Page 66 of Betrothed to the Emperor

I had swum the length of the harbor of the Silver City. I had swum in the open ocean. I had swum the distance between my canoe and the whaling ship the last time I’d fed men to sea serpents. This was nothing.

Diving deep, I swam until my lungs screamed from lack of oxygen, until I couldn’t bear it, then allowed myself to float to the surface. There were a dozen yellow-clad guards on the pavilion, shouting at each other, and I saw three men dressed in grays among them—Piivu had found the Emperor’s Dogs.

“There!” one of them shouted, holding a light out in my direction. And if they saw me I was dead, and so was the Northern Kingdom.

A loud, screeching ball of black feathers attacked the man holding a light. He screamed, batting at Terror, dropping his light into the water. As Terror flapped between the guards and Dogs, I swam desperately for shore.

I had to get back to my rooms before the rest of the palace could be alerted. I had to get back before Asahi decided to check on me and make sure the Krustavian assassin wasn’t going after all the princes in the palace.

I didn’t have time for caution. The shutters on the lower levels of Turtle House were closed, so I ran straight through my private garden and climbed up the tree to my room. The door was closed, so no one had checked on me yet, but I heard yelling in the distance and grabbed the nightclothes I’d taken off to put on my darker clothes for sneaking.

Wiping at the windowsill, I squinted at the wood. No blood, thankfully, or at least none that was visible in the moonlight. When it was dry, I pulled off my mask and shirt, about to try to get into the nightclothes, but a soft squeak of the flooring outside my bedroom was the only warning I had that Asahi was about to check on me.

Hugging all the clothing to me, I dove under the blankets, pulling them up to my neck and squinting at the turning door handle. Asahi’s masked face poked in the doorway. He exhaled a long breath, then crossed the room to close the window, and I prayed as hard as I ever had to the great northern bear that I hadn’t missed anything.

He pulled the shutters closed and then shut the door. I heard the creak of flooring again as Asahi took up position outside my door.

When it settled into silence, I allowed myself to relax. Sitting up, I pressed both hands over my face. Well.

Rute was dead. Now, I just needed to kill Tallu, no matter how much it squeezed my heart to do it.

Seventeen

The next morning, as soon as it was light enough, I checked the bedding. Even though I’d changed quickly after Asahi left, it was still damp. Sleeping in it had been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t stained red. There were a few hints of pink but nothing that would be noticed. Nothing that would let anyone look at me and immediately say, “You killed the imperial heir!”

I had left the damp clothing spread under the bed, and it was mostly dry, so I shoved it in the bottom of my luggage and hoped that it didn’t mildew too badly by the time I needed it again. It wasn’t exactly like I could have the palace wash the clothes I’d used to assassinate Rute and his servants.

No one mentioned anything at breakfast. Asahi stood a few feet closer than normal, and his eyes scanned from window to door to window. I looked around myself, wrinkling my nose.

“Where is Piivu?” I asked, turning to Nohe. “Was he given quarters?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Unfortunately, there was an…” She glanced at Asahi, and that was fascinating. Was Tallu trying to cover up his cousin’s murder? “Piivu suffered an accident. He won’t be back for a few days.”

“Is he all right?” I asked, eyes wide. Eonaî could eat her words; Icouldplay at innocence convincingly. “He wasn’t hurt too badly, was he?”

“He’ll be back soon,” Nohe promised. “I don’t know much more than that myself.”

I let it drop and made a show of picking up my fork to start eating. After I was left alone, with only the tense Asahi for company, I considered my options. I made the decision to see what Tallu was telling people himself. Would he believe the ruse? Or would he pretend to in order to accept the death of a cousin who had been acting over-confident in his role?

Standing, I moved to the door, but Asahi stepped between me and the exit. I tilted my head. “Asahi?”

“Emperor Tallu will be calling court soon,” he said.

“Oh?” And perhaps my playing at innocencewasas bad as Eonaî suggested because Asahi narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. “Am I supposed to remain here until he does?”

“Yes,” Asahi said, and that was clearly enough talking for him because he refused to answer any other questions, so I was stuck in my rooms at Turtle House. Terror flapped to one of the windows, his eyes bright with gossip.

“Well, I might as well nap while I wait,” I said pointedly. I walked into my room and shut the door.

Terror landed in my window immediately, and I opened it. He hopped inside. “Well, you didn’t die.”

“Sadly, no livers for you,” I said.

“I never said to save the servant.Orfeed the corpses to the sea serpents. I could have eaten those!” He blinked at me, annoyed.

“What’s going on outside?” I asked, feeling trapped. “They won’t let me leave.”

“They won’t let anyone leave,” Terror said. “Guards everywhere, people nowhere.”