Chapter 4 #3
I began to understand why she was so well-liked in the capital.
As a conversational partner, she was ever responsive, and when she extracted information from me, it was so delicately done that I barely noticed it.
When I could tell she was about to ask for more information, information I didn’t want to share, I picked up my teacup and looked her directly in the eye.
“Empress Koque, I am from the north, and there, we speak differently. We are not quite so elegant in our phrasing. You will excuse me if I must revert to that candor now.”
Koque didn’t tense, her expression remaining mild and curious as though I had made an observation about the color of the teacups. She raised her eyebrow, and I nodded my head in gratitude for her yielding.
“Forgive my bluntness. I was under the impression that you and King Vostop had formed an attachment. Was I wrong? Was he, instead, just a useful tool to help you escape a monstrous husband?”
Koque’s eyes widened just slightly. Despite my disclaimer, the honesty of the north was clearly something she, born and bred in the Southern Imperium, was unprepared for.
She opened her mouth, and I knew whatever was going to come out was going to be delicately phrased, subtle, and lacking even an ounce of truth.
I raised my hand. The gesture was rude in the south, I knew, but it was also a reminder that I was from a culture much different than her own.
She blinked, startled, and I used her pause to speak again.
“If it was, if Vostop was merely a pleasant tool, I am not opposed to using my influence with the emperor to prevent your union with the Shadow King. But I have seen the two of you together, and I wonder if even the most talented actress could feign affection that seems as true as yours. If you are so talented, I trust it was only developed in order to survive Emperor Millu. Is that the truth of it?”
The breeze picked up. Koque’s hair had been pulled back, styled and pinned with a long hair stick, decorated with precious stones mined from the mountains of Krustau.
On her ears, she wore two enormous rubies that swayed when she turned her chin just slightly, looking at some of the wildflowers around us.
When she wet her lips, I was sure she was going to deny me the truth, deny it in the most beautiful language and leave me with a mystery I had no chance of solving without her help.
Instead, she said, “Emperor Tallu went to great lengths to secure his heir.”
My eyes widened. Perhaps that was as honest as she could be, and it was more than enough. I put together the pieces quickly. “You worry that, given his concern over his heir, Emperor Tallu will insist on keeping him, even if you go into the mountains with your new husband.”
Koque’s shoulders relaxed just slightly when she saw I understood.
“Why didn’t you ask Tallu about his intentions regarding Prince Hallu?” I asked.
The breeze blew a few strands of hair loose, and they clung to the powder on her cheek.
“Why ask for something I know he will deny me? I have been a pawn more than once, and I understand the position I am in. I also know that Hallu is more than a pawn; he is far too valuable to leave unattended. If it was too dangerous to leave him in Inor’s hands, it is even more dangerous to leave him in Vostop’s.
The new king of Krustau might be forced to trade the imperial heir for the safety of his weakened nation. ”
“Do you think your lover would do that?” I asked.
“He is a king, not a lover, and with the crown, his priorities cannot be personal.” Koque nodded at me, and I understood that she was indicating that despite his apparent affection for me, Tallu’s first concern would always be his nation.
I kept my expression neutral. Would we be able to tell Koque the truth about what we were doing? She would no doubt be an important ally if we could bring her to our side, but Tallu had barely trusted me with the truth.
If he had thought she might sympathize with his cause, surely he would have talked to her before now?
“Emperor Tallu cares about you a great deal,” I said. “I would never try to speak about his feelings, but you must know that he cares about you as much as you care about him.”
Koque considered the cup of tea in her hands, her thumb tracing one of the delicate filigree lines as she balanced it on her fingertips.
“When I first became pregnant with Prince Hallu, I felt nothing but relief. My place was secure, as long as I didn’t lose the pregnancy.
He was nothing to me, an asset I could use.
If I were a man, it would be as though I had been given a sword.
Finally, I had the ability to fight. And then I saw him for the first time after I gave birth.
” She looked up, and I wondered if she would actually say it, actually put to voice what I saw in her eyes.
But she was an imperial, and they spoke in implication, in suggestion.
“I may not be a woman, but I know how much you love your sons.” If she could speak in half thoughts, I could as well, and she nodded her head at my use of the plural word ‘sons,’ the understanding flowing between us.
Koque had killed an emperor in order to save Hallu and pretended both she and her child were dead to save Tallu from having to kill his brother.
But Tallu had claimed the prince as his heir rather than killing him when he found him. She had no reason to believe that Tallu would give him up easily.
“Speak to Emperor Tallu,” I said quietly. “Perhaps he might surprise you.”
Koque dipped her chin, the only acknowledgment of what I said. When she looked up, her gaze was clear, and she pulled her lips in a soft smile.
“I must admit, I am glad I did not have to face your sister. If she was only a fraction as beautiful and clever—” She broke off. A servant was rushing up the path, and she bowed low when she came to us, her fingers forming a triangle.
She spoke to the ground. “Excuse the interruption, Your Highness. Empress Koque, your son…”
That was enough, Koque stood abruptly, her eyes wide. She bowed to me, much more formally than I expected, and murmured excuses.
“Is everything well with Prince Hallu?” I asked, trying to keep my voice concerned rather than suspicious.
“Of course,” Koque said. She forced a smile. “All is well, but he is a young boy who has been without his mother for so long. You will give me leave to spoil him a bit.”
I could see her body tense as she waited for the appropriate dismissal. Standing, I said, “Then let us both go spoil him.”
Koque hesitated, her body leaning toward the path. The servant murmured, “Empress, he needs you.”
Nodding sharply, Koque said, “Of course, Your Highness. Let us go see the prince.”