Page 67

“Empress Koque lives.” Pailenev coughed.

“Krustau has her?” Tallu said. “A ring could be taken off a dead woman.”

“She and Prince Hallu crossed the border together the night of Emperor Millu’s assassination.

They were escorted into the Mountain Thrown Palace by the Shadow King’s personal guards.

” Pailenev smirked. “My king has your empress and your heir. And I will make sure that he has the imperial throne, too.”

The ground around us shifted and shook as though the earth itself was opening to swallow us both.

It threw back the soldiers, Commander Rede landing on his back and skidding nearly to the doors of the throne room.

General Saxu drew a blade, but the ground around him jerked up, and he fell hard, the crack of broken bone mixing with the sound of shattering wood.

Tallu’s Dogs surrounded him, Sagam and Asahi moving like shadows toward the front, but the stairs slipped, and they lost their footing for a second. A second we didn’t have if we didn’t want the whole palace to come down around us, crushing the emperor and his last trusted general.

I jumped up onto the seat of my throne, my dagger in my hand. My feet shoved against the seat as I leapt forward, using the momentum to carry me forward, landing hard on Pailenev. His head slammed into the ground, but the room continued to move.

My blade was on his throat, slicing through the cartilage and veins, blood on my hands, blood staining the cracking wood. I held on until Pailenev went still, his eyes unseeing.

The room shuddered once more, an enormous crack tearing open the wall, and then everything stilled.

The only sound was the panting breaths of soldiers, the creak of their armor as they stood.

General Saxu managed to stand, his left arm hanging limp at his side, the pale gleam of his skin speaking to pain.

With his four Dogs around him like shadows, Tallu stepped over the broken floor, where the bedrock under his castle had shoved itself up through the foundations, through the wood. He offered up his hand, and I took it, pulling myself up to standing.

“Empress Koque survived my father’s murder. He would like us to believe she was behind it. If she survived, if she had made a deal with Krustau, it is entirely possible.” Tallu’s jaw tightened. “And my brother still lives. The Shadow King has demands.”

He crumpled the parchment in his other hand. The expression on his face was so hard that I reached out without thinking, stroking my thumb between his pinched brows, smearing blood over his smooth skin.

“What do they want?” I asked.

“They have the royal heir. They want something they cannot have,” Tallu said, his voice clipped.

“He said the Shadow King plans to kill you to put Prince Hallu on the throne. Although he chose a bad assassin to do it.” I tried for a smile, waiting for Tallu to look at me and hear the unspoken A mistake the Queen of the Northern Kingdom did not make.

An even worse possibility rose, but I couldn’t voice it. If one of the generals got hold of the young prince, they could make a claim for the imperial throne. Potentially, they could usurp Tallu by using his own blood to do it.

“Your Imperial Majesty, I have no words to apologize for—” General Saxu said, his voice strained.

“Enough. I do not think any of us believed a beaten, injured, restrained Krustavian had enough power to take down my palace,” Tallu said. “Now we all know better.”

Saxu nodded, bowing low, hands in a triangle before he turned to me, making the same bow.

“It was a good kill,” Saxu said as Rede checked to make sure Pailenev was dead. “What are your orders, Your Imperial Majesty?”

“I do not like another nation holding close my heir. I like even less the implication that the empress was behind my father’s assassination.

” Tallu tilted his head, nodding. “We thank your men for their speed, General Saxu, and trust that we may rely on you during the coming difficulties. For now, please make sure we are reinforcing the border with Krustau. This is not the only assassin the Shadow King would have sent.”

Saxu turned on his heel and left, the Kennelmaster following closely. When they left, Tallu turned to me, fully aware that with the Dogs around us we were not alone.

“Well, husband. I greet the gift of your hand in marriage with war.”

“If you call this war, you should see what the Silver City is like in the dead of winter. Husbands and wives at odds. Battle lines are drawn over who is responsible for cooking the dried meat.” But I couldn’t make it a joke. I knew what Tallu was asking.

We had done the deed. We had torn the Imperium apart, and if we let them, the five generals would tear it to pieces, each becoming king of his own private fiefdom.

And yet, my task wasn’t quite done. Raising my hand, I caught Tallu’s hand with mine, neither of us caring about the blood.

“I promised you my loyalty. I will not let go so easily of the dream you and I both share.” I winked at him, letting my lips curl up in a smirk. “Plus, the food is considerably better here, and I can’t imagine how disappointed my mother would be if I returned without a husband for her to dote on.”

“One cannot disappoint your mother,” Tallu said, his double meaning ringing between us.

“No. So, what is our next move, husband?” I squeezed his hand.

The Imperium was in shambles, and I was an assassin ready to make the final kill.