Page 42 of Betrothed to the Emperor

“Krustau?” Tallu asked, turning to me. The glowing electric lights bleached his skin. “You’re sure?”

“Positive,” I said.

He sighed sharply. “Krustau. I thought perhaps it might be General Kacha on behalf of Rute, but he wouldn’t use foreign warriors.”

“So who?” I asked.

He shook his head, his strides lengthening. “We will have more information once we reach the court.”

“Into the vipers’ nest to see which one has bloody fangs?” I asked.

“Haven’t you heard? I’m the viper in the court.” Tallu’s words held no amusement.

“So, what?Into the mongoose dendoesn’t have quite the same ring to it.” My mouth was running away with me again, but I couldn’t stop it, the nervousness making me talk. “Perhaps your court is owls? Those eat snakes. Hawks do, as well. Most birds of prey will consume a snake if they can.”

“There is not a single person here who deserves the honor of the moniker of a hawk,” Tallu said. “It is too bad hyenas do not eat snakes. That is a more appropriate analogy.”

I laughed, then caught myself, cupping a hand over my mouth. “Well, so long as we are all clear on it.”

“Whoever it was, they dared to challenge me. They endangered you. They will not survive it.” His expression was slowly becoming fiercer, as though he was putting on a mask of the man I knew him to be, as though maybe the softness in the cart wasn’t just because of exhaustion and a likely head wound.

After we had been walking long enough that my muscles reminded me of our trek down the mountain, we found another staircase, mounting it until it leveled out, opening into a doorway that Tallu accessed with a press of his hand.

When we stepped through, it was darkness. Only after a moment did I realize we were behind one of the tapestries in his throne room. The voices on the other side were clear.

“Then we send more men,” someone said.

“Not more men. More Dogs. How many are left?”

“All of the Dogs have gone, except for us.” The voice was quiet and low, and I immediately recognized it. Sagam had survived.

“We need to ready the ships for war. If my soldiers instead of mereDogswere guarding the emperor, this never would havehappened. How dare the Northern Kingdom provoke us like this?”

“Provoke? General Kacha, youprovokea bear when you poke it with a stick. If what the Emperor’s Dogs say is true, the north has declared war.”

I inhaled sharply. This was worse than I’d expected. They were going to kill my country not for the assassination attempt my motherhadendeavored but for the one wehadn’t.

“You correct my words when the empire is at stake! The Imperium cannot stand for this. Someone has killed the emperor?—”

“Attempted to kill the emperor,” Sagam broke in. “We have no body.”

“And how likely are we to find one? You may remain loyal to your master even in death, a Dog to the end. That does not negate the fact that if Emperor Tallu was swept away by the river, he will not be found. Even the monks of the temple have no idea where the water goes to.”

“What the Imperium needs now is stability.” I recognized the voice. So, Rute was here.

“You overstep,PrinceRute. Unless you have somereasonto be certain of the emperor’s death?”

Beside me, Tallu’s breath shortened, and then he exhaled. He pushed through the curtain, and I stepped behind him.

We were in the throne room, empty of everyone but a handful of people. General Kacha stood near the throne, and Rute was already halfway up the dais, looking between the other men with narrowed eyes. His makeup had been applied perfectly—dark kohl lined his eyes, and his skin gleamed like metal in the light. He turned to High General Saxu, whose black seemed appropriate, as though he was preemptively mourning his dead emperor.

Lord Sotonam was standing as far away from his nephew as he could while still being considered in the conversation. Beside him were three other ministers, each dressed in formal robes, the stitching identifying their ranks and positions.

The only one seated was Sagam, bleeding through the bandage on his arm, one of his legs extended out straight as though he couldn’t bend it. A black eye and a swollen cheek marred his face. Next to him was another of the Emperor’s Dogs, standing with his arms crossed. With his mask on, it was impossible to tell what expression his face wore, but from the way his shoulders were pulled back and the tightening of his fists, the other Dog was furious.

“Well, luckily, Emperor Tallu was not swept away,” Tallu said.

All of the men turned, and only General Saxu looked unsurprised. Sagam threw himself on the ground, the movement reopening a wound on his abdomen. Blood pooled underneath him.