She had elven skin, a soft brown that complemented her brilliant red hair, the color of fresh blood. A narrow braid started at her temple and fell down her shoulder, intricately beaded at the end; the colorful beads distracted from her pointed ears.
Unlike the ears of the blood monks, which looked nearly like a northerner’s except for the sharp point at the top, or the delicately formed ears of the Ariphadi goblins, elves had ears that pointed back, the tops of them nearly flat.
The Pirate King had decorated hers with a series of earrings that went from an enormous gold hoop to one so small that it looked no bigger than the head of a pin. Except for the single braid that fell down her shoulder, her hair had been cropped short.
Tallu stared at her and she looked back, her eyes as dark and unknowable as the depths of the ocean.
Lord Chaliko cleared his throat, and the action turned into a deep, racking cough that left him reaching for one of the cups at the table. He managed to slide into a new seat before he collapsed.
“Pirate King,” Tallu said.
“You’ve heard of me,” she said.
“I’ve heard that General Namati has been fighting you for decades. You have made it your purpose in life to stymie any attempt the Imperium has made to control Tavornai or its rich islands. And yet now you would help me?” Tallu didn’t reach forany of the food on the table, or the glass that sat unfilled in front of him.
“There is no one else in the whole of the elven kingdom who knows where Namati is.” She grinned, the expression wrinkling the corners of her eyes. I saw one of her tendrils sneak out from under her shirt, wrapping around her throat like a living necklace.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Tallu said.
“Lord Chaliko has told me something interesting. He has given me something I have wanted for some time. And he said that I have you to thank for it.” Her words turned into an intrigued growl as she turned her gaze to me. “Prince Airón of the Northern Kingdom.”
“Where is Namati?” Tallu demanded, his eyes narrowed, trying to regain her attention.
“One monarch to another, you and I need to have a conversation in private. There are too many ears here.” She looked around significantly.
“I will not speak to you without my guards present,” Tallu said. “Unless you rid yourself of all the weapons you have on you.”
“The viper of the Imperium can’t handle one woman on his own?” the Pirate King asked.
“I didn’t gain my title through giving in to taunts,” Tallu said.
Grinning, she shook her head. “No, you didn’t, Emperor Tallu. But I believe you’ve met a fellow of mine and killed him when even clever Fox couldn’t accomplish that task. I believe that one elf is well within your means to vanquish, even if Iamarmed.”
Tallu’s face didn’t even twitch, but he understood the subtext as well as I did. He raised his hand, dismissing the room. The servants left quickly, and Lord Chaliko stood, hesitating before he bowed, although it was hard to tell who he was bowing to—the Pirate King or Tallu.
Saxu and Sagam both protested, arguing even as the Pirate King’s guards headed to the door. She hadn’t even signaled them, at least not in a way that could be seen.
“Leave us,” Tallu said. “That is an order.”
Saxu gritted his jaw, his whole face going white before he bowed stiffly, spinning and leaving the room, Commander Rede trailing behind him.
“I willnot,” Sagam said. “You may dismiss me, you may have me killed, but I will not yield my duty to protect you.”
The Pirate King grinned again, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Dragon Chosen Emperor, you are the one who tied someone so loyal to you with such strong thread. Now you must decide how to dispose of him so we can talk freely.”
Tallu stood, but I was faster. We didn’t have time to argue, and there was no chance that Sagam was going to leave, not when he was both Kennelmaster and one of the last remaining Dogs.
I closed my eyes, remembering what Naî had done, and thinking about what the forest owed me for using my power to save it. Around us, I spun ice, the sudden chill alarming Sagam for a single breath before everything went still. Asahi had reached out a hand halfway to his lover when time froze.
The Pirate King turned her brilliant smile to me. “So itistrue. You have learned ice-dragon magic. The elder tree said that you also contained the magic of the fire dragon inside you. And now you have learned forest magic. Soon there will be nothing you cannot do, northern prince.”
“Spider,” Tallu said.
The Pirate King nodded, the movement shaking her braid. “Well, you have earned my interest. Now let us see if you can keep it.”
“Are you truly the animalia Spider?” I asked. My body was stronger now than it had been when I’d last frozen time. I could do it for long enough to have this conversation. Icould.
“Are you truly a northern prince? Or are you also an assassin? And a son who betrayed his mother? Or are you the only human who has ever learned ice magic?” Spider raised her hands, and her tendrils crept out from under her shirt, fanning around her likeeight legs. “I know better than most how complicated a human life is, how many threads connect it to everything else.”
