“You must choose your replacement,”Tallu said.
The room was still, and I waited in the corner. Despite all of his training, despite his electro magic, I was sure I could beat him. He was injured and old—older than his years.
“Imust?” The Kennelmaster didn’t look at me. Instead, he took off his bear mask, his face carved into granite. “And why must I?”
Tallu stared at him, his expression unmoving. They were both winter storms of men. One didn’t fight a blizzard. One survived it.
They stared at each other so long that I began to wonder if either would ever speak again. Then, to my surprise, theKennelmaster took a few steps forward, slumping onto the couch across from Tallu’s chair.
“You are worried about my network of Dogs,” he said.
“You had no knowledge of the movements of Bemishu or Kacha, allowing them to take the capital. Now we must traverse my empire going north, traveling through nearly every province. I will have to see the men who have taken control of the provinces, and I will need to make the decision of whether or not to let them keep their prizes. You are slowly dying. And I may deny it, but we both know I need a Kennelmaster.” Tallu watched him, merciless when he said, “Would you prefer to die here or train your replacement?”
At that, the Kennelmaster glanced at where I stood in the shadows, my arms crossed, my weapons ready. He grimaced before he shook his head. When he spoke, his words were nearly a growl. “No, I would not prefer to die here.”
“Then who do you choose?” I asked.
“It’s not really achoice, is it?” The Kennelmaster breathed deep, the inhale rattling something in his chest. “Who do you want?”
Tallu stared at him, unblinking, his only movement the rubbing of his thumb across the underside of his golden rings. When he tilted his head, his delicate golden earrings fluttered into motion, a series of feathers spreading wide for a split second before settling.
“You won’t let me bring anyone in,” the Kennelmaster said, thinking the options through out loud. “So it has to be one of those here. Meaning Asahi or Sagam, because those are the two you have formed an unnatural attachment to.”
“Unnatural?” I asked.
“In the north, your wolves are no more than that. They are pack animals and hunters. They help you. And if one gets injured on a hunt, do you cry as though it was your brother, or do you leave it in the cold to suffer its fate?” The Kennelmaster looked away from me, as though disgusted at me for lying.
I didn’t say anything, glad to know I still had some secrets from him. We would no more leave an injured wolf to die in the frozen north than we would leave a person. He might know everything about the Imperium, but the Kennelmaster was still ignorant of the north.
“I cannot choose Asahi, although he probably has his father’s knack for strategy. It’s too much of a risk for the son of General Kacha to take the position of Kennelmaster. Moreover, he was recently under the thrall of an animalia. I cannot be sure those connections have been fully severed.” The Kennelmaster frowned down at his hands. “Sagam, then.”
“Is that who you would choose freely?” I asked.
The Kennelmaster looked at me with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head, seemingly grateful that I was acknowledging it was not actually free choice, merely choosing between the only two options Tallu offered.
“If I had my choice, I wouldn’t oppose Sagam.” The Kennelmaster glanced at the sideboard, then back at me. Shaking my head, I walked over to it, pouring two glasses of the fruit juice Tallu preferred. I added several fingers of alcohol to the Kennelmaster’s.
Walking over to the two of them, I made a point of presenting Tallu with his glass first, before giving the Kennelmaster anything.
“You need to know Sagam’s weaknesses, before you agree to the choice.” The Kennelmaster moved forward smoothly, drawing the emperor’s glass to himself. He took a drink of the liquid in Tallu’s cup, turning the glass between his fingers so that the light sparkled through it.
With a truncated bow, he placed the glass on the table and slid it back to Tallu.
Tallu considered the liquid, then took a sip for himself. “I thought your Dogs had no weaknesses.”
“Your Imperial Majesty,allmen have weaknesses, even those who have been trained out of the most egregious of them.” The Kennelmaster swirled his own drink, bringing it to his lips. “Beforethe arrival of His Highness, I would have saidyouwere a man without weakness.”
“We already know about Sagam and Asahi.” I returned to the corner, enjoying having the wall at my back. Just because he was weakened, the Kennelmaster was far from helpless. “What are Sagam’s weaknesses?”
“Sagam’s parents died just before I picked him up and offered him a position of Dog. His mother was foreign, a half-blood elf or something of the like. His father’s blood allowed them to pass as imperial citizens, but there were enough whispers in their neighborhood that they were never treated as such.” The Kennelmaster clicked his teeth. “Sagam’s pay has been enough that he can support his three sisters and none of them had to become night flowers. One apprenticed to a baker and married the baker’s son, another studies numbers and works for merchants in Otter Cub City. The third he sent to one of the imperial schools in Tavornai. She looked too much like their mother. He pays a local family to care for her on holidays.”
“His sisters are his weakness?” I asked.
“All three of them, spread across the Imperium. All three of them potential threats to his good sense. The eldest would survive without the allowance he sends. So would the middle, although the pay she receives allows her to live in a better quarter of the city. The youngest would likely be put on the streets, as any other elven orphan is.” The Kennelmaster raised his glass, drinking nearly half of it in one large gulp. “Gotuye has no family. He has been with the Dogs since before I took over and sees every member of the Kennel as his brother or sister. He was loyal to your father before you, and I have not heard him say a single word against Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Are you saying that Sagam has said anything about His Imperial Majesty?” I asked.
“I’m saying that your choice of Kennelmaster has weaknesses that Gotuye does not.” The Kennelmaster finishedhis drink, leaning forward with a wince to set it on the table. He laced his fingers together, his eyes fixed on Tallu’s face. “So?”
