank you for your consideration,” I said quietly.
Velethuil nodded and politely took his leave. Terror landed on my shoulder not long after, his claws digging in.
“He is going to take your words to his master,” the raven said.
“I’m counting on it. Tallu has no one loyal to him except for the Emperor’s Dogs. Everyone else is afraid but not loyal . What will General Kacha do if Tallu’s own husband isn’t loyal to him?” The question was rhetorical, but the bird answered anyway.
“Do you know why sparrows chase hawks?” Terror asked.
“Because the hawks would kill them and their young?” I asked.
“Because hawks hunt alone. And sparrows are never alone. General Kacha is no hawk.” The bird nuzzled my neck. “I am starving. That insight deserves at least some of the delicious meat from breakfast.”
Piivu came back into my service. His hand was still bandaged, and it smelled like the salve that Dr. Jafopo, the Minister of Medicine, had given me. He said nothing about the attack, and I asked nothing.
He did not look at me or act toward me any differently, but his gratitude was more palpable now. He winced away from Asahi whenever he saw him, and I wondered at that until I had no more time to wonder, no more time to waste, because I had done what I had planned, and all that was left was the act of marriage, the act of wedding Tallu, and then killing my husband.
I woke before the sun on my wedding day. Nohe and Piivu tiptoed in, clearly trying to wake me quietly. When I sat up, they both startled, although Nohe settled quickly.
She bowed.
“Prince Airón, your bath is ready.”
I followed her in the early dawn through a quiet garden path, all the way to the bathhouse. Nuti greeted me, her expression placid, as though she readied men every day for their weddings. The bath was ceremonial, involving specific salts and scents. Everything had to be precise. This was, after all, the wedding of the emperor.
After I was bathed and dried, we climbed to the upper floor, a place I remembered well from my first day at court. The seamstress was already there, my wedding clothes ready. She helped me into the shirt and pants, a pale blue color that shimmered in the morning light. Then I put on the dark blue jacket. This shade was reserved for the imperial family.
In the mirror, I ran my fingers over the complicated golden stitching on the side that labeled me and my new position. Prince Airón. Imperial Consort. Heir to the Northern Kingdom. Husband to Emperor Tallu.
Someone had spent hours and hours on it, and now all of my jackets would need to be redone to match. This was happening. The thing I had never wanted or asked for was now impossible to avoid.
Before we left, I went through the clothes that I had slept in and drew out a long dagger. Rute’s blood had been cleaned off it, and I had made sure it gleamed as though it had never sliced through the throat of the emperor’s heir. Asahi moved forward, but I handed it to Nohe, asking the servant to help me attach it.
“In the north, it’s required as part of the ceremony. I know it won’t be the same.” I looked away, uncomfortable. The bath maid, Nuti, running one last hand across my shoulders to fix an errant wrinkle, paused to squeeze.
With a quick discussion, Nohe and the seamstress agreed on a way to attach the dagger to the belt of my clothes. Then, they began the slow process of braiding jewels into my hair.
“Each one is a gift from your betrothed, a symbol of how highly he values you,” Nohe said, as though she hadn’t explained it all before. “Although, usually, they provide a… more practical amount.”
Her tone was light, but when I looked over, she and Nuti were both staring at the box of jewels Tallu had provided with wide eyes. Their fingers were nimble, and it still took nearly an hour for the work to be done.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I gleamed, my blond hair shining like a million stars in the sky. That was how much Tallu valued me. I could do this. I could do this impossible thing.
My stomach clenched, my jaw aching. For twenty-three years, this had been my only purpose. My mother had shown me the cost of war with the south. My mother had shown both Eona? and me the cost of the north’s failure. How many of our people would die if I could not destabilize the south?
If the Emperor of the Southern Imperium lived, there would always be war, there would always be a threat to the north. I tasted blood in my mouth and swallowed it down.
The sun had just crested the walls of the palace when Nohe led me to the ceremonial receiving rooms. Because of all the practice she had drilled into me, I knew exactly how to enter the room. Bow before entering, then turn to where the emperor sat on a throne made of golden branches. Bow again.
Recite a long, formal promise of fidelity. Listen as Tallu recited the answering promise of protection. Bow again. Accept the formal invitation to break our fast together. I could do this.
I bowed, then stood, my eyes skipping over the crowd of ministers and the patriarchs of important houses in the back of the room, my eyes finding Tallu, always Tallu, only Tallu.
Carefully, I walked until I was standing in front of him, my heart pounding in my chest as though I were facing a sea serpent again. I struggled to pull breath, then lowered myself into another bow, my hair laden with jewels that informed everyone in the room how precious he thought I was.
I cleared my throat, the blade heavy on my hip. “Your Imperial Majesty, Emperor Tallu, Dragon Born, Emperor of the Southern Imperium, I ask for welcome as I make my plea. Allow me to join your household so that we may become one, my life to your house, my soul to you for the keeping. In joining your house, I yield my life to the House Atobe and promise the benefits to my person and position will be rewarded by my complete devotion.”
Tallu regarded me, his russet eyes lingering on my face. Then he nodded once, the gleam of his skin and jewels glued to his cheekbones catching the light.
He wore a formal crown, the gold glinting in the pale morning light. It emphasized the warm brass color of his skin. Two dragon horns spiraled from the sides of the crown, curving upward.
“Prince Airón, son of the Northern Kingdom, I accept your promise of fidelity. I grant you entrance into my house and all the benefits of being a member of it. I accept your hand in marriage and promise that with our union, you are no longer a stranger but considered my husband, with all the advantages and responsibilities that entails.” Tallu considered me, and for a long, taut second, I wondered if we would be able to avoid the next bit, the part that had kept me up the night before, the part that still made me tremble. Eona? had had years to get used to it, but I still felt bile in the back of my throat. “I give you my hand, and in exchange, you give up all loyalty and fidelity to the Northern Kingdom. Do you accept?”
I wet my lips, focusing on the crown on his head rather than his knowing russet eyes. Get through this. It meant nothing. It was just words.
It was just words . It was just pretend. I could lie about this, even as my stomach twisted, acid burning my throat. It was a lie, and I had told plenty of those.
I would never forsake the Northern Kingdom. I would never let my mother down. She had sacrificed me and my sister to this cause, and I would fulfill the promise she’d made when she looked out over the white snow stained red with frozen blood.
The Southern Imperium would fall.
Because if it didn’t, if I failed, then what was the point of my life?
“I accept.” I cleared my throat. “Husband.”
“With your promise, our marriage is solidified and bound by our oaths. Will you share a meal with me to celebrate our bond?” Tallu’s hands were hidden by the long fall of his sleeves. I couldn’t see a hint of nervousness on his smooth face.
“I will, thank you.” I waited as Tallu stood, stepping down from his throne.
When he stood in front of me, he was taller, tall enough that I had to look up into his face.
Tallu extended his arm, level with the floor, and I placed my own on top of it. We entered a formal dining room reserved for state events. As one, the rest of the court rose and bowed to us, their hands forming triangles, staying bent over until we took our place at a lonely table at the head of the room.
The members of court who’d been witness to our union took their places with their families, and finally, the meal began.
I shifted, already uncomfortable on the hard chair. We would feast for hours, each meal stretching into the next as a sign of how long our love would last. Looking down at the plate prepared by servants, I could barely more than nibble at the food in front of me.
Two weeks had been more than enough time to learn the basic shape of the court and which of Tallu’s enemies had arrived during those two weeks. Even though I hadn’t introduced myself to them, I knew them by sight.
Terror informed me that at least three of the deposed members of the emperor’s council had received visits from current ministers. The other two had kept quietly to their quarters, refusing visits from General Kacha’s envoys. Perhaps they were the loyal friends Tallu needed. Or, if not friends, frightened subjects at least.
Servants brought in more food, the changed dishes indicating that we had passed from breakfast to lunch.
Tallu hadn’t said anything more than the required phrases all day, barely doing more than nodding to every member of court that approached to swear loyalty to him. The rings on his fingers interlocked with each other, like one long chain running along his knuckles, gleaming with facets that reflected the light.
I glanced out the window, seeing the midday sun high in the sky. I took a deep breath in through the pain in my chest.
Weddings in the north started at the midday, when both parties walked out as far as they could onto the ice and made offerings to each other and to the great northern bear.
Usually, it was pelts to each other and a large carcass of meat to the bear.
Here, the wedding was more about a reassertion of power, requiring everyone in the room to come and grovel, declaring loyalty to the emperor. They showed this fidelity with expensive gifts, even now piled high on a central table.
Turning back to the room, I caught Tallu watching me. He stood, his silken robes dragging over my arm. With a tilt of his head, he indicated a door on the side of the room, then walked out of it.
Conversation slowed, quieting to near silence. The clack of silverware on plates was loud. Hurriedly, I stood, following him out the side door.
The rest of the palace was dark compared to the bright lights of the dining room, but I could see Tallu’s figure already halfway down the hall, two Emperor’s Dogs trailing him. Asahi was only a few footsteps behind me, and I turned to him mostly out of desperation.
“Was there another part of the ceremony I missed?” I asked.
According to Nohe, we would feast until dark, say some more formal phrases, then retreat to our wedding night.
I tried not to imagine Tallu in his bedchamber, stripped down to nothing but smooth skin. Did he have any more tattoos to match the dragon on his arm? I hadn’t been paying enough attention the first time.
“The emperor has requested your presence,” Asahi said.
“I can see that. He did it with the subtlety of an ox during mating season.” Huffing, I jogged down the hall, the thick formal clothes heavy.
At least I was saved from having to wear the headdress that Eona? would have had to balance. When I finally caught up to Tallu, he was almost at a door.
Pushing it open, he gestured formally with three fingers, and I followed him out. We were in that unfamiliar part of the palace—I had seen it only when we had gone through it to reach the Dragon Temple two weeks earlier—that I was only now realizing were his own private gardens. The tall trees were nothing like the ones at home, but they were wild enough that they reminded me of the northern forests.
“We will go alone,” Tallu said, the only unscripted words he’d said all day.
“Your Imperial Majesty—” Sagam said.
“That was not a request.” Tallu turned and began walking into the forest, and I had to take two steps for every one of his to catch up.
“You’re taking me into another forest. Without guards,” I observed. “That didn’t go well for us last time.”
Terror flapped above us in the branches, flying from tree to tree. If he knew where we were going, he didn’t bother telling me. Finally, when we were so far into the forest that the buildings were completely hidden, we came to a sight that made my blood turn cold.
Torn and bloodstained yellow scraps of fabric lay in a heap on the ground. On top of them was a shredded coat, the stitching still visible: Prince Rute of House Sotonam, Heir to the Emperor.
On either side of the pile of bloodied clothes, someone had spread out furs for sitting. Tallu looked at me expectantly.
“This is as far as my knowledge of the northern tradition goes,” he said after a long pause.
“The northern tradition,” I said slowly.
“The northern wedding ceremony. I understand the celebration happens in the afternoon and evening. But it starts with acknowledging a kill one partner made for the other.” His expression was blank, hiding whatever I was supposed to do with his statement.
Slowly, I approached the setup, then lowered myself cross-legged on one of the pelts. I curled my fingers into the soft fur. It was some southern creature, the coat thinner than a northern bear or caribou.
Around us, the forest was quiet and still, even the birds silent. The air was cool under the trees that had once been nurseries for the south’s greatest treasure: its dragons.
Tallu took the other seat, staring at me with those unreadable eyes that burned through my skin.
“Did you make this kill for me, my lord?” I kept my face as blank as I could, but by the way that Tallu traced my expression, I didn’t do well. “Usually, the sacrifice is an animal that the great northern bear eats. Caribou. Elk. Rabbit.”
“No, I did not kill my cousin for you . I think we can both admit who killed Rute and why.” Tallu waited, and when I didn’t respond, he said, “Don’t you agree?”
My mind went blank. There were no guards; I could kill him here, kill him now, but he was staring at me with those russet eyes that pinned me to the spot, made me admit things about myself I didn’t want to.
And part of me needed to know. I needed to know what he thought of the kill, what he wanted me to say.
“Rute was a problem.” In more than one way, but Tallu would take my words to mean a problem for him if he thought I’d killed his cousin for him.
“Yes. Yes he was,” Tallu said. His eyes moved over me hungrily. He would consume me if I let him, and I almost wanted to let him. Let him eat Airón Silvereyes whole until there was nothing left, just another pile of bloody clothes. “You have no idea what this gift means to me. Now, in the north, after the sacrifice, do you exchange gifts?”
“Yes.” I took the knife from its sheath. Now. Kill him now. Kill while he is alone and helpless.
“Is this for me?” His voice was low, as though he was imagining, as I was, the blade plunging into his heart, thrusting into his throat, until his body was still. I couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t do it. Turning the blade, I held it flat on my palms, my arms trembling. Why had I hesitated? Why hadn’t I just done it?
He tilted his head, reaching out and taking it by the handle. It was a ceremonial dagger, one I had intended to wear at Eona?’s wedding. The blade was carved from whalebone, intricately designed so that when Tallu raised it up, holding it to the light, the carving of a whale was visible.
“Well, northern craftsmanship is astounding.” He put the knife back in the sheath, setting it beside him. “Thank you for the gift. Now it is my turn?”
I nodded, curious what metal object Tallu would give me, the man he thought had killed his cousin for him.
Tallu reached into his robe, taking out a gold box, delicately carved with dragonscale detailing on the sides and the House Atobe crest carved on the top. He handed it over to me, his eyes bright in the afternoon light.
“Something pretty and metal, wasn’t that it?” Tallu said. “You will find the true gift inside.”
I took it from him, keeping my hand steady as Yor?mu had taught me. Never show weakness. Never show doubt. Not even to yourself.
Flicking open the clasps, I felt my eyes go wide. Nestled in velvet was my dragon egg.