I frowned after him, only glancing at Koque when she swept out of the room herself, a pair of servants following behind her.
Well, that was taken care of. Now we just needed to wait for General Saxu’s arrival and to plan how to slice the impossible threads of fate.
Six
It took General Saxu and those with him a week to reach us, although messengers had been traveling back and forth since we had visited his camp. Commander Rede was able to provide a clear picture of who traveled with General Saxu, and he and the Kennelmaster had come to an agreement regarding Tallu’s safety.
Commander Rede and his men began taking shifts guarding Tallu, which left both Sagam and Asahi finally able to take a break. I found myself relieved on their behalf, given that I knew how little time they had been taking to rest, much less enjoy each other’s company now that Asahi was himself again.
When Saxu’s forces finally arrived, we had settled on a plan.
From the windows of Tallu’s rooms, we watched General Saxu and the highest ranking of his officers as well as what was left of Tallu’s court arrive. It was small, a handful of the people compared to what I had seen that first day in Tallu’s throne room.
Quuri and some of the other servants were ready, gesturing the officers in one direction to quarters suitable to their rank, and giving the lords and ladies that survived the burning of the Mountainside Palace rooms of their own. Servants dressed in yellowpushed their way through the crowd, speaking first to Quuri before being allowed inside the palace.
“Sotonam survived,” I said, watching the uncle of the man I’d assassinated gesture widely and speak at too high a volume when told which rooms would be his.
“Ziivu and Wuquo too,” Tallu said, naming two others who had acted more like weasels than ministers. “As well as several ladies missing their house patriarchs.”
“We can’t take all of them to Tavornai,” I said. “I still don’t understand why we can’t slip away in the middle of the night.”
“Bemishu and Kacha know we aren’t in the Mountainside Palace, nor the capital. They will assume we’ve traveled here. With both of them watching and waiting for us to make a move, traveling across the Imperium quietly is going to be impossible.” Tallu breathed out through his nose. “It does not mean I like it either.”
“I understand. It’s a habit for us. Doing things we don’t like because the other option is untenable.” I grinned at him. “We will have to give them a reason they will understand. ‘We are going to seek an animalia to break the curse on House Atobe’s heirs so we can watch the Imperium burn from the comfort of the north’ won’t be an explanation that they will accept.”
“There is someone else in Tavornai that we might be seeking,” Tallu said. “Someone who would help us retake the Imperium as they expect us to do.”
“General Namati,” I said, thoughtfully. “It could work. We say we’re going for the general, and we have to search the whole nation to find him. If we find Spider as we look…”
“They would have to believe the ruse,” Tallu said. “We simply need to make it plausible.”
“Of course. Just what I’m best at.” Trying to distract myself, I called a ball of ice into my hand. I imagined the outer shell so thin that a mere tap would shatter it. Naî came in, her ears perking when she saw what I was doing.
In the distance, the volcano boomed, and I felt the stone ofthe palace shiver under my feet. As if he were in the room with us, I could hear the voice of the dragon, even though it was only in my head. He had offered to teach me, but something about the power of fire, the anger and the lack of control, frightened me.
In my hand, the ice turned to water, dripping cold down my fingertips before soaking into the carpet. Naî tsked.
“Careless,” she commented. The ground shook and she and I both looked in the direction of the volcano, even though Tallu’s rooms faced the wrong direction to see it.
That incoherent rage, the ability to let one’s emotions fly free with such violence… When I had been very young, Yorîmu had trained me in the damage that such excess could create. A rage like that would lose me my kill. Unchecked emotion was the fastest way to let the Imperium win.
My mother had turned herself cold for decades in order to succeed against the Imperium. She had frozen her heart, looked away from what she was doing to her own children, looked away from the part of her that saw blood on the ice and demanded she travel to the Imperium herself and slit the emperor’s throat.
And in the end, she had won.
As what remained of Tallu’s court settled into the palace, Naî and I practiced ice magic, carefully hiding our work any time a servant came in. The blood monks reported that no one was saying anything out of the ordinary. The lords and ladies were so grateful for imperial baths that they were happy to use the common one normally reserved for servants. The military commanders tiptoed around General Saxu, who remained quiet except for when he needed to give a direct order.
“The stage is set,” I observed.
Tallu nodded. When it was time for dinner, and servants had escorted all of the guests into the massive dining room, Tallu stood, letting his own servants fix the fall of his cape, adjust his crown. His Dogs rejoined us, all four of them that were left.
I kept my eye on the Kennelmaster, the scarred bear mask he wore muffling the heavy sound of his breathing.
“Anything amiss?” Tallu asked, turning his head toward the Kennelmaster.
“No. I had left a few Dogs among the servants, but none of them survived. Still, between us, the servants and soldiers are scared.” He projected confidence, and I hoped he was right.
Tallu extended his arm, and I placed my own on top of it, feeling the power of his forearm, the strength of his form, despite the curse that I knew ate at his body. I could still smell blood on his breath when he overworked himself. We strode down the empty hallways, two servants pushing open the doors to the dining room, and Quuri announced, “His Imperial Majesty, Dragon Chosen Emperor Tallu.”
