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“Please, my emperor, allow me to serve you,” the man said, his words less than a whisper. “Please let me serve you.”
“Why should I allow you into the sanctity of the imperial army? You are someone who so easily bowed to my enemy, and I am sure you still do.” Tallu sounded bored, and I could tell how much everyone around him needed that, even General Saxu who glanced at Tallu only once before returning his gaze to the man in the chair.
“I’ve always served you loyally,” the man promised. “When the general first took us to the mountains, he said it was to save the Imperium, to save you from the influence of your duplicitous consort.”
Although Tallu’s face seemed unchanged, the men behind him shifted and turned their gazes toward him. Sagam even took a half step forward, his muscles tense. Before Tallu could order the man beheaded, Sagam spoke.
“My friend, you tread on dangerous ground for one who desires to serve His Imperial Majesty. What is your name?” Sagam asked.
The words took the attention off Tallu just long enough that I saw him take a slow breath, letting it out in a whoosh of air.
“Petale of House Hifole, Your Imperial Majesty.” The man tacked the last on, as though realizing he shouldn’t be answering Sagam, a stranger who didn’t even wear military garb.
“Tell me of Kacha,” Tallu said.
Petale hesitated. “There are many of us who did not realize what we were doing when we followed him. And now it is too late.”
Sagam stepped to the side, and I realized he knew something was wrong with Tallu. Sagam had been closer to Tallu than anyone else in the room for a much longer period. He had watched him closely. He likely even knew when Tallu had an itch before Tallu raised his hand to scratch it.
“It is never too late to find your place with His Imperial Majesty,” Sagam said. “Answer your emperor.”
“General Kacha has plans to capture you as easily as he did the capital city and the Mountainside Palace. You do not have the men to prevent him from winning.” Petale dropped his head, his chin brushing against his chest. “I am sorry, my emperor. If only I had found the strength to come to you earlier.”
Four
Something about the words rang false, and clearly I wasn’t the only one who was suspicious of Petale’s sudden change of heart. I couldn’t tell if it was his blind desire to serve Tallu, despite being perfectly happy serving Kacha until he was captured, or if it was the helplessness his words implied.
Anyone hearing what he said would think that Kacha had already won, and such a feeling could destroy the morale of any army, much less one who already knew they were outnumbered and out-equipped.
“Such despondent words from one who claims to believe in the promise,” Tallu said.
Sagam relaxed, the tension falling from his shoulders. He heard it as well. Tallu was confident. Stepping back, Sagam found his place again on Tallu’s right.
“It is the truth. And I am all the more sorry for it,” Petale said.
“And yet I have the promise from the dragon seer. And Kacha has, what? A half-starved army that has spent too long in the Blood Mountains? Tell me, were your swords and axes any good at carving food from ground that has lain fallow since the blood mages died?” Tallu waited, and Petale shifted in his chair. I wished I could see his expression, but it was clear he was uncomfortable.
“Kacha has plans. He will take this place within a day.” Petale’s words grew smaller.
“And what are his plans?” Tallu asked.
“The fires are only a distraction. He plans to flank you, setting fire to the elder trees before attacking so that you do not have the benefit of the forest’s magic and the savage elves.” Petale sounded confident again. “Your Imperial Majesty, you must flee. There are those who would join with you, join your army, but they cannot if you are dead.”
“And I suppose I must leave behind enough men to convince General Kacha that he is fighting me and those who have remained steadfastly loyal?” Tallu asked.
“I am no military strategist,” Petale demurred.
“No, but you clearly have enough of an opinion to order your emperor to retreat.” The last word was as sharp as a poisoned needle, and Petale jerked in his chair.
“I have seen your camp, my emperor. Kacha has two thousand men. He has twice that in the Imperium, and he can summon them as soon as he is sure of your location. But many of them are still loyal to you. They will fight for you, if you give them the chance.” Petale stopped, then remembered himself. “Your Imperial Majesty.”
“If Kacha intends to circle around and come via the sea, he will find out that I also have more than a thousand men.” Tallu raised a hand, his fingers spreading in a motion of amusement. “Even if he comes via the swamp, he will find out who controls it now, whose orders the trees and animals obey.”
“Is that true, my emperor?” Petale’s voice was more breath than words. “Are you allowing not just your consort’s foreign magic to infect you, but the magic of all the barbarian nations?”
“For one who claims loyalty to me, you question me greatly,” Tallu said. “What horrors has Kacha convinced you I’ve done?”
“General Kacha says that you would forsake the promise in favor of your consort,” Petale said. “He says that you would give up on imperial victory if the foreign prince asked. He says that the northern barbarian uses strange, foreign magic on you. That you split the emperor’s council apart so that the Imperium itself would shatter.”
