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Thirty

“ Y ou have no answer for me,” Tallu said two weeks later.

His throne room was empty except for the Kennelmaster, General Saxu, and two of his most trusted commanders.

I sat on my own throne, the weight of the golden circlet on my brow feeling suddenly heavy, even though it was only a fraction the size of Tallu’s crown.

Today, twin horns curved off the circlet at his temples.

His servants had been leaning hard into the implication that Tallu was Dragon Chosen.

It helped keep the courtiers that were still with him in line, and it gave the people something to talk about. Something besides the whispers of dissent.

“No. We believe that the guards that let Kacha and Maki free fled with them.” Saxu’s hands were clasped behind his back, his face just as placid as Tallu’s. The two of them might as well have been discussing the recent weather.

We had returned to the palace after the one-month celebration to find both Kacha and Maki fled. Their cells were empty, the guards in charge of their imprisonment gone. There were those in the palace who cared more about the gold they could offer than their loyalty to the emperor.

“And their location?” Tallu asked.

“It has been difficult to discover,” Saxu said. “But we have made some progress determining where the generals are.”

“With some help,” the Kennelmaster said from where he rested with his back against the wall.

Saxu’s lips went tight. “With some assistance from the Kennel, now that many of our own troops have split, depending on their loyalties.”

“What have you found?” Tallu asked.

Saxu nodded, and one of his commanders stepped forward, handing a map to Asahi, who brought it to Tallu. Tallu opened it, looking at the new lines drawn throughout what had once been the Southern Imperium. Each section was labeled with the name of one of the generals.

“Bemishu has fled south. He is making his base camp in the Ariphadeus desert, but the position of his troops indicates he intends to push northward. We doubt he’ll be able to cross the mountains around the Imperial Capital, but he gathers more followers every day.

He has pressed hundreds of Ariphadi goblins into service.

” Saxu frowned but then looked up. “He is the strongest of the generals, as most of his men were still in the desert when he came north to celebrate your union.”

“And Kacha?” Tallu tapped the Blood Mountains on the map thoughtfully. “The Blood Mountains still have fertile land.”

“Somehow, I doubt that General Kacha has taken up farming.” I squinted. “He probably only knows how to use a hoe to crack open a man’s skull.”

Saxu nodded again. “We believe his soldiers are following him in the north, but most of his power was collected here, in the capital. Instead of active war, he appears to be gathering those in the Imperium who believe we should not simply have conquered the other nations but annihilated them completely.”

“Those who believe in the purity of imperial blood,” I said thoughtfully. “Is that many?”

“It is enough. Many of them would not have lasted long in the military, but perhaps he will be able to make better use of them as small groups of fighters with some independence.” Saxu looked up for a moment, considering his words.

“Kacha had that ability to inspire great feats in others. It was his strength in the Blood Mountains. It is the only reason we were able to conquer most of Ristorium.”

“And Maki?” I asked. “I don’t see him on this map.”

“Unfortunately, we do not know where General Maki has fled to. We might suspect Forsaith, but there is little to draw him there. The land is barren, the people hostile, and it contains none of what he needs for his experiments.” Saxu shook his head.

“However, it is General Namati that I think we should be concerned about. He has disappeared from the capital.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. “We saw him just yesterday at dinner.”

“Yet today, he is gone. Like General Bemishu’s forces in the Ariphadeus, most of his men were still stationed in Tavornai.

And they have the advantage there—fertile land, a conquered people, and ships that keep them out of reach.

” Saxu listed off Namati’s attributes coolly, and I felt the calm in my own bones.

“What do you think Namati wants?” I asked.

“Likely what all of them want. Power. The promise that all these years of warfare have not been for nothing. That watching their own men die over and over has not been a fruitless endeavor.” Saxu tilted his head, and I could hear in his words the subtle implication that he also wanted such a reassurance.

“Which one of them sent the assassins to the Dragon Temple to kill me and my husband before our wedding?” Tallu asked. “It is he we will attack first.”

“That I cannot answer.” Saxu shook his head. “There is reason to believe it was none of them.”

“That is impossible. It must have been one of them.” Tallu clenched his fist, his rings scratching against the blackened bones of his throne.

Out in the hall, shouts and the sound of drawn blades interrupted us. Tallu’s Dogs moved closer, Asahi positioning himself in front of the throne.

The doors shoved open, and Commander Rede entered, his armor scratched and covered in dirt.

Palace guards followed behind him, hesitating at the sight of the empty throne room.

He dropped to a knee in front of the throne, his fingers forming a triangle above his head.

“I apologize for the interruption, Your Imperial Majesty. I have ridden hard from the border with news.”

“I sent Commander Rede to the border with Krustau,” General Saxu said. His voice was calm, but his forehead was creased. No soldier of his would break protocol and report directly to the emperor unless the situation was impossibly dire.

“Speak,” Tallu said. “Freely.”

“I bring news and evidence from the Krustavian border.” Rede stood and waved his hand, equally dusty soldiers bringing in two bodies. Only one appeared alive, moaning and shifting in their grip.

“What is this?” Tallu asked.

“Our men along the border reported that these Krustavians were trying to cross the border. I believe they intended to negotiate with you.” Rede’s mouth was flat. “Sadly, by the time we arrived, our soldiers had already done too good a job.”

The living dwarf sat up, his long beard stained red.

Thick chains held his wrists together, but he managed to stand, coming up to Rede’s elbow, his girth nearly twice Rede’s, but it was all muscle.

His leg was mangled, and although it looked as though someone had wrapped it, I could smell the rot from across the room.

“Bow before the emperor!” Rede snarled, kicking the dwarf’s good leg out.

The man fell to the ground so hard that the room shook, dust rising from cracks in the wood flooring. He struggled up to his knees, the wounded leg starting to bleed again.

“I bring—” He swallowed, but the moisture clearly made his throat worse. Coughing, he tried again, but his voice was an unintelligible rasp.

Tallu gestured with one hand. A servant brought over a tray of water, offering it to Rede and his men. Rede took two cups, offering one to the dwarf. The Krustavian drank thirstily, water soaking his beard, wetting the dried blood caked in it. When he put down the glass, he was trembling.

“What is your name?” Tallu asked, his voice breaking the silence.

“Pailenev,” the dwarf said. “Of the Quartz Guild.”

“Pailenev of the Quartz Guild,” Tallu said. “What were you and your fellow doing crossing our borders?”

“I have a message,” the dwarf said, “that the King of Shadow Throne instructed me to give to the man sitting on the throne of the Southern Imperium. From my lips to your ears.”

“You are in front of the Emperor of the Southern Imperium, speak your message.” Tallu’s rings clicked against the arm of his throne, nearly meditative in their even beat.

“Are you sure you want it said in front of others?” Pailenev sat down heavily, his good knee giving out. “It is a message from the King of the Shadow Throne.”

“Speak it now, or your ghost will have to take my refusal back to the dwarf king.” Tallu leaned back in his throne.

“Open the scroll. Then tell me you want me to say all this in front of all these ears.” The dwarf cleared his dry throat again. “In the mountains, we hear how a whisper carries. Especially through the dark.”

Tallu looked over at Rede, and the commander pulled out a piece of parchment, the seal unbroken. “This was the only thing they had with them other than their weapons.”

He stepped forward, but one of Tallu’s Dogs was already there, taking it from him and stepping up the dais to present it to Tallu with a bow. Accepting the parchment, Tallu turned it in his hands, squinting at the seal, before he held out a hand. Sagam stepped forward, offering a dagger hilt-first.

I tried to lean over to see what was in it when Tallu broke the seal, but something golden dropped out of the scroll and rolled to my feet. Bending, I picked it up. It was a woman’s ring, the ruby in it surrounded by two dragons on either side. Offering it over to Tallu, I watched his face.

He plucked it from my hand, the warmth of his fingers at odds with the frosty expression on his face. There was fury buried under the disinterest.

“The Blood Dragon Gem,” Tallu said. “My father gave this to Empress Koque upon the birth of my brother, Prince Hallu.”

One of the servants gasped, and the two soldiers with Commander Rede shifted forward. It was as I’d suspected: Empress Koque had been loved by those in the palace and beyond.

Tallu held the ruby ring between his fingers, the gemstone catching the light. “You bring me Empress Koque’s ring.”

“I bring you a message,” Pailenev said.

Tallu let the silence stretch, so thick with unsaid things that I nearly vibrated out of my skin.

“And what message is the Shadow King willing to sacrifice you for?” Tallu’s voice had gone quiet and dangerous.