“It’s not that hard.” She looked at me as though I was foolish. “We only have to work a few minutes a day. The rest of the time, we, um…” She stuttered to a halt.
“What do you mean you only have to work a few minutes a day?” I picked up the heavy stone made of a mineral that appeared golden. It had been slow baked in a fire to heighten the color. I tapped it against the table, hearing the solid thump. “Even a grown man would take several days to grind this much powder from the stone.”
She grinned at me, her lips pulling back to reveal childlike joy. “Is that what you think?”
The tendrils unwound from her arms, two of them plucking the stone from my hand. They put it back on the tabletop, and she raised a nearby hammer with her hand, bringing it down hard on the large stone, shearing off a few shards.
She gently placed them inside a mortar, holding it steady with another pair of vines, then used the pestle with three vines and her hand to direct them. Within a few breaths, the rock had turned to a fine powder.
I gaped at her, both of my eyebrows going up. The elves I had fought on the whaling ship had been strong, but I had assumed that was because they were fully grown. Perhaps I had only been lucky, catching them off-guard and using my skills as an assassin to spill their blood.
If I had faced them full-on, they could have snapped me into pieces just as easily as she had crushed solid stone.
I touched my finger to the powder inside the mortar, rubbing it back and forth. It had the same consistency as what was already in the tin. “Why did you stay?”
“The Dogs are with him?” she asked again. “Do you know their names? Is there one called Sagam?”
I looked at her sharply, frowning. “Sagam?”
“Riini,” Lady Chaliko said from the door, her eyes wide, face pale. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. We sent the children away. ButRiini is such a hard worker, so loyal to the Imperium.” As she spoke, she crossed the room, grabbing hold of Riini’s hand, touching the twisting vines with her other, her gaze fixed on me. She was sweating, the silver makeup she wore beginning to run in rivulets down her face. “She’s a child.”
She said the last as though reminding me. I nodded, my eyes still fixed on Riini. The eyes were the same as Sagam, just as they were with Joxii, although the Kennelmaster was right. She was far too elven to have survived in the Imperium.
“Forgive me, I was under the impression that all of the elves living in the Tavornai schools had their… extra appendages removed.” I pulled my gaze away from Riini, asking Lady Chaliko as though it was an innocent question.
Her hand tightened on Riini’s, and the girl pulled all of her tendrils beneath her shift, making them disappear.
“Of course we follow His Imperial Majesty’s commands. We cut them off and they grow back so quickly.” Lady Chaliko was not the liar her father was. I had seen that when she had tried to speak to me at a garden party what felt like years ago.
I had seen the scars on the elven pirates’ bodies, where someone had cut off their connection to the woods. Perhaps that was why I had survived. Perhaps removing their tendrils had been like cutting off a hand.
“Riini, the other teachers will be waiting for you. Go now.” Lady Chaliko squeezed Riini’s hand again, her knuckles pale under the silver powders.
Riini jerked away, running out the door. I looked at Lady Chaliko, too young to play the part of the protective matron, but then again, she had watched when the Imperium had killed all of the blood mages and citizens of the Blood Mountains that her father had managed to save.
“Lady Chaliko, I am seeking someone in these swamplands, and I think you can help me find them.”
Seventeen
Lady Chaliko looked startled, glancing after Riini before returning her gaze to me. “You need help finding someone in Tavornai? I’m not sure why you think I would be of use to you. Despite my father’s best efforts, we are still seen as foreigners here. It took two of my brothers’ lives before we were able to find the remaining elder trees.”
The more often she told the story, the more often it seemed like a lie. I wondered what the truth was. Where were her brothers?
“I’m looking for an animalia. Spider.” I fixed my gaze on her and watched her eyes widen and her body shift; it was clear that she wanted to take a step back but she held herself in place.
“An animalia?” Her voice rose and she swallowed. “I’m even less sure why you think I could help you.”
“Because I think that you have the trust of the elves here. That child has never had her vines cut. I think that the children were not sent away today to make room for the emperor. I think they were sent away because if they stayed, we would realize that this school is a haven for elves just as your old estate was once a haven for refugees from the Blood Mountains.” I raised my eyebrows, daringher to say anything. She flushed, bowing low and forming a triangle with her fingers.
“Your Highness, House Chaliko is loyal to the emperor. We are performing the task Emperor Millu set for us. We brought evidence of it ourselves.” She raised her chin, wiping her forehead quickly with the back of her hand, smearing her silver makeup. “If you will follow me, I can take you to the rooms arranged for your use.”
I had been placedin what was clearly Lady Chaliko’s quickly abandoned bedroom. Her dresses had been removed from the closet, but I saw a few accessories that had been left behind in drawers, and the silk wall hangings were of flowers and scenery from the Imperium.
Tallu was down the hall in her father’s rooms, and most of the elven servants had disappeared, leaving the work to the imperial servants who had survived the swamp.
Dinner was a quiet affair, Lord Chaliko glancing at his daughter covertly while Lady Chaliko pushed the food around her plate. Empress Koque and Prince Hallu had requested dinner in their rooms, citing the exhaustion of travel. When everything had been cleared away, Tallu leaned back in his seat, watching the three members of House Chaliko, who presented themselves as their house’s only survivors.
“We have a new task for House Chaliko. If you are able to fulfill it, you will be welcomed back into the Imperium with open arms.” Tallu moved his attention from Lord Chaliko to his remaining son before turning to Lady Chaliko. He moved his gaze away from her, clearly dismissing her when she winced at his focus.
