I was barely able to climb up the rope ladder, collapsing on the deck straight into Tallu’s arms. He wrapped his robes around me, the silken fabric absorbing the last of the river water.
“It is done, Your Imperial Majesty,” I said.
“Is there a chance that General Kacha has set up another trap farther down?” General Saxu asked.
I shook my head, then raised my shoulder in a helpless shrug. “We cleared out the area that your scouts found, and I went as far as I could, but I didn’t check the whole delta.”
“It’s unlikely,” the explosives expert said. Gently, as though taking a sleeping baby from against his chest, he loosened the scarf he had tied around himself.
He crouched down on the deck of the ship and opened it, revealing all of the rocks we had collected.
“Electro stone,” he said. “This is more of it than I have ever seen in one place. It is worth an imperial fortune.”
“What is Kacha thinking?” Saxu asked, gazing down at it. “If he has set traps further down, they cannot be as dangerous as this.”
“We need to go through tonight,” I said. “Leaving debris and the letters in our wake.”
“I agree,” Saxu said. “General Kacha must have emptied the armory to use this much electro stone.”
“Would anyone else have had…” I stopped because my teeth were chattering. Clenching my jaw, I forced the words through. “That much?”
“Kacha may have discovered a new mine,” Saxu said. “But he would need Krustavians to work it. You cannot use metal pickaxes or shovels, or there’s a chance of an explosion.”
“Where—” I shivered again, so violently that I banged my elbow on a nearby railing.
Tallu stepped forward, wrapping his strong arms around me, stilling my body with his. I could feel the warmth emanating off him, eating away at the chill in my bones.
“Why are the rest of your men not soaking wet?” Tallu asked. His question was sharp, a fierce accusation that ricocheted through the men.
All of the soldiers who had been on the boat with me, even the ones who had joined me in the water, dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads against the rough wooden deck.
“We are sorry, Your Imperial Majesty. We have failed. None of us could do what your consort did.” The scout spoke his words into the wood. “I am not sureanyonecould do what he did. He removed each of the explosive canisters himself, loosening them and freeing them without killing himself or us.”
Tallu shook his head, and I could feel his arms still tight around me, the muscles keeping me safe, the warm beat of his heart a steady thrum against my ear.
“You seek to appease me despite your paltry inadequacy by praising my consort’s excellence?” Tallu growled. I felt his words rumble against my chest, soothing the last of the tremors.
Before he could order the men thrown overboard or flayed or whatever else he thought was necessary, I put a hand against his chest. “Take me below deck.”
Tallu stilled, then, in a carefully controlled voice, he said, “Takeus past the delta into the open water where Kacha cannot catch us. Do not render my husband’s work worthless by letting us be discovered.”
Then he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, still covered by his cloak, and guided me below deck. He led me to the room that Nohe had claimed as my quarters. There were no imperial baths, but Nohe took one look at me and stoked a brazier in the corner and ordered one of the servants to go find hot soup and tea.
Homisu said nothing, but stripped me out of my clothes, taking the steaming water that Nohe brought and wiping me down with it, cleaning off the river silt that clung to my skin.
When he was done, he wrapped me in a warm robe, drying every inch of my skin with a soft towel before he began to dress me again.
Tallu lingered in the corner, the door guarded by his Dogs. They wouldn’t fit inside—my quarters were no match for his own—but they did keep us safe from any interruptions.
By the time Homisu was satisfied he had dressed me in an adequate number of layers, the soup and tea were ready. I sat at the small table in the room, using the only chair. Tallu towered over me, glaring down at the top of my head.
“You know, the last time you fed me soup, you weren’t glaring at me so fiercely. It was quite romantic,” I said.
“The last time I fed you soup, you didn’t jump into a river and swim for hours by yourself,” Tallu said pointedly. “I didn’t send you on the mission so that you could do it yourself.”
I glanced at Homisu and Nohe, gesturing a polite dismissal. Nohe pointedly shut the door behind her, blocking Gotuye’s view.
“No, but you did send me so thatsomeonewould do the work. Someone capable. You were the one who said that I was the only one on this boat you trust with my life.” I reached out, grabbing hold of Tallu’s hand and drawing him down to the bed. “Tallu, trust that I knew what I was doing.”
