Page 20

Ten

A sahi stared at the money. After a long beat, he bent, picking up the bag of coins, then carefully placed it on the table.

“Does the emperor share your concerns?” His voice was low, threaded with some emotion that I couldn’t name at such a volume.

“The emperor is new to his position, and he doesn’t know who to trust.”

“He cannot trust his own Dogs?” Asahi asked, his tone sharper, and I put up a placating hand.

“All I know is I don’t trust General Kacha. He claims friendship and leaves behind severed heads. He says he is loyal and has his men try to kill me.” I tilted my head. “Do you trust your father?”

Asahi flinched but almost immediately forced his face to neutrality. I wondered if after so many years, he was used to wearing his mask, used to the protection it provided; with it on, he didn’t have to have any opinions.

“My father is loyal to the Imperium.” Asahi looked down, and his face was so still that only his mouth moved.

“And loyal to the emperor?” I challenged.

“He had great affection for Emperor Millu. He felt that he was a man worthy of his respect.” The omission was glaring, and even if Asahi couldn’t voice what it meant, I could feel it in my bones.

“I would be curious what the general has to say about Emperor Tallu when he believes he is in company that agrees with him.” Pointedly, I sat back down at the table, picking up my cup and taking a drink of my now cold tea. Terror flapped from the window, landing on my shoulder.

Absently, I fed him one of the baked delicacies. I gestured with my palm, hoping it wasn’t an insult but instead an invitation for Asahi to sit. After a long moment, Asahi sat back on his cushion.

I exhaled.

“Are you willing to be the person who agrees with him? Another loyalist who misses Emperor Millu?” I watched for any display of emotion on Asahi’s face. Instead, he took his cup in his fingers and drank deeply from it, despite how bitter the tea tasted now that it was cold.

He nodded. “After his actions against you, I am also curious what the general says in private.”

I let my shoulders relax. Reaching out, I poured us both a fresh cup.

A couple of weeks and some interminable days later, I was regretting my choices. Smiling with all my teeth, I said, “Fascinating,” while trying not to stare at where Lerolian stood, his comments distracting me from listening to the wife of the Minister of Finance.

“Is it?” She blinked, bringing a handkerchief to her forehead, although the weather wasn’t warm enough to explain the blush on her cheeks. “I’d be happy to explain more in private. If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness.”

Bowing, she turned away, “accidentally” letting the handkerchief fall as she rejoined the rest of the crowd.

“She wants to sleep with you,” Lerolian observed.

“Not surprising. One of the other monks heard her complaining to her maid that her husband isn’t exactly keeping up with her needs.

She’s been getting some relief from her lady’s maid, but apparently, even that isn’t sufficient.

She definitely is looking to see if all the fuss over your northern member is worth it. ”

“It seems like this whole court wants to sleep with me,” I muttered, trying to hide my words in my glass.

There was a soft chuckle of laughter behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Lady Dalimu toasting me with her wine. She wore a chain bracelet, using the extra length to wrap around her fingers like rings.

I glanced at Asahi, nodding, and he stepped back just far enough that Lady Dalimu took it as an invitation. She came closer, offering me a low bow. When she straightened, we both looked out over the party.

“A handkerchief! Last week, didn’t I see Chiti Bechi, the husband of Detipo Bechi , try to get you alone in a corner on the excuse of asking your opinion on the quality of his underwear?” Lady Dalimu tutted. “Now everyone else will try to keep up. A handkerchief shows she lacks imagination.”

“Yes. Luckily for me, Asahi has nothing but my virtue on his mind. He’s protecting me from threats and anyone attempting a seduction with equal valor.” I smiled at him and saw his neck tensing, indicating he’d heard, even as he continued to scan the party, hand on his sword.

I saw less of him these days as he baited a trap of his own. General Kacha had been intrigued at the idea of his prodigal son’s return, but he was still hesitant. Using my mother’s purse, Asahi had purchased objects that might have come from the late Emperor Millu’s belongings.

Presenting them as gifts stolen from Millu’s quarters had bought Asahi enough good grace that his father let him into his inner circle.

The work of ingratiating himself to General Kacha took Asahi away often enough that I now had other guards when Asahi was busy.

It meant that more than once, I had turned, expecting to find Asahi, only to see a different Dog in his stead.

The head of the Dogs, a man known as the Kennelmaster, had even come to speak with me about the schedule, asking if I wanted a different Dog other than Asahi assigned as my primary protector. When I refused, the Kennelmaster had nodded, stating that the offer stood if I ever changed my mind.

Lady Dalimu shook her head. “You should expect more.”

“Well, his undergarments were very high quality. I was interested in whoever made them. Perhaps they might make me some.” I took a sip of my drink. It was sweet, flavored like passion fruit. The party had stretched from the early morning gathering promised by the Bemishu twins into midafternoon.

“You are a unique quantity, and most think they will capture you the same way you have captured Emperor Tallu. Everyone wants to have something on you and if they have to spread their legs to get it, they will happily do so. You are attractive enough even for the most selective.” Lady Dalimu smirked when I turned to her, raising a curious eyebrow.

“Luckily for you, I have seen how you look at the emperor. I have no intention of getting between such a devoted pair.”

“Even if you won’t do anything about it,” Lerolian agreed. “It’s disgusting how much yearning you show for each other. You’re married! Have all the sex you desire!”

I choked on my drink, covering it with a cough.

Another pair of partygoers passed us, pausing to bow to me. On the gentleman’s coat, I saw a chain of stitched bones stretching from his collar down to his waist. The decoration marked him as a loyalist to General Bemishu.

Inclining my head, I made no gesture for them to approach, and they took the disinterest in stride, moving away and rejoining the rest of the party.

“I understand ocean-waves symbols for General Namati loyalists. High General Saxu deserves the dragon symbols. Even General Kacha’s mountains makes sense, given the amount of time he spent fighting in the Blood Mountains and Ristorium. But why bones?”

“I suppose most of them might not know either,” Lady Dalimu said.

“But you do?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She has to remember,” Lerolian said. “She is walking a very thin line remaining here, and she knows who she has to thank for that, Consort Airón. She cannot afford to forget anything and offend the wrong person.”

He smiled when I glanced over at him and nodded his head, disappearing into the crowd to gather more information.

“It’s not that my memory is any better; it’s that the rest of them would prefer to forget.

During his first campaign, Bemishu captured the leader of one of the Ariphadi goblin tribes.

He left her alive, hoping that she would lead him to the rest of her people.

” Lady Dalimu swirled the wine in her glass before taking a sip.

“During the night, she escaped and killed most of his men. You know the Ariphadi magic?”

I nodded, remembering stories about desert dwellers who could build a city overnight or drown their enemies in sand.

“They said she called a desert storm, and when it passed, his men were sand-scraped skeletons.” Lady Dalimu raised her glass, toasting the desert leader.

“General Bemishu tracked her back to her camp and, with only a fraction of his men, slaughtered everyone there. They said he left the bodies in the sun until all that was left was bones, then sent them back to the capital so Emperor Millu would know he had achieved revenge for the harm done against the Imperium.”

“He killed all of her people?” I thought about the ship I’d attacked and bodies consumed by the sea serpents.

What direct harm had those sailors done me?

Yes, they had been targeting our fishing grounds and killing our whales.

But was that vengeance I had meted out, or had I done exactly the same thing as General Bemishu?

“They said some of the bones were quite small, not adult-sized.” Lady Dalimu’s lips went flat.

“My husband disliked General Bemishu. It was one of his few redeeming qualities. Sadly, the effect was ruined because of his affection for General Kacha. They were the closest of allies when my husband was on the council. It would have been too much for him to hate both generals.”

“I am glad to have begun to get to know you, Lady Dalimu.” I took another drink, feeling the warm room and the alcohol and the pressure beating down on me. “I imagine you were one of the few redeeming qualities of your husband as well.”

“You compliment me too much.” Lady Dalimu bowed again, managing a partial triangle with her free hand before melting back into the crowd.

I turned away, retreating into a quieter corner. Asahi followed behind, invisibly positioning himself along the wall. He didn’t say anything as I took my time observing the tapestries, regaining some composure.

Everyone seemed to think I would want to take a lover immediately, and I couldn’t tell whether it was because that was what important men did in imperial society or because they thought that the plural marriages of my own kingdom meant I could never be satisfied with one partner.