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That left the Sunrise Estate and what Bemishu was doing there. The easiest thing would be to have Tallu ask Bemishu. But would the general tell him?

Even if he did confess, I wanted to see with my own eyes what exactly Bemishu was doing. Were elephants the only thing he had brought with him? Had he brought something from Forsaith as well?

So, tomorrow night, we would have to sneak out of Tallu’s quarters and visit the Sunrise Estate. We would get our answers one way or another.

I rubbed my hands over my face. The dragon curled against my neck, nuzzling the sensitive flesh beneath my ear. A nearly silent flap of wings landed Terror beside me, his claws clinging to the back of the couch.

Tallu wasn’t alone anymore, but neither was I. We would find out what was going on. And to do that, I would have to trust him.

I woke to see Tallu examining the list. In the daylight, my scratches looked even more mad, the sleep deprivation making them practically runes.

“Is this a dialect of Northern I don’t read?” Tallu asked.

“Yes. It’s the I’m too tired, but my brain won’t stop spinning dialect.

Spoken exclusively by assassins who are asked to untangle an imperial plot and possibly fight corpses reanimated by magic.

” I leaned back. The dragon had come down off my shoulder and curled itself against my thigh. Its chest rose and fell quickly.

“The dragon lives,” Tallu said softly. He swallowed, and I could practically read the words under his lips. I did not kill it . “Is it healthy?”

“I assume so,” I said. “I fed it a whole plate of cheese, and it didn’t vomit all over me, so that’s a step up from the puppies I tried to raise one winter.”

“You fed it cheese? Why didn’t you save it for me?” Terror asked crankily.

“Yes, I would have liked cheese,” Ratcatcher agreed. “I’ll settle for the dragonet. It looks like a good meal.”

“No eating the baby dragon,” I said severely.

“When is the food arriving?” Terror asked.

“We haven’t even let in the servants yet. You can have leftovers.” I gestured to the table, and Terror turned away, raising his beak to show his displeasure.

“Do you think there are rats here I could catch?” Ratcatcher asked.

I snorted.

“What are they saying?” Tallu asked. His voice startled me. When had I gotten so comfortable with him that I was being this careless?

He had to know I spoke with animals. It had to be obvious. Still, my stomach twisted before I realized trusting him might start with this.

“They’re complaining about not having breakfast already.” I pointed at Ratcatcher. “And he wants to know if you have any vermin he can hunt.”

“I will take caught vermin, too. I have no desire to search for something that he might already have in a cage. Do they have one in a cage?” Ratcatcher tilted his head. “A fat, plump mouse, perhaps?”

“You’re being careful?” Tallu asked tensely. “Even the emperor’s consort is not above the prohibition against foreign magic.”

I nodded. “Turtle House thinks they’re pets, which, given the fees the birds charge for meager information, isn’t wrong.”

“Then, I am grateful you found Prince Airón. I am Emperor Tallu. If ever I may be of service, you have only to call upon me.” He nodded to the ravens, his Northern dialect slightly accented from Dragon’s Rest Mountains. I stared at him, mouth falling open.

Terror seemed to take it in course. “We will start with meat. We accept your offer of an alliance.”

Even though Tallu couldn’t understand them, he nodded seriously. Looking down at the paper in his hand, he asked, “So what does it say?”

I outlined my plan. His lips twisted, but then he nodded. “Sneaking out without alerting the Dogs will be difficult.”

“I think we can at least trust Sagam and Asahi. Asahi has been talking to his father, General Kacha, trying to see what he’s planning.” And with that, I no longer had any leverage over Asahi. Why did trust feel so much like jumping off a cliff and hoping that Tallu would be able to catch me?

“Has he learned anything?” Tallu asked. From his lack of a reaction, he’d known about Asahi’s parentage, or at least suspected.

“I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days. When we invite them along with us to the Sunrise Estate, we can ask him on the way.” Absently, I stroked my hand over the dragon, and it arched its back, leaning into the touch.

“Good. Let’s do that.” Tallu set the piece of paper down in an empty dish that we had cleared of food the night before. He touched his finger to the edge of the paper, and I saw a bright spark of electricity. The paper caught, burning to ash.

Tallu looked over at me, and I could see him wrapping himself in the role of emperor, as though he was clay, hardening in the sun. “Are you ready?”

“No.” Then I sighed. “Yes. Either way, we have to do this, don’t we?”

Tallu nodded. “Yes.” He looked down at where the dragon was curled against my thigh. “I’m sorry. You could run. You could escape.”

I picked up the dragon and a bowl of cold meats, walking into the back room. When it looked at me unhappily, I pressed a thought in his head. This is safe. This room is safe. Outside is danger. Outside is death.

It grumbled but curled in a corner against the cold rock wall.

When I walked back into the room, Tallu was in exactly the same position, his face completely devoid of any feeling.

“I could,” I said. “But where is the fun in running when I could take down the Southern Imperium? Open the door, husband. We have work to do.”