Page 104 of Shadow Throne King
Kneeling, I put down the badger kits and watched them waddle over to their parents, the older badgers nudging them beneath them, to keep them safe from the falling ash. As he bent to put down his own, Tallu nearly collapsed, but I grabbed hold of his elbow, helping him back to his feet.
“What will they do?” I asked Koque.
“It is a mountain range,” she said. “This isonemountain. There are other places they can live.”
Tallu coughed, and I tightened my grip on his elbow, feeling a helpless rage building in my chest. “We need to get back to the palace.”
Koque adjusted her grip on her son. She looked over the crowd of dwarves, watching as they circled Vostop, hands on shoulders, a mass of mourning people.
“He came back because we felt the explosion. We were free. We’d made it, and then he moved nearly the whole mountain so we could get here and save his people.” Her voice went softer, nearly a whisper. “He will not leave them now to come with me to live in the Imperial Capital.”
“Tallu needs to go,” I said sharply. “Are you coming?”
Koque looked again at her lover, then straightened her spine and turned to Tallu. “Are we at peace or at war with Krustau? They are weakened now. If the Imperium wants their tunnels of gold and riches, now is when they could be conquered.”
“We are at peace,” Tallu said, his russet eyes unwavering. “We have great affection for our dearest ally, who saved the dowager empress when assassins killed her husband.”
Koque nodded. She wove her way through the crowd of dwarves and bent to whisper in Vostop’s ear. Then she turned, striding past us toward the Lakeshore Palace. Tallu straightened, but I still worried he was about to keel over. Iradîo, still carrying Nai, took his other side as we moved between people, using the lake to guide us.
I looked over my shoulder, seeing how the Krustavians grouped themselves by guild, children covered in blankets, their parents unable to look away from the mountain.
“How long do you think it will go on?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. How long does a fire dragon celebrate killing an animalia?” Tallu’s question was wry, and I smiled despite myself.
We continued our way around the lake, limping and leaning against one another. The blood mages shadowed us. Iradîo tried to speak, but the smoke and ash had reduced her voice to a whisper. I looked longingly at the lake water but knew that it would be foolish to drink it now, with ash and debris floating on the surface.
A dark shape glided in front of us then swooped upward, and my eyes caught on Terror. He landed in a tree nearby, cocking his head.
“You survived the mountain? Pah. I wish you had not. I had an agreement with Dawn. She said that you did survive, and I said that you had lost too much of your brain when they electrocuted you. You no longer had the intelligence to flee a volcano.” He croaked, the sound echoing. “Now I will owe her some food of her choice. And knowing her, she would choose one of the baked goods from the kitchens. It will be too much trouble.”
“Sorry to have…” The word I wanted to say was “inconvenienced,” but it felt thick on my tongue, and I squeezed my eyes shut, finally forcing out, “trouble… bother?”
I could taste copper, gritty dust, and debris in the back of my mouth, and I swallowed it down.
“What? Can you speak now?” Terror swooped down from the tree, landing on my shoulder and rubbing his face against mine. He gently tapped his beak against my scalp. “You sound very foolish. Perhaps they did take away something of your intelligence. Don’t push yourself too hard. I have learned the language of the Imperium.”
I realized the bird was trying to be kind, and part of my heart clenched tightly. But I needed to practice. I could feel the gaps in my knowledge, and they were unacceptable.
“No. I can learn again.” Or at least I hoped I could. I hoped that with practice, it would come back.
“Well. Since we are practicing… If you are alive, let us agree thatyouwill provide Dawn with the food of her choosing. After all, it was you who disobliged me by living. This other one from the north is too stingy. I do not like her as much as I like you.” The raven tapped his sharp beak once more against my temple. “So we can agree that you will provide Dawn with her food, yes?”
I laughed, and beside me, Tallu stumbled. Grabbing hold of him, I locked my arm to keep him upright. Terror pushed off from my shoulder, flying ahead of us, narrating as he swooped from tree to tree.
“You always said that ravens were spying nuisances,” Iradîo whispered hoarsely.
“That was because you kept an aviary of them. I could barely wipe my own bottom without one of them informing you.” I kept tight hold of Tallu while Iradîo teased me, until she coughed and lost her voice entirely.
Koque was silent, not even smiling as she kept looking back over her shoulder.
The journey took until sunset, and when we reached the palace, armed guards lined the walls, more of them than I’d seen when we’d first arrived.
From atop the walls, someone called for us to stop. I tried shouting up, but I couldn’t even speak, my voice too damaged. I tried again, but all that came out was a squeaking noise.
“Tallu,” I whispered. An arrow shot from the wall, hitting directly in front of us, and we stopped.
Tallu had spent the past few hours leaning heavily on me, but he straightened, his face going grim. He swallowed, then spit, and the saliva was stained red where it landed on the ground.