Page 40

In the dark, wearing dark clothes, we should look only like shadows; anyone sensible would assume the moonlight was hitting the stone unevenly because climbing the sheer tower was insanity.

If someone looked too closely, that was when we had a problem, but I knew the Dogs had timed it so that there were no guards scheduled to walk by, so that we had a precious few moments of invisibility.

The first hand and foothold came easily, and I understood what he meant about the electro magic coating. I could feel the grip of my fingers and feet, but I could also feel the thrum of magic in the stone, as though it was a magnet, keeping my hand from slipping.

I focused on the feeling, letting it guide me as I followed Sagam down the vertical climb. My foot stumbled when I reached the bottom, my focus so intense that I didn’t realize I was there. Sagam grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back so that Tallu could land.

After that, we found our way into one of the tunnels under the palace. We came out in the same chapel that Tallu and I had used to get to the throne room. There were four horses tied nearby.

My experience with horses was learning to ride on a cranky gelding when Yor?mu had taken me south of the city for training.

It hadn’t gone well. I’d ended up sore, and the gelding had proven if I was set to assassinate him, he would have won easily.

Still, I left familiar enough with riding to mount my horse with minimal embarrassment.

No one spoke, Sagam leading us to a nearly invisible gate hidden by crawling ivy.

I followed the three of them, aware of how loud the horses were in the darkness, but now that we were outside the palace, all of us were less concerned about noise.

The Sunrise Estate was a good hour’s ride outside of the Imperial Capital.

It got its name from both its elevation and its position due east of the Mountainside Palace.

Asahi pulled his horse up short, holding up one hand to demand silence.

I didn’t see anything, but I could feel tension in the air.

Sagam took the horses as we dismounted, hiding them in a copse of trees nearby.

They were warhorses, well trained. In the darkness, the only sound was the jangle of their bridles.

Creeping through the forest, the first sign of the Sunrise Estate was a low stone wall. Asahi went over first, then Tallu. I followed, and Sagam brought up the rear. Once over the edge, we just barely avoided a patrol, overgrown brush hiding us from their lamplight.

I expected any patrols this late at night to be lazy, soldiers tired and ready for their shift to be over. But the three men moved with professional quiet. They lifted their lanterns to look in corners, searching for anyone sneaking onto the estate.

When they passed, we lingered for another few minutes before creeping out.

There was one more patrol before we got to the main buildings.

The Sunrise Estate had been built as a gift to the first emperor by his council.

Now, the once palatial estate had been reduced to barracks and training grounds.

Two buildings stood out, having been built more recently.

We entered the first silently and found it filled with the supplies of war: rations, uniforms, and different sorts of weapons.

A cat eyed us unhappily, disappearing into the darkness when we disturbed its hunt.

So we went to the next building. I raised my hand before Asahi could touch the doorknob. Pointing at one of the far windows, I mouthed the word “Light.”

Asahi nodded and turned the doorknob slowly, easing it open. It was well-oiled and made no sound. He snuck in first, and I could feel Sagam vibrating from tension.

After a second, Asahi came back to the door, gesturing with his hand. We followed him, all of us silent. Inside, a massive stack of wood blocked our view. The room was quiet, but I heard heavy shifting and movement.

Someone was talking.

We crept around the pile of wood, and I could see, when I got a better view of it from the side, that it was well-cut lumber and only one of the many neat piles in this room.

Weaving our way through the woodpiles, each stack taller than our heads, we stopped just before walking out into an open space. There was a warm grumble of sound, and it took me a moment to realize it was words.

“If any elephant has had to deal with this in the history of our kind, I will eat the toy we are making.” I heard the ring of metal on metal. “I don’t even think when the One Dragon created the world, it was this bad. Even that had to be less labor than this.”

“Hush. Our other option is to go back to war. At least here they feed us. Do you want to go back to war, Small?”

“In war, the sun warms our hides. Blood soaks the sand. This is repetitive and boring.” There was a loud grunt of frustration, a sound like air rushing over the pass between two mountains. “You cannot deny that this is boring.”

“When you have been at war as long as I have, Small, you appreciate a bit of boring.” The other voice had gone strict, and I could feel the power in it.

“I apologize, Elder,” Small responded immediately, and I didn’t need to see the two of them to know it was bowing its head, dragging its trunk on the ground. “It’s just that this is so?—”

“If you say boring again, Small, I will risk their lightning to teach you to stop interrupting my sleep.” The third voice was sharp, and Small immediately hushed. “Eldest is sleeping. If you wake her…”

Tallu tapped my arm, and I realized that the other three had tried to go ahead. Sagam was further down, while Asahi lingered between Sagam and us. Tallu didn’t speak but raised one hand palm up, the gesture clearly asking what ?

I tapped my ear, then pointed in the direction I thought the animals were in. Usually, animal speaking was a delicate process. It needed trust and a connection.

My cousin Irad?o had an entire aviary of ravens that spied for her and only her. She had built trust over generations of birds starting when she was no more than five.

You could listen to the birds all day and all you would hear was a generic caw, unless they wanted to speak with you.

But these creatures were so massive and their thoughts so intelligent I only had to listen to know what they said. Moreover, they were not used to being around animal speakers. They didn’t know that I could understand every word.

Ignoring the direction that Sagam had chosen, I wove my way between the piles of wood toward the elephants.

I kept to the shadows, quiet and slow. Then, three men of Bemishu’s army opened the door, releasing an enormous squeal.

The door was so large that it could have allowed in one of the massive ships that the Imperium had used to sail on the Silver City.

The three soldiers walking inside were already talking to each other, so they didn’t notice when Tallu yanked me backward, pressing me against one of the stacks of wood.

His hand was warm on my chest, and splinters poked through the fabric at my back. Sagam and Asahi were two shadows that moved to either side of us, their hands resting on their blades.

But the soldiers were so caught up in their conversation that they didn’t see us at all. Turning, I squinted through a gap between the logs, watching them. Tallu’s breath ruffled the hair on the back of my neck.

“The elephants aren’t going to like it. They’ve been working all day, and if they don’t get their rest, we could have an accident.” The soldier was older, his copper skin darkened from sun and exposure to sand.

“Word from the top is we need to redo it completely. All of the day’s work.

In order to keep up with the pace, we’re going to have to work the rest of the night and then through the day.

” The second man was stockier. Thick muscles flexed in his arms and wide chest, giving him a round appearance, although he was probably half as strong as an elephant himself.

“Does he want to kill the elephants we brought back?” asked another voice.

It was high and light, and it took me a second to realize that the person asking was from the Ariphadeus.

Her skin was the same color as the sand, and in the dim light, I caught the hint of two dark spots on her forehead where they had cut off her horns when they had captured her.

The first man blew out a breath. “It feels like it.”

“It’s Bechi. His plans are always a mess, and he can never explain why. All I know is that I’ve been told these don’t work and we need to redo it. We’re never going to make the one-month celebration if we don’t.” The second man crossed his arms, sucking on his teeth in frustration.

“What is the point of this one month?” the Ariphadi goblin asked.

She walked out of my view, and I shifted just slightly, trying to see where they were housing the elephants, but Tallu tightened his grip on my clothes, and I could feel the tug of the fabric.

“Is he afraid that the emperor is going to disappear in a month?”

The first man laughed. “Apparently, General Kacha made a fool of himself at the wedding. General Bemishu wants to show off at the one-month celebration to prove he’s better.

He thinks if he does this, the emperor’s going to have no choice but to pay for more ships.

The same way that Kacha thought the emperor would have no choice but to restart the imperial expansion if he was able to show how strong the Imperium’s forces are. ”

He followed the woman out of my view, and I heard the clank of metal and the woman shushing the elephants, her voice melodic as she spoke to them.

The second man shook his head. “All of that is beyond our ken. Our job is to make the ship. We have two—no, less than two weeks now.”