Chapter 3 #2
“He was setting me up. Both of us up. What if he was the one who put it in Boro’s head that I was responsible for Toji’s death?
What if he was waiting for this moment so that I would feel grateful to him, so that I would see the benefit of the Dogs?
” I shook my head, worried I’d taken it too far, worried that now I was just as paranoid as a fisherman convinced catching a sunfish rather than the expected silverfish was behind the appearance of an early spring.
The dragon moved her neck, nudging my hand, and I shook my head, coming out of my distraction to scratch behind her crest again, to run my fingers down her neck. Her scales were cool to the touch, the downy plumes between them surprisingly soft.
“I need to tell Tallu,” I said.
The dragon grumbled unhappily when I tried to move around her and shrank back to the size of a hand, using her wings to carry herself to my shoulder. When I walked out into the room, Nohe was speaking quietly with Homisu and looked up at me with a frown.
“Your Highness, you asked for an update on Asahi. The infirmary is locked down, so that no one was allowed to speak to the servant we sent. The Kennel has yet to send you another Dog to replace Asahi…” She bowed, putting all of her uncertainty at protocol into the movement, and I took her meaning instantly.
I should stay here. I should wait for safety.
The emperor himself had ordered the Kennel to supply me with a Dog, meaning I should have one before I went anywhere.
I raised my hand, touching the dragon gently. Carefully, I removed it from my shoulder, staring at it.
The dragon tilted its head, considering me. “I do not know if I could save Asahi. I do not know if I could heal a wound from a creature like that.”
“I’m going to speak with His Imperial Majesty. If anyone attacks me on the way, I will have to defend myself.” I gestured to the sword I kept by my side, the wolf’s claw ready for use.
Nohe looked pained, and Homisu touched a finger to his ear and then dropped it to his shoulder, a servant’s sign that their master was being foolish. Nohe rushed to the door to open it for me, and I headed downstairs to the main floor, leaving through a door to one of the gardens.
Immediately, a dark form dropped to my shoulder, Terror clucking into my ear like a disturbed mother hen. From my other shoulder, the dragon hissed, and before they could fight each other, I said, “Stop. Where is Tallu?”
Terror pecked gently on the shoulder he sat on, and I looked in that direction, seeing the emperor’s quarters. I headed there, passing servants and a few members of court out for a walk. They stared after me: the emperor’s strange consort wearing a raven on one shoulder and a dragon on the other.
Inside the building, I was more aware of the quiet than I was outside. Massive tapestries hung from floor to ceiling. Servants moved silently about their work. At the door to Tallu’s quarters, I pulled up short. It was closed.
The emperor’s quarters had two sets of doors, one that blocked off the whole set of rooms and another that guarded his private bedroom. The outer doors were closed, locked until tomorrow morning, or until Tallu himself opened them with his magic.
For a long moment, I blinked at the metal doors, frowning. It wasn’t even past lunch. These shouldn’t be closed until Tallu went to bed with me at his side.
“Your Highness,” a guard to my left spoke, breaking my concentration. He and his fellow had straightened up when I approached, the yellow orange of their uniforms crisp, their weapons as shiny as the day they had been forged.
I raised my hand, pressing it to the cold metal of Tallu’s door. “Why has the emperor closed his door? Who ordered it?”
The guards were silent, and when I looked over, they were each looking at the other, the silent conversation loud in the quiet hallway. Would they betray their loyalty to the emperor by answering my questions?
Glaring at them, I demanded, “Speak.”
It was a tone of voice I had learned from Tallu, saying at once: I am more important than you. Answer my question.
“The emperor’s servants said he ordered it. They expect to open them soon.” The guard shifted, his hand dropping to his weapon before he lifted it off, his eyes wide. “Your Highness.”
I frowned up at the door again, but before I needed to decide what to do, the door groaned. The locks slipped out of position audibly.
I stepped back, just in time for one of Tallu’s servants to swing it open, the emperor standing in the center of the hallway, surrounded by his Dogs. For a second, I was staring at a statue of Tallu, his expression grim, his face giving away nearly nothing.
Dr. Jafopo bowed to Tallu, murmuring something about being pleased to serve him, before scampering away. With a frown, I turned to stare after him, then returned my gaze to Tallu.
“Prince Airón, did you need something?” His eyes scanned the hallway around me, his brows drawing down into a glare before smoothing out. When he spoke again, his voice was frigid, colder than even the ice the dragon could produce. “Where is your Dog? What happened to your face?”
“If you have a moment, my lord, perhaps we might speak on it.” I gestured toward the interior of his quarters. One of the Dogs shifted, watching me with narrowed eyes, and I knew what he saw. A dangerous man bearing weapons, with a dragon on one shoulder and a bird from old legends on the other.
Without a word, Tallu turned, heading back inside.
He chose one of the sitting rooms lit with early afternoon light, the stained-glass window so high that it caught the sunlight entirely.
It painted thick, expensive carpets in gemstone shades.
Tallu took a high-backed chair, the leather cushion stained maroon, silent under his weight.
I chose a longer couch, hoping that one of my two passengers would take their cue to relieve me from my duty as a moving perch.
A servant entered with a tray of tea and snacks.
She jumped back when Terror snapped at one of the delicacies before she could set down the tray.
I shrugged my shoulder meaningfully, and Terror swayed, trying to keep his position, giving the servant time to place the tea tray between us, pouring two cups before disappearing out the door.
I glanced at the Dogs, positioned around the room. “Husband, might we speak in private?”
Tallu frowned, his eyes not moving from my face, even though I could feel his awareness of the listening ears in the room. “Leave us.”
“Your Imperial Majesty—” one of the Dogs started.
“I will not repeat myself,” Tallu said, his voice low. On my shoulder, the dragon lifted her head, the pressure around us thickening.
The Dogs nodded, leaving through the single door and closing it behind them.
I had so much to say to Tallu and knew that our privacy was going to be short-lived, but all I managed was, “Why was Dr. Jafopo here?”
“I asked for an update on Asahi. I don’t want the insect creatures or their abilities public.
If one of the generals were to learn of them, they might seek to use them against us or use them on the public in order to gain cooperation.
” Tallu reached out, picking up the teacup, balancing the delicate porcelain on his fingertips.
His hands dwarfed the cup, and he considered the liquid before raising it to his lips.
“Jafopo says he has managed to stop the spread, sucked out the venom, but it will be up to Asahi himself if he survives.”
I worried my lower lip between my teeth. “He can give you no hope on the prognosis?”
“He merely reminds me that Asahi is very young and strong.” Tallu took another sip of his tea, looking up at me over the rim of the cup. “And he has every reason to live.”
I felt something shiver up my spine. Even though I knew Tallu was talking about Asahi’s love for Sagam, I couldn’t help but think he was talking about us. No matter what happened, we had each other, and that was enough to save both of us. It had been enough to save both of us.
“Tell me why you’re here without your Dog. What happened? Who hurt you?” Tallu’s voice was an order, the same tone I had used with his guards earlier, but there was something in it that made me shiver, made me want to tell him everything I knew.
I took my own cup in my hands, the warmth of the porcelain relaxing something in me. “My Dog attacked me.”
Tallu went still, his hands tensing on the cup, his glare turning to the closed door. “You killed him?”
“Yes, but in his last breath, he sent lightning after me.” I looked down at the tea, thinking about that moment of inevitable death, that moment when I had no options left. “The Kennelmaster saved me.”
“He saved you?” Tallu asked, his tone thoughtful. “After you killed his Dog. Why did he wait until you were near death?”
“He wanted me to understand the strength of his position and what he was offering.” I selected one of the miniature sandwiches and offered it over to the dragon. Picking it up in her tiny front claws, she sat back on her haunches to eat it in minuscule bites.
Terror cawed in my ear, and I offered another sandwich to him. He grabbed it in his beak, flying to the far side of the room to eat it.
“What was he offering?” Tallu asked, his eyes following the bird.
“A lethal fighting force that is not loyal to the Imperium, but to you. Solely you.” I took one sandwich for myself, the soft white bread parting under my teeth, the salted meat inside matched by crunchy vegetables.
“To me or to the money I can provide?” Tallu took another sip, his lips parting just enough for the liquid.
“The Kennelmaster implied that his spies are more thorough than the network people assume you have. He also said, ‘the whispers you hear.’ Lerolian thinks he knows about the blood monks.” I took another bite, watching Tallu as he stared down at his tea.
“Lerolian didn’t think it would be a bad idea to have a force loyal only to you.
When General Saxu learns of your end goals, he might be an opponent we can’t beat alone. ”
“Having soldiers loyal to me rather than the Imperium is appealing,” Tallu conceded. “But not when they come with as high a price as the Kennelmaster’s do. The Kennelmaster let his Dog attack you. They would have increased access to your life. That is not worth it to me.”
“What are we going to do, then?” I ate the last of the sandwich, chewing thoughtfully.
On my shoulder, the dragon nuzzled against my neck, clearly begging for more like the greedy piglet I knew her to be.
That might be a fine name for her. Piglet.
“There’s one solution. We have to take the Kennelmaster with us when we go to Krustau.
He claims he swore his own oath to you alone.
This will give him the impression that you are accepting his bargain.
He mentioned coin, and I cannot shake my hesitance at leaving him alone in the capital.
Kacha is good at taking what men want and giving it to them in exchange for loyalty.
If any man might convince the Kennelmaster that his loyalty might be better suited to a new emperor…
We have time until we leave for the Lakeshore Palace.
Perhaps we use that time to test his loyalty, see if there is any weakness. ”
“We need to leave for the Lakeshore Palace sooner than that. Now, if possible.” Tallu finished his tea, delicately setting the cup down on the tray. His eyes told me nothing, no hint as to his thoughts, no indication what had brought this on.
I considered his blank expression. We had planned to go to the Lakeshore Palace, the same fortress where his father had been killed, because it was on the border with Krustau, a lake the only thing separating the imperial palace from the dwarves’ land.
But we had planned to do it in a month, after sending men ahead to make sure that we were not walking into a trap.
With less than a day, we had no time to even look for a trap, much less work out how to spring it without hurting ourselves.
Not only that, but taking any force was thorny. The complicated, formal rules of Krustavian hospitality meant that we had to be careful with even the number of men who approached the mountain. One messenger was appropriate, but anything more than four offended their sense of balance.
“Do you have new information? You learned something about the creatures that attacked me this morning?”
For a moment, his lips pulled, then he nodded.
“Even Saxu believes that the creatures from this morning were sent by the Shadow King. I can’t risk one of the generals allying themselves with King Inor and getting hold of my brother and the creatures in the same blow.
It was bad enough when there was a suspicion that Hallu was alive.
But with the creatures also available as weapons, it is a strength any of the generals would kill to attain. ”
I tried to work through the fears that had prompted Tallu’s decision.
“If Kacha or Bemishu gets Prince Hallu, they can rally the people and the court around him. If they get control of the creatures, they won’t need as many men to fight.
They can use them as poisonous killers. Release them in our soldiers’ camps, or even in the palace, and we’d all be dead. ”
“Exactly.” Tallu exhaled a long breath. His eyes moved over my face like a physical touch, lingering on the wound Boro had left on my cheek. “You have no idea what it means that you understand me so perfectly.”
I watched his face, the fall of light off his perfect cheekbones, the way he was able to make such a calculated decision while burning with a desire that neither one of us could take the time to satisfy.
“We leave tomorrow,” Tallu said. “At the very latest. We will be in Krustau in two weeks, and after that, all we must do is not die.”