“I don’t think anyone here has the courage to act against Emperor Tallu,” Iradîo said, the long pause between question and answer saying more than it should. “They fear him too much. That much, at least, is genuine, in this country of men and women who talk out of the corners of their lips as though to say a lie with enough belief makes it true. But it is too much for me to take on the task of monitoring it myself.”
She tied off one of the braids and started another, her fingers quick with the work. I stared at the pale tiles in the room, shipped from the other side of the Imperium, just so the emperor’s household could bathe in the manner they were accustomed to.
“You think the Kennelmaster must be replaced.” I watched a drop of water trail down the white tile, the condensation picking up speed as it went.
“Emperor Tallu only has three Dogs, and the man who runs them might die at any moment. The Kennelmaster must choose a successor and train him. If Tallu wants to survive, he needs to rebuild the Kennel.” Iradîo tugged my head backward as she tied off the next braid, starting a third.
“The Kennelmaster might turn on Tallu if the emperor insists on him giving up his position.” I glanced at the door, but I hadn’t heard a single sound since the maid left.
“And if he does?” Iradîo stopped braiding, and I turned to glance over my shoulder. She was looking down at the strands of hair in her hand, and I turned back, flushing at her accusation.
What good was I as an assassin if I didn’t take care of Tallu’s enemies before they could take action against him?
“It’s more complicated than that. The Dogs won’t trust me if…” Even I didn’t dare voice what Iradîo had suggested with a raised brow.
“Then force the issue. Whether the Dogs trust you or not is pointless if there are none left in the Kennel.” Iradîo tugged on my hair and started on the last braid. She finished it quickly and then began plaiting the four braids together.
I closed my eyes, wishing that I was anywhere else, wishing that Eonaî was there with me; her manipulations were more subtle than Iradîo’s. “I will consider how to approach Emperor Tallu.”
Iradîo breathed out a sharp breath that was almost like a snort. “Oh, I’m sure you will.”
“What? Isn’t that the point of marrying the emperor? To use our times between the sheets to my benefit?” I let my fingers trail over the soft lining of the robe, imagining Tallu in his own bath.
“Oh, yes, yourbenefit,” Iradîo said. “I’m sure that’s the only reason you’re bedding him. Thebenefits.”
The accusation stung, partially because I knew what she was saying was true. I had fallen for the man I was sent to kill. She might think me a fool, but I knew Tallu’s heart in a way that no one else did, no one elsecould.
She flicked my ear. “Done.”
I stood, moving over to the mirror on the other side of the room. I ran a hand over the braids, feeling something in my chest tighten, knotting so tight I could barely breathe with it sitting under my lungs.
The servants in Turtle House had tried to approximate northern braids. Homisu, the man hired to replace Piivu, had come the closest, his efforts yielding a passable single plait, but none of them had the ability to do the complicated styles that told as much of a story as southern stitching on jackets.
Iradîo had given me the hairstyle of a blooded warrior,married, and the pride of his clan. Despite her censure, she had given me something I hadn’t been sure of since my wedding night: the reassurance that I was doing the right thing.
“Keep watch,” I said. “I don’t know what the owls told you, but High General Saxu comes to us with a fraction of his men, plus the servants who survived a massacre. It would be easy for Kacha or Bemishu to arrange for one of their spies to have survived.”
“My birds are fine.” Iradîo glared at me. “It isyouwho spoiled yours and ruined them for good information.”
“Ruined them? They still come to me with intelligence.” I felt defensively protective of the birds.
“They come to you withlazyinformation, things they picked up while gathering other food.” Iradîo shook her head. “This is why you do better with wolves. A wolf with a fat belly doesn’t get lazy, it gets loyal. A bird who gets its fill of food grows complacent.”
“Don’t let Terror hear you say he’scomplacent.” I watched myself smile in the mirror, more than aware we were both talking around the real issues that hung between us.
Iradîo might trust me in my judgment with Tallu, but a part of her would always see everyone here as a threat. Everyone here was a risk to the north, even when they were acting with the same goal we had.
“At least with three of them, there is some competition,” Iradîo said.
I shook my head. “So cruel to birds who don’t even like you now that their master is returned. What of the twins?”
“The Bemishu girls have been quiet. They leave their room only when called for. I cannot get a read on them, they seem aware that whatever they say will be overheard.” She shook her head. “I do not like the idea of letting the Kennelmaster have control of their training.”
I considered the alternatives. The twins, who had shown up afew days after we had returned to the Lakeshore Palace, had been nothing but obedient, even if I could see a hunger in their eyes for more.
“Do you think they’re a threat?” I asked.
“I don’t think that a sea serpent eats krill. They eat the fish that fill their stomachs on krill,” Iradîo said.
