“Have I murdered some children recently? Poisoned some village well? Unless you can prove I did, if you freeze this water, I will make sure that you never receive the choice slices of meat you think I don’t know the chef keeps for you.” I glared at the dragon, glancing over at Iradîo where she chuckled.
She sat down on the seat abandoned by the bath maid, tossing her braid over her shoulder. In Northern, she said, “I don’t know what you expected. She was very angry at being left behind, and I’ve spent the past two days trying to entertain her so that she would not tear down the castle in her irritation. If anyone deserves choice cuts of meat, it is me.”
“Has it been that bad?” I frowned at Naî, who had the temerity to raise her paw to her mouth, licking it and cleaning her crest like a cat.
“You went off to see the Imperium’s military without me. Leaving me here with these fools.”
“These fools who dote on you,” I said pointedly. “Would you prefer to have ridden hard for a day and a half only to speak with General Saxu for a few minutes before turning around and coming back?”
“I would prefer to be anywhere else. The fire dragon pesters me. The heat from the mountain works its way under my scales. I am sure that I will melt from it.”
Glancing at Iradîo, I felt worry tightened my throat. I thoughtshe was exaggerating, but part of me wondered. She was an ice dragon being forced to stay next to a fire dragon at the peak of his rage.
Although the mountain itself had stopped exploding, lava still flowed, reshaping the mountain that had once been home to the dwarves.
“You are welcome to sleep in the cold storage,” I said. “Or return with Iradîo to the north.”
Naî almost hissed in disapproval. She huffed a breath and then raised her chin. “I will stay.”
“Do not endanger yourself for whatever obligation you feel between us,” I said.
“An obligation between us?”Naî straightened, and raised her paw again threateningly over the warm water in the tub.
I held up my hand, shaking my head. Turning to Iradîo, I asked, “Anything else?”
“The dwarven king? I imagine Quuri already told you.” Iradîo stretched, her eyes going slightly distant. “He came with three of his men when Emperor Tallu was gone. I believe that either they were watching the palace, or the empress has some way of communicating with him that we don’t know about. The timing is too specific.”
“It was dangerous for him to come when Tallu wasn’t here,” I observed. “Quuri and the rest of the palace staff could have thrown him in prison. I understand that the dwarves believe four is a sacred number, and that he believed he would be offered hospitality, but the word has a much different meaning in the Imperium than it does in Krustau.”
“Emperor Tallu’s absence would have offered other benefits,” Iradîo observed.
“Meaning?” I asked, too tired to try and make the connection myself.
“Meaning he could speak with Empress Koque by himself, without Tallu’s interference.” Iradîo reached out, nudging myshoulder until I leaned forward. She took a small pitcher from the side of the bath and began rinsing out my hair before pouring oil from a small bottle into her hand and carefully working it through the strands.
“He’s trying to sway Empress Koque to come back with him.” I wrapped my arms around my knees, holding them against my chest as I observed the water, cloudy with scented oils and soap bubbles. “The dwarves must be going further into the Krustavian Mountains soon, and he wants her to go with him.”
“That’s what I believe.” Iradîo found a bone comb and began working the knots out of my long hair.
I bit my lip, watching some of the soap bubbles float across the water. Tallu was not going to let go of Prince Hallu, clinging to him as a chance for redemption.
“Any other news?” I asked.
“Nothing but whispers,” Iradîo reassured me.
She finished with my hair and held out a towel for me as I stepped out of the bath. Turning away, Iradîo offered me privacy as I dried myself.
“Whispers?” I asked.
“Servants worry about where their next pay packet will come from, if Emperor Tallu loses support of the entire Imperium. They have already heard that General Saxu marches on the Lakeshore Palace and they know it means the capital has fallen.” Iradîo reached down, picking Naî back up.
“Do you think any of them will do anything about it?” I pulled on a robe. My unbraided hair fell down my back, and I pulled it free, settling it over my shoulder.
Iradîo stepped closer, nudging me down onto her abandoned stool. She brushed through my hair again, choosing a different oil to keep the strands pliable. Then she began the complicated braids that, in the north, would mark me as a blooded warrior.
Her fingers were soothing and the tug on my scalp familiar. Braiding was usually done by a lover or close family member,although in the north Iradîo and I had been too close to competitors to trust each other with such an intimacy. Mother had been training Iradîo to take her place as ruler of the northern clans. So our cousin had always felt distant to me and Eonaî because we had known our fate was set. We would die, and Iradîo would get to rule over a Northern Kingdom not bound by the Imperium’s greed.
I had not asked what she felt to lose her position to my sister, the returning princess who should have died and lived instead.
