Was it Spider? Was that possible?
If anyone knew where Namati was hiding, it would be Spider.
“We will get dressed and meet this person.” Tallu swung his legs over the side of the bed, raising a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose. He gestured for them to enter.
Within seconds, his servants pushed inside the room, and I sawHomisu winding his way through the imperial servants. He presented me with a fresh set of clothes and dressed me as Tallu’s servants fussed with his outfit. By the time we were done, he was dressed as impeccably as though he was holding court in the Mountainside Palace.
Lerolian rushed into the room, coming through one of the walls, and I yelped, even though I had had months to get used to the way the blood monks could travel through solid objects.
“General Saxu and Commander Rede are furious. The person Lord Chaliko has brought in has her own crew with her, all of them are armed, and none of them will give up their weapons.” Lerolian spoke quickly, moving backward before a servant walked through him. When Tallu glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, Lerolian continued, “It’s a pirate captain. Yet Lord Chaliko is serving her as though she’s… well… you, Tallu. He honors her greatly, and General Saxu is about to imprison her and all of her men as well as execute Lord Chaliko for betraying the Imperium.”
I wished there were fewer servants around, or that I could think of a tactful way to ask Tallu my questions for Lerolian, but instead I had to be satisfied that he seemed to read my questions on my face.
“The servants say that this is not the first time she and Chaliko have spoken, although all of them seem surprised to see her, as usually she sees him on her ship.” Lerolian glanced out the window. “They seem to fear her more than Chaliko does, although I can’t understand them very well, and few of them speak to each other in Imperial.
“Sagam and his sisters spent all night talking. Mostly about their parents. Sagam apologized for sending his sisters away. He and Joxii both wanted to know what happened to the young girl, but Riini refuses to explain what she has been doing for the past three years.” Lerolian frowned, as though trying to remember anything else. His face fell. “The Kennelmaster does not look well. It would be a surprise if he survives the next few days.”
I felt something inside me clench and then relax. The Kennelmaster was a variable we couldn’t control; he had his own goals, his own purpose, and we might align with his desires or we might not, but either way we hadn’t been able to trust him.
Still, his loss would be a great blow, not just for Tallu’s ambitions, but also because I could see how he and Iradîo were similar. There was a reason that she had felt she could trust him when she couldn’t even trust me.
Tallu was finally released by the last servant and Lerolian looked at him, a frown on his face. “We will continue listening for new information, but we can get little more out of the servants. None of us speak the language of the elves, and among each other that is the language they mostly converse in.”
In the mirror, Tallu gazed coldly at himself, as unmoving as a statue as he examined the fall of his robes, the perfect knot of his belt.
I looked presentable enough myself, and when Tallu extended his arm, I took it, allowing him to lead me out the door and into the hall. General Saxu himself waited for us, having a hushed conversation with Commander Rede while Sagam stood nearby, listening.
After Lerolian’s warning, I expected it when General Saxu began with, “Your Imperial Majesty, I believe House Chaliko has been compromised.”
“How so?” Tallu asked, his tone curious.
“They’ve brought a pirate in to speak with Your Imperial Majesty. We cannot allow it. Even if we could trust the word of a pirate, it is madness to assume she will not double-cross you as soon as she thinks she can.” General Saxu frowned, his hand resting on his sword. “Give us your leave, we will bring you the heads of everyone involved.”
“I do not want anyone’s head. We will hear what this pirate has to say, and then we will make our decision. Unless you havebecome emperor while I slept?” Tallu’s words were calm and chilly, and Saxu pursed his lips in response.
“Of course not, Your Imperial Majesty,” Saxu said.
“Then understand that I am being the emperor you wished me to be. I will speak with this pirate and if I am unsatisfied,thenyou may kill her.” Tallu began walking toward the dining room. “As you pointed out, I am not one to waste a tool at my disposal. Let us go see what sort of tool this pirate will be.”
Twenty
Iwasn’t sure what to expect in the dining room. The only time I had ever seen elven pirates was when I had killed a ship full of them years ago. In the early morning light, when I had fed them to the sea serpents, they had just seemed like men.
Two elven servants opened the door to the dining room, their expressions not quite as guarded as a true imperial’s would have been. They looked hesitant, cautious, even frightened.
Tallu didn’t give them so much as a glance, striding through the door as though he owned the house. Lord Chaliko pushed himself up to his feet, bowing to Tallu and glancing at the woman who sat with her back to the door. Two of her crew stood on either side of her with Sagam, Asahi, and Gotuye close enough that none of the elves would be able to move before they ended up with a sword through their throat.
“Lord Chaliko, we were informed that you had someone you wanted us to meet.” Tallu kept his eyes fixed on Lord Chaliko as though the woman were invisible.
I didn’t need to glance behind me to feel Saxu and Commander Rede tensing, ready for something that might not come.
“Emperor Tallu, may I present the Pirate King of Tavornai.” Lord Chaliko gestured at the woman with an open hand, the politest form of acknowledgment.
His body language made it clear that not only did he respect her, but that he believed she deserved Tallu’s respect as well.
The woman still didn’t rise. Tallu waited, then strode across the room, dragging me with him as he took a seat at the head of the table. I took the seat to his right, the chair Lord Chaliko had previously been sitting in.
It left the woman across from me, and I got my first good look at her.
