Page 37 of Betrothed to the Emperor

“Whoooo?” the owl asked.

“How far to the city?” I couldn’t keep the owl in my sight, its feathers blending into the murky shadows.

“I know of no city, brother.” The owl’s voice was musical, a tonal shift between her words as she decided to claim me as kin.

“How far to people?” I asked. “Do you know which way?”

“Follow the river,” the owl said. “People kind always like the river.”

“Thank you,” I said, but my throat was almost too dry to make out the words.

The tall trees that had been sparse on the mountainside grew thick this close to water. They dropped massive seedpods that rolled around on the ground, as hard as rocks and impossible to see against the dark forest floor. Moonlight shone in when it could get past the thick upper branches, the forest shrouding itself.

In the daytime, it must be a pleasant walk, a remote hike along the stream, shaded by ancient branches, the scent of the wood pleasantly permeating the air.

All I could think about were the predators that lived in the woods, the ones that came out at night, when hunting was easiest. Of course this was how I’d go. Killed not by one of the Emperor’s Dogs but a literal wild dog in the forest.

Light came to me slowly, and I barely noticed, too distracted by my circling thoughts. I was so focused on making sure that we both made it that the signs of civilization startled me. Bugs circled a flickering electric light on the wall of a small building up ahead, and I stopped, staring for so long that Tallu lost his strength, collapsing against me entirely.

“Help!” I yelled, or tried to, but my throat was so dry, all the moisture making the word no more than a croak. Swallowing desperately, I tried again. “Help us!”

The door to the cabin cracked open, and I couldn’t see who looked out. Let it be some poor mountain dweller. Let it be someone who could help us.

And when had it becomeus? When in the long trek had Tallu become more than a weight around my neck that I carried like a stone ready to drag me to the bottom of the ocean?

The door opened fully, and a tall man came out, broad across the shoulders. He wore a shirt and pants but no jacket, and based on the rough, stained fabric, it might have been the only clothes he owned. Behind him, a shorter woman stood in thedoorway, a bow in her hands, the arrow nocked, although she hadn’t aimed it yet.

The man approached, and I grabbed hold of Tallu with both hands, wrapping my arms around his torso, trying to keep him off the ground.

“Help. Please.” I kept my Imperial as formal as I could, trying to remember how to turn a request into something he would be forced by the rules of hospitality to accommodate.

“Who are you?” he demanded, and I was too tired to do more than repeat my request.

My legs trembled, finally giving out, and the forest floor softened the blow, but my knees still felt the impact. As soon as I hit, I felt every muscle in my back pull with pain, tense and agonizing.

The man continued approaching until he stood over us, frowning. “Where did you come from?”

“The Dragon Temple.” I tried to gesture back in the direction we had come from, and the man stared off in the darkness.

The woman came off the porch, bow still held in her hands, and when she saw the state we were both in, she said, “Bring them in, Liku.”

He turned, and I couldn’t see the expression on his face, but the woman shook her head once, and then the man’s shoulders slumped. He reached down, and for a second, I had trouble letting go of Tallu.

I’d been holding him up for hours, keeping him safe for hours, so how could I let him go with this stranger?

The man eased him from my grip, picking up the emperor as though he weighed nothing. The woman crouched next to me and helped me to stand. I tried not to lean on her as we stumbled back to the cabin.

Inside, there was one small room, bedding rolled and tucked in the corner. A wood-burning stove warmed the cabin, andeverything smelled of smoke. The woman eased me onto an animal pelt in front of the stove and poured lukewarm tea from a pot on a nearby table. She spooned in some sugar, sweetening it.

As I sipped the drink, the man gently placed Tallu on the pelt. He inhaled sharply.

“This is Prince Tallu.” The man shook his head once. “EmperorTallu.”

He looked at the woman, his eyes wide. I watched something pass between them, and I felt my whole body clench. I could take him. Icouldtake him. Even exhausted and bruised, I could take him.

I knew it was a lie I was telling myself, because this man had the build of a brawler, but the looping tattoo of the Imperial military darkened his shoulder. What if he was in on what had just happened? The thought was nonsensical, but the look that the man shared with the woman was dangerous.

“Emperor Tallu,” the woman said, her voice precise and quiet. “The emperor is here.”