At my request,the servants set up tea for Empress Koque and me in one of the far gardens, distant from any building, the plants growing as wild as anything inside an imperial palace could. When the breeze kicked up, the sweet scents of honeysuckle and wild berries wafted over us.
Koque didn’t make me wait, arriving with a single servant, her eyes taking in the scene before she bowed to me, respectfully, indicating our equal rank.
“Empress Koque,” I said.
“Consort Airón,” she greeted. With a single gesture, she sent her servant away, leaving us in privacy.
Above us, in the tree, Terror croaked, “There’s no one else nearby. At least no one that I can see.”
The birds had taken the knowledge that Tallu and I could see ghosts as though it was a personal offense, and I got the impression that Terror considered the blood mages competition rather than allies.
Empress Koque poured tea for us, serving me, and I wasn’t sure if it was habit from her time with Emperor Millu, or if she was trying to offer me the respect that my position deserved, even as it grated on her own sense of pride.
The breeze rustled the leaves and Terror’s feathers, and I let Empress Koque take the lead in our conversation.
After taking a polite sip of tea, she brought up its quality, discussing where in the Imperium the leaves must have been grown. Taking my own sip, I dutifully agreed with her. Yes, it must have been in the peaks closer to the Blood Mountains than Krustau. The leavesdidhave a subtle flavor only acquired when they had been shaded by pine trees.
Next, Koque brought up the weather and worried that it had been cold when we had gone to see General Saxu. Had he seemedill? He did have some old injuries that weakened him when the weather turned cold and damp.
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 youareso talented, Itrust 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.
Ikept 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 trustedmewith 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.
