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Tallu was still breathing evenly, to the point that I almost wondered if I had only imagined putting him off guard with the implication of intimacy. Then he looked down, and I smirked. Oh, I had caught him unawares, and he didn’t like that.

“Fine.” When he looked up, his eyes were sharp. “Anything else?”

“So, while I’m out there flaunting myself like a prostitute from the Flower District, how will you be gathering information?

” I pushed up onto my toes to whisper into his ear.

“I know you can hear everything from your throne, but none of your father’s councilors were making their plans known in the throne room. So how did you know about them?”

“I will continue to gather information as I always have,” Tallu snapped. “It doesn’t change what I ask from you.”

“It does . I want to know who your spies are so that I can at least assume when they’re acting suspiciously, they aren’t acting for your enemies.

” I turned, inhaling to smell that strange scent on his skin again: lightning and blood.

“You know all my secrets, Emperor. I need yours to make this fair.”

Tallu reared back, his chin going up, eyes narrowing. “That’s the plan. There are no other options that lead to the peace your mother wants.”

My lips twisted, and I stepped back. Fine. If Tallu wanted to keep his secrets, then I could get them out of him the way that Eona? had been trained to.

I let my chin drop in acquiescence. Then I looked up, through my lashes. “They’ll have to believe us.”

Tallu’s face was blank, but when compared to the mild smile he had just been wearing, it was almost like a glare. “What?”

“They’ll have to believe us that we are actually sleeping together.” I let myself smirk with confidence. “I don’t know how it is down here in the south, but in the Northern Kingdom, when two people get together, you can tell. Can you do that?”

“Physical intimacy isn’t shown at court.” Tallu’s lips pulled to the side. “You might take hands or touch a shoulder in passing, but that in itself is enough of a statement.”

“Really?” I tilted my head. “So when you touched my hands all those times…”

“It was a statement of intent. Anyone who speaks the physical language would see that.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t. And I’m telling you that no one is going to believe that we are in here enjoying our wedding night unless you make it clear. Physically.” I offered my hand, palm up.

Tallu stared at me, and a crease formed between his brows, the frown growing until he finally raised his hand, placing it on top of mine.

I had been wrong. Tallu’s gaze was not like a physical touch, and the echo of his electricity in the air wasn’t like a stroke across my arm. This was physical touch.

I felt it over my whole body, even though the only place we were in contact was our palms. Tallu took a long breath, and I grinned. At least the contact had unnerved him as much as it did me.

“Well then.” I tugged him forward with his hand, and he resisted for a moment, so I stepped into his space, going up on my toes again to speak against his lips. “We are going to have to sell this, husband, and I want you to really understand that very erotic handholding isn’t going to cut it.”

“Are you suggesting that this is erotic?” Tallu squeezed my hand, and I felt it like a tug on my cock.

“I’m saying we need more to make them believe that the man who disbanded the Emperor’s Council was suddenly willing to spill secrets to a northern man who spreads his legs for him.” I looked up at him through my lashes, and he inhaled sharply. “Kiss me.”

Tallu’s hand tightened again, and then he dropped my fingers, and I worried I’d pushed him too far. But then both of his hands were cupping my face, and, oh, this had been a mistake .

I gasped as Tallu took my mouth, his lips pressing against mine, and as soon as my mouth opened, he swept inside, his tongue pressing into me. Every nerve ending in my lips came alive, and I wanted to lie down on that massive bed again and see what else he could wake with his glorious mouth.

I had meant to put him off guard, to push him into discomfort, and instead, I was the one being pushed back until I hit one of the tables, something clattering to the floor as Tallu continued to plunder my mouth, as though he could reach inside me and consume everything I was.

A whine built in my throat, but before it came out, Tallu stepped back. Heat flushed over me, rising high on my cheekbones. I lifted my chin. Tallu pulled two long breaths, evening his own breathing, the high color fading from his cheeks until his expression was entirely blank.

“Will that suffice?” Tallu asked.

“That will do. Can you make it that believable in public?” I heard the anger in my voice, and what right did I have to be angry? I was the one who had embarrassed myself like a boy falling for his first kiss.

“In public, very erotic handholding is all that’s necessary.” Tallu turned away, picking up the papers that had fallen to the floor, and I glared at the back of his head, my jaw clenching. He had been smirking.

“Fine. Now, before I go blundering into your court, I want to know what you know.” I forced myself to breathe evenly, in and out through my nose, relaxing my jaw muscle by muscle.

Tallu stood and began spreading the papers on the center table. “That will take all night.”

“Luckily, I’ve been told we have until morning.” I raised my eyebrow, leering. “Unless you have a better way to spend the next few hours?”

In answer, Tallu tapped one of the piles of paper. “These are all the recent correspondences from the generals.”

We did end up awake all night.

Tallu was methodical and organized, revealing what he knew about each of the five generals concisely. He had records from his spies, written in his own hand, in a code that only he could read.

By the time the sun shone through the windows, my head was spinning. Even if this was some elaborate trap on Tallu’s part, he had still just told me every secret about the Imperium’s campaign of imperial expansion.

With this information, I knew exactly how to go up against any of the five generals.

I knew how they preferred to fight, what types of soldiers they preferred to use.

I knew who was under their command and how many battles each of those commanders had been in.

This information could keep the north safe.

As long as the airships were destroyed.

I blinked, my eyes gummy, my body exhausted. Tallu still looked as perfect as ever, and I didn’t even see dark circles under his eyes.

“Do you think it was one of your own generals that sent the Krustavian soldiers after you?” My mind kept circling the mutilation of their bodies.

“Yes.” Tallu nodded. “I know General Maki keeps prisoners for his experiments, but any of the generals who fought in the east might have acquired their own Krustavians, whether mercenaries or prisoners.”

I groaned, rubbing my face. There was an audible click, and I spun, facing the door, even though I knew what it had to be.

With dawn’s arrival, the inner and outer doors of the emperor’s chambers would be opened. Looking around, I ran to the bed, throwing open the curtains before tearing the top blankets and sheet off, crumpling them at the foot of the bed.

“Take off your shirt,” I ordered Tallu.

His eyes went wide for a moment before he glanced at the door and nodded.

He threw off his robe, tossing it on one of the couches, then pulled his shirt loose and flung it onto the bed.

I did the same, looking around for any other evidence that we hadn’t spent the night enjoying each other’s bodies.

When the last bolt slid free, the door opened, and Sagam entered, hand on his blade. He blinked when he saw us standing too close together next to the bed. His gaze swept the room, and then he bowed.

“The servants have prepared breakfast,” he said.

Tallu nodded, and soon, the room swarmed with four servants, each with their own individual task.

One straightened the mess I had just made of the bed, while another collected the scattered clothing.

A third began helping Tallu into fresh clothes for the day, while a fourth approached me with my own outfit.

I ran a finger over the jacket. It was one of the ones the seamstress had made specifically for me to wear after the wedding, retitling me as Emperor’s Consort.

“Nohe waited outside all night to ensure you had them,” the servant whispered, helping me out of my pants and into the tailored clothes.

Tilting my head, I watched the servant work to make sure the clothes were fastened correctly. “I’ll have to thank her.”

And find out why I hadn’t had clothes in the first place. It was an oversight the Turtle House steward was unlikely to make or that Piivu would not have tried to address.

After the servants dressed us, Tallu and I were allowed some privacy to eat. Sagam and Asahi stood, one at the door, the other near the windows. I met Tallu’s eyes and saw twin lines between his brows. I’d been wrong.

Even the emperor, who always appeared carved from metal, was tired after being up all night.

“Husband, if you have time today, you might sleep,” I said. “I apologize I didn’t allow you any time to do so last night.”

At the door, Sagam made a choked noise, and even Asahi twitched.

“I’ll consider it.” Then, awkwardly, Tallu said, “I’ll see you this evening as well?”

“Of course.” I winked. “And I promise that I’ll let you have more sleep tonight.”

By the time I left, I wasn’t sure I’d convinced Tallu to sleep, but at least if his servants gossiped, it would be all over court that Tallu and I were on very intimate terms. When I finally left the emperor’s bedroom, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Sagam reach out as Asahi passed him, gripping hands briefly.

The gesture looked almost accidental from afar, a brush of arms in passing, but I had seen something silver pass between them.

I said nothing, remembering what Tallu had said. They’d been his father’s Dogs first.

Nohe waited at the door to the emperor’s quarters, the only sign of her anxiety a crease on her jacket where she had twisted it. As soon as she saw me, she dropped down to her knees and prostrated herself. “Consort Airón, I am deeply…”

“It’s fine,” I said before she could beg forgiveness. At the last second, I stopped myself from making the dismissive gesture I was used to. “Mistakes happen, and it gave us an early start on our wedding night.”

Nohe took some coaxing before she stood and still walked behind me all the way back to Turtle House.

“I have made sure that Piivu has been punished,” she said finally. “And it will not happen again.”

“Piivu was supposed to take my clothes over?” I asked casually.

“He was. He disappeared for a few hours and claimed he got lost on his way. He said he has never been to the emperor’s quarters,” Nohe said. “Although that is no excuse.”

As we ascended the stairs to my room, I wondered if I had time for a nap before throwing myself to the eels of Tallu’s court. When a servant opened the door for me, I stopped, startled at the sight of someone sitting on the couch inside. Asahi was immediately in front of me, blade drawn.

General Kacha raised his hands, his smile jovial. “I present no threat, Dog. I’m merely here for the emperor’s consort.” He looked over Asahi’s shoulder to me. “I have brought you a gift.”