Page 105 of Shadow Throne King
His voice seemed to come from some deep place inside of him that wore the crown at all times, even when he was covered in soot from having barely made it out of a volcano.
“I am Emperor Tallu. Who from inside my own palace attempts to harm me?” Tallu was wrath, he was the very lava that spewed from the volcano on the other side of the lake.
Twenty-Five
Two shadows melted out from behind trees, and I recognized them instantly as Emperor’s Dogs. One was Sagam, his movements quick and unhesitating. Both shadows paused, freezing when they recognized us. Sagam dropped first, going to his knees. I knew what was coming and cut him off before he could beg forgiveness for abandoning the emperor.
“We need to get inside the palace,” I said. “And we need to alert Quuri that we have found Empress Koque and the crown prince. They will need rooms and servants.”
The drawbridge squealed loudly, the sound emphasized by the boom of the mountain across the lake. We turned toward the bridge. Tallu led the way, his posture straight, dust and ash falling from his cloak in a swirl that dogged his steps. When we passed over the moat, the water churned, the serpents panicked and writhing.
Iradîo frowned down at them, and I felt her worry echo in my own stomach. What did they know that we didn’t?
I dropped back to speak with Sagam as the other Dog stood at Tallu’s shoulder, Iradîo keeping close to me. Her yellow clothes wouldn’t hide her now. She was too visible, too exposed. I had to keep her close.
Empress Koque held back, walking behind me. Of all of us, she knew how important visuals were, how important it was that no one saw her as taking my place.
“How is Asahi?” I asked Sagam.
“Recovering. He is asleep, as he has been since we got to the palace.” Sagam’s eyes cut to Iradîo.
“This is a personal guard. My cousin, sent by my mother as a gift for returning her daughter to her,” I said, stretching the truth. “And the Kennelmaster?”
“Alive. One of the new servants was a midwife, but there are no doctors of Dr. Jafopo’s caliber here.” Sagam looked away.
“As soon as we are settled, we will find a doctor.” I looked at the mountain again, only the very peak visible as we crossed the drawbridge and the walls of the palace blocked the rest out. “If there is any food or blankets we can spare?—”
“Your Highness?” Sagam asked.
“Krustau is our ally, is it not? And its king has been killed, its capital destroyed. Should we not offer aid?” I looked at him, and he hesitated only a moment before dropping his chin in a nod.
On the other side of the drawbridge, Quuri stood behind a phalanx of servants, her eyes widening only a moment before she began shouting orders. Sagam went to her, speaking quietly.
Her eyes went from Tallu to Koque and back again. After a second, she snapped a few quick orders. Koque straightened as three servants approached, the lead one gesturing with her hand in invitation.
“Your Majesty,” the servant said.
There was a moment of hesitation, and Koque turned to Tallu, managing a bow, even with her sleeping son still cradled in her arms. What she said now would be important, a setting of expectations.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” she said, letting her smoke-hoarse voice rise to be loud enough over the bustle of movement.Everyone stilled. “I am so grateful to have my son, your heir, once again in your custody. Our time in Krustau has helped my son understand our allies better, but I am ever grateful to be back on imperial soil.”
Tallu watched her, and the courtyard seemed frozen, waiting for his response. “We are also grateful to receive you back into our household, Dowager Empress. You are to be commended for having the foresight to protect the heir of the Imperium by fleeing to Krustau instead of recklessly crossing the Imperium, when you could not be sure whether the assassins had also taken my life. Our heir could not be in more protective hands.”
Somehow, Koque managed to lower herself further, the politeness of the gesture making it clear that she was beneath him, that her station was lower than his. Tallu nodded in acknowledgement and Koque straightened, letting her new servants lead her away.
Tallu’s servants took hold of him, and I knew I was about to watch him disappear, be taken from me as efficiently as only a trained imperial servant could manage. No. Not now.
I followed behind him, ignoring my own trailing servants. He was a star in the night sky, leading me home.
I turned, finding my own coterie of servants trailing me like ducklings, trying to get my attention with gentle calls of, “Your Highness?”
From among them, I chose the bath maid and another servant who I knew was gentle and attentive. “This is Iradîo. She is my personal guard. She risked her life to save His Imperial Majesty. Please help her bathe and find her clean clothes.”
The two women hesitated only a second before drawing Iradîo away. My cousin went silently, frowning reproachfully, but I shook my head. The servants might tolerate me in Tallu’s inner sanctum, but a stranger would be left behind.
Turning, I ignored the pleas of the servants to return to my rooms and strode after Tallu, feeling him get farther away with each step. I needed him more than I thought possible.
The hallway looked longer than it had on our first night in the palace, stretching too far ahead. I just barely caught up with him before servants closed the doors of his rooms. When I slid between them, there was a moment of hesitation, and then the servants moved about their tasks.