I gaped from Xae to Rath, then scrambled to my feet. “That's brilliant! Don't you think that's brilliant, Rath?”
Rath looked at Taroc.
Taroc shrugged.
“We will discuss it with the Emperor,” Rath said.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Emperor was surprisingly amenable to the idea of Death's help.
“If he already knows about the plan, we might as well test him with something that won't harm us if it fails,” the Emperor said. “But we shall prepare for it to fail. I still don't trust this entity, but I'd like to see what it does when Ember is faced with the Corrupter.”
“Very well, Your Imperial Majesty,” Rath said. “We will inform General Rontor.”
“Lord Taroc,” the Emperor stopped us from standing. “Are you becoming entwined with Lord Ember?”
“I am,” Taroc said.
“Good!” The Emperor shot to his feet, the rest of us hurrying to follow. He slapped me on the shoulder as if Taroc were a great accomplishment. “Our Ember is becoming a wildfire! Well done, Lord Ember. Keep it up.”
I blinked, cleared my throat, and managed to squeak out, “Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”
We said goodbye to the Emperor and hurried out to the entry room. Keltyr looked about to burst, but he held it together until we were in the arrival chamber of the citadel keep.
“Keep it up!” Keltyr shouted as he exploded out of the arrival chamber, then doubled over, laughing. “Keep it up, he says.”
I chuckled as I left the chamber. “It was hard to keep a straight face when he said that. I wanted to tell him it's not so difficult to keep all of you up.”
Keltyr fell to the floor and guffawed.
Rath laughed and even Xae and Taroc grinned.
“Do you think he said it on purpose?” I asked.
“You never know with the Emperor,” Rath said. “If he didn't, you can bet it's occurring to him now. He's probably mortified.”
“Or laughing,” I said. I snorted. “Keep it up. As if I'm building a house.” Then I blinked. “Shit! I haven't been back to work on Fress.”
“They're doing fine,” Lord Dielran said as he came down the main stairs. “Got two houses done.”
“I'm glad, but it's my old home,” I said. “I should be helping.”
“You've got your own work to do,” Taroc said with a smirk.
“Keep it up!” Keltyr hooted.
“Why is Lord Keltyr on the floor?” Lord Dielran asked, frowning at Kel.
“The Emperor has an unusual sense of humor,” Rath said.
“He was praising me on my efforts to take another lover,” I explained to Dielran. “Then he told me to keep it up.”
Dielran's lips twitched. “No. He didn't.”
“Yup!” Keltyr finally crawled to his feet. “It was all I could do to walk away.” He sidled over to me, “Hey, Ember, I think you're slacking on your job.” He waved a hand toward his crotch. “Best get on it. Literally, please.”
“Maybe he was talking about Ember's cock,” Xae said. “Do you need me to help you with that, love?” He waggled his brows at me.
