Shadow Throne King (Emperor’s Assassin #3)
Chapter 1
One
The man was definitely dead.
It was hard to tell much more about him other than he was close to my height, he’d been fit from years of military service, and he was still dressed in armor, his rank of lieutenant marked on his collar. Everything else was guesswork for one reason.
He was missing his head.
In his hands, he clutched a scroll, sealed with a small circle of the red rock the Krustavians used instead of wax. Tallu eased the paper out from the dead man’s clutches and frowned down at it. The seal was identical to the four previous missives from Krustau.
A snarling badger, its claws extended. Sagam extended a knife, hilt first. Slicing through the seal and reading quickly, Tallu’s forehead creased before he looked up, his face smoothing out.
“The same message,” he said shortly. “The Shadow King has my brother and Empress Koque. He will only negotiate with me.”
“Strange,” High General Saxu said. The last general loyal to Tallu stood on the other side of the body, his hands clasped behind his back. If he felt anything about losing another man from his command, his face didn’t give it away.
“Why is it strange?” I asked. Around us, in the basement of the military offices, stillness and quiet came with the dead bodies.
The three other dead imperial officers who had acted as our first, second, and third couriers to Krustau were placed in small nooks in the cool marble wall, waiting to be given back to their families.
The most recent corpse Krustau had sent was displayed on a table in the center of the room.
“The King of the Shadow Throne sent his envoys here not that long ago. The Imperium is not at war with Krustau. Their ambassador lived here for some years. Up until now, we’ve been at peace.” Twin lines formed between General Saxu’s brows, and he frowned down at the body.
The old warhorse was realizing the same thing Tallu and I already had. The Imperium might not want war with Krustau right now, but Krustau had declared war on us.
“Other than the Krustavians sent to the Dragon Temple to kill me?” Tallu asked pointedly.
“You mean the mercenaries hired by Rute Sotonam?” Saxu’s words were careful, pointed.
That had been the cover we had used, the lie I had spun in order to kill Tallu’s murderous heir, which Tallu had declared true in front of the entire court.
“My men say that they’ve seen Krustavian soldiers on the Imperium side of the border.”
All three of us turned to the only other man in the room where he lurked in a corner, one of the dead soldiers laid in an alcove to his left, another to his right.
The Kennelmaster looked as if he deserved his title.
He was broad-shouldered and scarred from years of work.
His hair was dark brown, bleached on the edges from time in the sun.
“I didn’t tell you to send any men to the border,” Tallu said, his voice chilly. The room matched his tone, as though the air around him had adjusted to fit the mood. I wouldn’t have been surprised if our breath had started to steam from the change.
The Kennelmaster crossed his heavy arms in front of his chest.
“My Dogs are everywhere, and they see and hear everything. They were already there.” The Kennelmaster gestured at the body on the table and then at the three other bodies interred in the room. “Perhaps if the Kennel had been consulted before now, several tragedies might have been prevented.”
Tallu’s expression grew dark, eyes narrowed, lips a pale line. “Exactly how long has the Kennel been acting independently of the throne?”
“The Kennel has always been independent of the throne. We are the eyes and ears in the Imperium. We are the only ones who know who in the Imperium is loyal and who is not.” The Kennelmaster tilted his head, and in his expression, I could see he was going to say something to provoke Tallu.
“We are not only concerned with court politics. We understand that the Imperium extends throughout the entire empire. As your father did.”
Tallu went stiff, pulling his shoulders back, his anger a palpable thing in the room. The electric lights in the room flickered, a loud snap preceding a crackling of electricity. I could feel the lightning he wanted to gather in his hand.
“So then you can tell us where General Maki is,” I said.
The Kennelmaster turned to me, glowering. “What?”
“You said your Dogs are spread throughout the empire. So you should be able to tell us where the missing general is. You should be able to tell us where in the Blood Mountains General Kacha has set up his camp, or how many of the Ariphadi tribes General Bemishu has subjugated. Which of the Tavornai islands Namati is using as his base.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Or are your Dogs only good at seeing what you want to see to necessitate a war with Krustau?”
“Krustau has already declared war on us, Prince Airón.” The Kennelmaster pointed at the latest body, still and lifeless. “And my spies see plenty.”
“Then find out which of them has seen General Maki.” Tallu clipped each word, making it a sharp order. “Do not come in front of me until you have the information.”
“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty.” The Kennelmaster bowed, his fingers triangled respectfully. He turned, shoving open the door abruptly. The Emperor’s Dogs in the hall turned their heads to gaze after him.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” General Saxu said, in the gentle tone of voice he used when he was about to say something he knew Tallu wasn’t going to like. “If I may speak?”
Tallu nodded, his lips still pale, one hand clenched at his side.
“The Kennelmaster isn’t wrong. You did your father a great service by exposing secrets here in the court, but the Emperor’s Dogs are only a small portion of the Kennelmaster’s resources.
It would be… wasteful to ignore their usefulness.
” Saxu looked down at the dead man. “And now is not a time when we have many resources to waste. With three-fourths of the imperial military gone, I believe the Kennelmaster is trying to offer his own men to make up for some of what we lack.”
“Your counsel, as always, is appreciated.” Tallu looked up, but General Saxu was too old and experienced to be concerned by the glare of the emperor. “But I am not my father, and I will not give that man as long a leash.”
Saxu nodded, his face impossible to read. “What are Your Imperial Majesty’s orders?”
“Tell me of the other generals,” Tallu said, as though that was answer enough.
“Of course.” Saxu bowed his head, his dark hair streaked with gray strands. “Would it please Your Imperial Majesty to adjourn to my office?”
Tallu turned, the only acknowledgment he made of Saxu’s words. As he left the room, the lights brightened, the crackling of Tallu’s anger seeping out of them. Saxu and his aides followed, leaving me alone with the body.
I stayed with the body, taking a moment to truly see it. It seemed wrong leaving it alone. In the north, we fed our dead to the sea serpents, but here a man couldn’t be sent to the afterlife without his head, so these men were forever doomed.
The removal of their heads had been pointed, purposeful, just as it had been when Kacha had done it to one of his own men. The Shadow King wanted the Imperium to know he was an enemy who would take away their access to eternal afterlife in addition to their living present.
If Krustau attacked the Imperium, wasn’t our work done? The dwarven nation would fall upon the generals. Win or lose, the Imperium was like a whale carcass left too long in the sun: ready to explode at the first touch of a vulture.
Unless someone else got hold of Prince Hallu, rallying the other generals under one banner. Reaching out, I put a hand on the dead man’s chest. His metal armor was scratched from travel and felt cool to the touch. “You served the Imperium well. I am sorry you came to this end.”
Under my hand, the armor shivered, moving. Not like breath, not like life, but as though a snake slithered between the flesh and the plating. Frowning, I pulled back at the edges of the armor, and something darted out from beneath.
It was an insect, as long as my forearm, what felt like a hundred tiny legs gripping the arm of my jacket.
Jerking back, I tried shaking it off. Its body had multiple parts, each section with its own set of legs, and two enormous black eyes on the head.
Antennae probed my elbow, and it started up my arm.
I shook harder, but I was hesitant to actually reach out and touch the creature. Enormous mandibles moved around its mouth, opening and closing, dripping clear liquid onto my jacket.
The creature turned to me, its eyes catching mine. A voice crackled in the back of my head.
Yes, you. You will do nicely.
For too long, I gaped at it. I had not been able to animal speak for months, not since General Kacha had successfully ripped it from my brain, leaving behind a hole in my head that ached occasionally, a painful reminder of what I was missing.
“What are you?” I asked.
Too late, I realized the creature’s intention. It reached my neck, its small feet pricking the skin, drawing blood as it headed straight for my ear. It was planning on entering my body.
I grabbed at it with my other hand, but the creature was too fast, skittering along the collar of my jacket, disappearing under the fabric.
I yanked it off, throwing it on the ground, and drew one of my blades. I could no longer feel the creature. Where was it?
There was a hissing sound, and I felt a hundred tiny legs against my back. It had made its way under my shirt, touching my skin.
I didn’t hesitate. I threw myself backward, landing hard on the ground, crushing the creature to death under my weight. Lying there, I panted, closing my eyes to feel if it still moved. The liquid remnants of the insect felt sticky and cold on my skin.
A chittering, clacking sound echoed against metal, and I opened my eyes. The corpse began to move, the whole chest plate writhing, his limbs twitching asynchronously.