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“Let me heal you,” I said, even though I knew my own magic was dangerously low. Still, my desire outweighed my common sense, and with ice magic that had to count for something.

“No.” Tallu shook his head. “Naî has been doing her best, but the curse tires even her.”

I narrowed my eyes, doubting that. It was more likely that she didn’t love him enough to truly want him cured. But I did.

Still, when I reached out with both hands, ready to use my ice magic, he closed his palms over mine, taking a step back. “You see the truth in me and assume I cannot see it equally in you. You are tired. How many men did you kill? How many miles did you travel? How much magic did you use?”

“I still have enough to save you,” I said stubbornly.

Tallu leaned forward, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You cannot save me. Only our plan can. And if you die before we achieve it, then there is no point to any of this.”

“Fine,” I said, feeling sullen, even as my body relaxed, knowing that I wouldn’t have to push myself into unconsciousness just to heal him tonight. “But tomorrow, after I’ve slept and eaten, I will heal you.”

“Should I threaten to monitor your food the way you do mine?”

“Go ahead. I will happily eat an entire herd of caribou for the privilege of exhausting myself to heal you.” I looked at him, feeling my lips pull up in the corners. “Two herds, even, although the second one must be small.”

“Come. Let us get you clean.” Tallu opened the flap and called for his servants. As though they had been waiting, they came in, bringing a large bathtub with them.

The tub had been the compromise between imperial sensibility and Tavornai logistics. It was impossible for Tallu’s servants to imagine their emperor taking the sponge baths more common with the elves. But, in the camp, they couldn’t have the same facilities as they did in the palaces.

So Lady Chaliko had lent the emperor the tub she used to wash herself. What was left unspoken was that until it was given to the emperor, the tub had also been used to wash all of the laundry. Still, when Tallu’s servants poured warm water into it, I couldn’t complain. Instead I enjoyed a soak as his servants scrubbed me down, washing away the weeks of travel, not mentioning the dried blood they found.

When they were done, Homisu arrived with my clothing. Somehow, he had managed to find the finest silks and dressed me under Tallu’s watchful gaze. Nohe arrived with food, although delivering it was far beneath her station.

From the way she looked me over, I realized she had used the food as an excuse to see me again.

“Nohe,” I said. “How was everything in my absence?”

“Very well, Your Highness. Lady Chaliko was kind enough to show us where they were storing the finished products bound for the Imperium.” Nohe pulled a small tin from her sleeve, holding it out to me.

I took it, expecting to open it and see some of the powders I knew the eleven children had been grinding.

The case itself was a delicate bronze, a flower pattern etched on the front. When I unscrewed it, the scent hit me first. Someone had tried to cover it with a floral perfume, but the cream inside smelled distinctly medicinal.

I brought it to my nose before touching the white lotion with the tip of my pinkie finger. “I thought they only created cosmetics here?”

“The base of many of the cosmetics are the natural plants and minerals that exist in the Tavornai swamp,” Nohe said. “However that is not what they were initially used for. Lady Chaliko has been gracious enough to show us some of the other uses.”

Nohe was being very careful with her words, checking Tallu’s reaction with quick glances. Tallu had been more open to other cultures than any of his predecessors. After all, he openly approved of my use of various magics, and that even convinced General Saxu magic in general could be trusted.

Still, reading between the lines, the Tavornai elves had taught Lady Chaliko how to use plants in the swamp for medicine, and, in turn, she had given the recipes to Nohe, who had created this lotion. Moreover, she had tried to make it appealing to imperial tastes by using floral scents they were familiar with and putting it in one of the tins intended for the paints most courtiers wore.

“What is it for?” I asked.

“Lady Chaliko says it helps to speed healing. I thought my poor attempt at medicine might help, given the limited number of doctors we have.” Nohe again was careful with her words.

When we had lost most of Saxu’s forces in the swamp, we had been left with only two military doctors—a senior one and his apprentice. Neither was as versed in politics or court language as Doctor Jafopo had been. Already they had offended Tallu’s servants several times.

Moreover, Tallu and I were both suspicious of dealing with strangers. In the palace, the secret of his curse had been kept locked behind Jafopo’s fear of what the all-powerful emperor would do if he let even a hint of it slip.

But, if we added anyone to the circle of those who knew about the emperor’s weakness, we were risking too much, with little gain.

Jafopo hadn’t been able to cure Tallu’s curse, so why would a man more experienced in field medicine than magic be able to?

“We appreciate the opportunity to avoid the medical tents,” I said. “Doctor Jafopo left me in agonizing fear that I would arrive with a broken arm and leave with a hole in my head.”

Nohe smiled and bowed, relief clear in her movements. I wasn’t sure how many of our secrets she knew, but I appreciated that both she and Homisu never asked, nor did they gossip, at least according to the ghosts of the blood monks.