There was a soft hush, then all of the lords and ladies, all of the military officers, stood and bowed, their fingers forming triangles above their heads. Tallu and I strode along the table, passing all those who had crossed the Imperium in order to stay loyal to him. Taking his seat at the head of the table, Tallu raised a hand, gesturing for everyone to retake their seats.
I sat at his right, Empress Koque across the table from me at his left, and General Saxu at the foot. Still, when the general spoke, the entire table quieted and he barely needed to raise his voice to be heard.
“We are glad to be with Your Imperial Majesty once again.” Saxu bowed his head.
“And we are glad to have soldiers and nobles loyal to us in the palace,” Tallu said.
Saxu’s eyes followed the servants as they tasted each dish on the table, but he didn’t ask why, nor did he ask what had happened to the Dogs we had traveled with. He didn’t even ask why Topi and Pito Bemishu were sitting at the table with us. General Bemishu’s twin daughters were treated as guests rather than prisoners.
Sotonam and the other ministers murmured their gratitude,their faces flushing when Tallu turned his attention to them. The rest of dinner was stilted and awkward, even Empress Koque’s grace not enough to help the floundering conversation.
The blood monks listened in, but they only reported everyone’s exhaustion. Even Sotonam seemed tired of politicking, murmuring to Lady Sotonam that he hoped to not see the inside of a carriage for at least a year. After the dessert course, Tallu raised his hand, silently excusing most of the table. The lords and ladies didn’t need any reminders, the shadows under their eyes enough to say that if any of them were even thinking of challenging Tallu, it would come later. Topi and Pito followed behind the last of the new additions, their expressions bland, pretending at invisibility as they made sure all of the unwanted listening ears were out of the room.
Topi glanced at me before turning her gaze to the Kennelmaster. He made a swift gesture with his hand and she nodded, disappearing down the hallway. Hopefully she and Pito were making sure that no one lingered in the hallway.
“General Saxu, I would have words with you and Commander Rede,” Tallu said.
The general nodded, standing. With the room emptied of everyone but the five of us, a servant shut the door, and Saxu took a seat next to Empress Koque, Commander Rede settling next to him. Tallu gestured and the servants brought plates full of smaller foods.
Koque remained in her seat, her green eyes watching. Her quiet might imply that she was subservient to Tallu, but I knew better. Now that she was back at court—even this anemic version of it—she had some hope of regaining the power she had as Millu’s consort.
“My men are grateful for the rest provided here,” Saxu said as a servant brought out a tray of small boiled and spiced birds’ eggs. “But we must begin preparations for an attack by General Bemishu or General Kacha.”
“Unfortunately, their rest will be short-lived. We intend to travel southwest to Tavornai.” Tallu skewered a bit of eel meat, bringing it to his lips and chewing thoughtfully. The fat in the meat had been rendered so that every bite tasted soft and heavenly.
“Tavornai?” General Saxu’s voice was louder than appropriate, and he swallowed, gesturing an apology with one hand. “Your Imperial Majesty wishes to go to Tavornai?”
Tallu placed the skewer down with a click. “In order to have any hope of defeating General Bemishu and General Kacha, we need more men, and we need more territory. General Namati has both, and also elven slaves, should we need cannon fodder.”
“General Namati fled after both other generals did. We cannot trust that he and his navy are not in league with them.” Saxu phrased his words carefully, but the bags under his eyes were puffy and he wet his lips with his tongue.
Beside him, Commander Rede considered his plate before raising a hand in gesturing a servant forward, indicating for him to refill the general’s glass of water.
“Even if he has turned against us, he is still the easier target. Once we have his boats, we can control the rivers inside the Imperium. We can choke the flow of supplies to Kacha and Bemishu.” Tallu raised both eyebrows. “Surely your men can take on mere pirate killers.”
“You intend to turn Namati’s boats on the Imperium itself?” Saxu frowned, considering. “Namati’s men are trained on the open sea. They have only been used against pirates in recent years, now that we are no longer at war with the Northern Kingdom and Ristorium has gone quiet in its isolation.”
“That was what the navy has been used for recently, but the rivers in the Imperium run deep. Before my great-grandfather united the continent, the navy was intended to quell rebellionwithinthe Imperium.” Tallu picked up another skewer, spearing one of the birds’ eggs. Yellow yolk seeped out through the hole hemade. “Namati’s men use many of the same boats. Certainly the same design, even if the wood has been replaced.”
Tallu put the egg in his mouth, chewing.
Saxu inhaled deeply, frowning. “I beg your forgiveness, Your Imperial Majesty. It is just that I have never considered turning our military might upon imperial citizens. That is why Kacha’s actions were so unexpected.”
“The ships were designed to put down revolts. Is this not a revolt against me?” Tallu asked.
“It is,” General Saxu agreed, nodding his head. “And if we control the rivers, then both Bemishu and Kacha would have a much more difficult time moving supplies to their preferred battlefronts.”
“We must head to Tavornai. You are right, Kacha and Bemishu will target the Lakeshore Palace next. They will come here, and we do not have the men to defeat them, even with the support of Krustau.” Tallu tapped the metal skewer against his plate. “We must choose now whether we risk my life or watch the Imperium fall from behind our thick palace walls.”
“Your Imperial Majesty—” General Saxu glanced at Koque, but her expression was blank, so he looked at me.
“I believe His Imperial Majesty worries over the future of the nation. We might survive here for some years. There is plenty of food, there is a farm inside the walls of the palace, and we have reached an accord with King Vostop, who now sits on the Shadow Throne.” I pretended to think, looking at Tallu as he speared another egg, the yellow-orange yolk seeping like blood from an arrow wound. “But we will not win. Not if they have run of the Imperium.”
“Kacha and Bemishu have decimated my network of men who listen throughout the Empire and tell me what they hear,” Saxu said. He turned his head, glancing at the Kennelmaster, although he wore a mask over his face now. Saxu watched him. “And what do your Dogs say?”
The Kennelmaster took a deep breath, and Saxu frowned at the sound of the wheeze. “They say that Kacha wants revenge and pays very well for any information about His Imperial Majesty. They also say that Bemishu has little interest in the inner Imperium. He has tasted the salt of the sands and desires the Ariphadeus.”
“What does he plan to do with it?” Tallu asked. “It is sand and nothingness.”
