Page 24

Twelve

“ G eneral Bemishu,” Tallu said. “Do you speak often with Detipo Bechi?”

Bemishu frowned. “He supplies the sand crawlers we need to traverse the Ariphadeus. We often communicated about adjustments and changes to the machines to make them more efficient.”

“He has been arrested.” Tallu’s voice carried. “He and his husband thought that they deserved more than the Imperium’s largesse. They thought they deserved something which I hold precious.”

Bemishu looked around the table, but the other generals in attendance were no help. Kacha looked like he was enjoying Bemishu’s discomfort.

“I had heard that he was taken by guards earlier today,” Bemishu said carefully. “I trust Your Imperial Majesty has made a just and fair decision regarding one of our most loyal houses. As you have made before when you advised your father about the disloyalty of his own councilors.”

“Yes, I did, didn’t I?” Tallu turned to examine the rest of the table.

“Finding out one of our military suppliers had the temerity to think that he could steal from me has made me re- examine the whole of our endeavor. How many other merchants and manufacturers see my house’s destiny as a way to take what rightfully belongs in the Imperium’s coffers? ”

Around the table, the generals were exchanging glances, with most turning to General Saxu to see what the high general would say.

I had the feeling that they were quickly remembering how efficiently Tallu had gotten rid of the councilors and how, not long after his own position might be challenged by a brother, Tallu’s father and new son had fallen to a mysterious illness.

No one touched their plates. Saxu straightened, bowing his head, considering for a moment.

“Husband,” I said before he could respond. “That is terrible. The idea that any of your citizens might be padding their own pockets because they know how inevitable your destiny is. You should examine every military contract on record.”

“You make a good point,” Tallu said. “I’m sure none of the generals here have time to examine their own suppliers. But I haven’t given you your position yet, have I?”

“In the north, we spend most of the winter keeping track of our supplies and making sure that all details are attended to. I would be happy to bring such precision to this work.” I bowed my head. “Quite wise, my lord.”

My mother had often complained that if I counted the same store of food twice, I would end up with three different numbers.

But I didn’t need to count to see who was paying who and which generals might be funneling money to a secret project like airships or the assassination of an emperor.

Two emperors, counting the attempt against Tallu and me at the Dragon Temple.

“Emperor Tallu, are you suggesting that we halt all expansion efforts until Consort Airón has gone through every line of expense in the entire military?” General Saxu nodded his head, the motion an agreement, even though I wasn’t sure of his sincerity.

“Such an undertaking would be valuable and potentially allow us to increase the size of our forces if he did find any inappropriate use of funds.”

“As always, Emperor Tallu, you have nothing but the best interest of the Imperium in mind.” General Maki nodded.

“I believe that this is a sage decision. Too long we have gone on trusting our civilian partners in the war effort. Through my own ingenuity, I have discovered many ways to continue the war effort with less cost to our men.”

Kacha snorted, his lips going tight. But whatever he had to say was cut off when Bemishu said, “Well, that leaves you two responsibilities, Consort Airón. Speaking with General Kacha, I have learned of your generous offer to train our men how to fight against the northern weapons and tactics.”

“Both are truly important undertakings,” General Saxu agreed. “With your permission, Your Imperial Majesty, I will send a few of my aides to assist Consort Airón in the task of deciphering all the documents he will be receiving.”

“Our tutor did teach us to read Imperial.” I smiled to show I was joking but watched Saxu carefully.

“No offense intended,” General Saxu said. “I merely thought you might need some help with any specifics mentioned in the documents. I’m sure the setup of our military is vastly different from your father’s forces in the north.”

If I let his men in, they might hinder me from finding what Tallu and I were looking for. But whoever was behind the airship could just as easily not send us what we needed. It also might be useful to see what High General Saxu wanted hidden.

“That would be helpful,” I agreed. The generals were going to circle their wagons, hide what they could.

I needed to put them at a disadvantage, push them into revealing more to me than they intended.

“It would be convenient for me to collect all the documents tomorrow. Since all of you will be sending men anyway, why not use it as an opportunity to do the promised training?”

“You want the documents by tomorrow?” General Kacha said.

“All of your documents should be on hand, surely?” I asked. “And any other evidence of where the Imperium’s money is being spent?”

“Of course,” Kacha agreed.

“What training ground can we use, husband?” I asked Tallu.

He tilted his head, considering. “As you are doing our forces such a favor, you may use my private training grounds in the inner courtyard of my quarters.”

“Well.” I smiled around the table. “It is set, then. Tomorrow, at eight.”

“I look forward to what you will find,” General Saxu said.

“You’re sure you didn’t leave anything behind? I’m sure there was a grocery list forgotten,” I said to Asahi. The crates of documents recovered from the Bechi household were several deep and took up an entire library in Tallu’s personal quarters.

Tallu himself had his arms crossed, observing the mess. A servant stood to the side, the stitching on her jacket revealing her to be a scribe. “I’m sorry if it’s too much. Your directions were to bring anything we found. Should I begin cataloging it all?”

Her timid voice was high, her bitten lip showing her nerves.

“No,” Tallu said. “We will go over it ourselves.”

“Your Imperial Majesty…” The scribe trailed off, clearly just as alarmed as I was at the work involved.

“Leave us,” Tallu said.

The servant nodded and fled to the doorway, where she looked back helplessly as Tallu took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and then I forgot what we were doing at all because I remembered those powerful forearms and how easy it had been to fall into them, to let myself believe he could catch me.

“The dragon,” I said, gesturing to his tattoo.

I wanted to kick myself. It was the dumbest possible thing to say. It was so bizarrely stupid that I thought for a second perhaps some magic had been worked on me. Was there a magic that could make a married man sound like a horny teenager whose crush just smiled at him?

I cast about to make sure that Lerolian wasn’t in the room with us. Could blood magic do such a thing?

Tallu raised his arm, examining the curl of dragon exposed on his forearm. “Tradition. When my great-grandfather determined that no dragon would ever decide who would be king again, he declared that only our line could decide the leaders of our nation. So, we were the true dragons.”

“It suits you,” I said, thinking of how he commanded a room. His quiet words made everyone strain to listen. They knew his power was in his quiet, not in his volume.

“You compliment me,” Tallu said. “Where do we begin?”

“The boxes over here were from Detipo Bechi’s private office,” the scribe said from the doorway.

I turned to her, amused despite myself. There were few people in this whole palace who could so effectively reflect their abject fear of Tallu yet also maintain the obsessive need to perform their duties. “These ones?”

“No, uh.” She glanced at Tallu. “Those?”

I followed her finger to the boxes. Tallu eyed her but then shook his head. “Help us catalog this.”

“What’s your name?” I asked as the scribe rushed forward, already pulling out a stack of paper and a mini writing desk.

“Hipati, Majesty. Uh, Your Highness.” She bowed, then dropped her styluses as she tried to make a triangle with her fingers. “The steward asked for me personally from the office of records. The Minister of Records said that I was the best, that’s why. Not that I think I’m the best, but he said?—”

“Hipati,” I interrupted. “We are looking for any documents related to the work House Bechi was doing for the military. Any notes he has on new projects or competitors. Anything related to the emperor or the Imperium. We can put aside anything else to be reviewed later.”

“Of course, Majesty—uh, Your Highness .” She bowed again, managing not to drop her stylus this time. Then, she settled cross-legged on the ground and began pulling out papers from crates.

Tallu regarded a note in his hands, then offered it over to me. I skimmed it, my eyebrows going up. “That’s brazen.”

Chiti Bechi, the husband with the expensive undergarments, was demanding an increase in allowance from Detipo, and the explanation given was that if he was expected to seduce an emperor’s foreign consort, he couldn’t do so without the expensive soaps to wash afterward.

I am not an animal, husband . If you demand this of me, you will pay the costs of it.

“I mean, do I smell that badly?” I made a show of sniffing my own underarm.

Tallu leaned forward and sniffed my neck. It should have tickled, but I was so shocked by the intimacy of it, the implied teasing, that I gaped at him.

“No, not in a way I dislike,” Tallu murmured in my ear.

“Should I work up a sweat to test that?” I said, my mouth running ahead of me like the fool I was.