Page 12 of Shadow Throne King

The Dogs nodded, leaving through the single door and closing it behind them.

I had so much to say to Tallu and knew that our privacy was going to be short-lived, but all I managed was, “Why was Dr. Jafopo here?”

“I asked for an update on Asahi. I don’t want the insect creatures or their abilities public. If one of the generals were to learn of them, they might seek to use them against us or use them on the public in order to gain cooperation.” Tallu reached out, picking up the teacup, balancing the delicate porcelain on his fingertips. His hands dwarfed the cup, and he considered the liquid before raising it to his lips. “Jafopo says he has managed to stop the spread, sucked out the venom, but it will be up to Asahi himself if he survives.”

I worried my lower lip between my teeth. “He can give you no hope on the prognosis?”

“He merely reminds me that Asahi is very young and strong.” Tallu took another sip of his tea, looking up at me over the rim of the cup. “And he has every reason to live.”

I felt something shiver up my spine. Even though I knew Tallu was talking about Asahi’s love for Sagam, I couldn’t help but think he was talking about us. No matter what happened, we had each other, and that was enough to save both of us. Ithadbeen enough to save both of us.

“Tell me why you’re here without your Dog. What happened? Who hurt you?” Tallu’s voice was an order, the same tone I had used with his guards earlier, but there was something in it that made me shiver, made me want to tell him everything I knew.

I took my own cup in my hands, the warmth of the porcelain relaxing something in me. “My Dog attacked me.”

Tallu went still, his hands tensing on the cup, his glare turning to the closed door. “You killed him?”

“Yes, but in his last breath, he sent lightning after me.” I looked down at the tea, thinking about that moment of inevitable death, that moment when I had no options left. “The Kennelmaster saved me.”

“He saved you?” Tallu asked, his tone thoughtful. “After you killed his Dog. Why did he wait until you were near death?”

“He wanted me to understand the strength of his position and what he was offering.” I selected one of the miniature sandwiches and offered it over to the dragon. Picking it up in her tiny front claws, she sat back on her haunches to eat it in minuscule bites.

Terror cawed in my ear, and I offered another sandwich to him. He grabbed it in his beak, flying to the far side of the room to eat it.

“What was he offering?” Tallu asked, his eyes following the bird.

“A lethal fighting force that is not loyal to the Imperium, but to you. Solely you.” I took one sandwich for myself, the soft white bread parting under my teeth, the salted meat inside matched by crunchy vegetables.

“To me or to the money I can provide?” Tallu took another sip, his lips parting just enough for the liquid.

“The Kennelmaster implied that his spies are more thorough than the network people assume you have. He also said, ‘the whispers you hear.’ Lerolian thinks he knows about the blood monks.” I took another bite, watching Tallu as he stared down at his tea. “Lerolian didn’t think it would be a bad idea to have a force loyal only to you. When General Saxu learns of your end goals, he might be an opponent we can’t beat alone.”

“Having soldiers loyal to me rather than the Imperium is appealing,” Tallu conceded. “But not when they come with as high a price as the Kennelmaster’s do. The Kennelmaster let his Dog attack you. They would have increased access to your life. That is not worth it to me.”

“What are we going to do, then?” I ate the last of the sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. On my shoulder, the dragon nuzzled against my neck, clearly begging for more like the greedy piglet I knew her to be.Thatmight be a fine name for her. Piglet. “There’s one solution. We have to take the Kennelmaster with us when we go to Krustau. He claims he swore his own oath to you alone. This will give him the impression that you are accepting his bargain. Hementionedcoin, and I cannot shake my hesitance at leaving him alone in the capital. Kacha is good at taking what men want and giving it to them in exchange for loyalty. If any man might convince the Kennelmaster that his loyalty might be better suited to anewemperor… We have timeuntil we leave for the Lakeshore Palace. Perhaps we use that time to test his loyalty, see if there is any weakness.”

“We need to leave for the Lakeshore Palace sooner than that. Now, if possible.” Tallu finished his tea, delicately setting the cup down on the tray. His eyes told me nothing, no hint as to his thoughts, no indication what had brought this on.

I considered his blank expression. We had planned to go to the Lakeshore Palace, the same fortress where his father had been killed, because it was on the border with Krustau, a lake the only thing separating the imperial palace from the dwarves’ land. But we had planned to do it in a month, after sending men ahead to make sure that we were not walking into a trap. With less than a day, we had no time to even look for a trap, much less work out how to spring it without hurting ourselves.

Not only that, but takinganyforce was thorny. The complicated, formal rules of Krustavian hospitality meant that we had to be careful with even thenumberof men who approached the mountain. One messenger was appropriate, but anything more than four offended their sense of balance.

“Do you have new information? You learned something about the creatures that attacked me this morning?”

For a moment, his lips pulled, then he nodded. “Even Saxu believes that the creatures from this morning were sent by the Shadow King. I can’t risk one of the generals allying themselves with King Inor and getting hold of my brotherandthe creatures in the same blow. It was bad enough when there was a suspicion that Hallu was alive. But with the creatures also available as weapons, it is a strength any of the generals would kill to attain.”

I tried to work through the fears that had prompted Tallu’s decision. “If Kacha or Bemishu gets Prince Hallu, they can rally the people and the court around him. If they get control of the creatures, they won’t need as many men to fight. They can usethem as poisonous killers. Release them in our soldiers’ camps, or even in the palace, and we’d all be dead.”

“Exactly.” Tallu exhaled a long breath. His eyes moved over my face like a physical touch, lingering on the wound Boro had left on my cheek. “You have no idea what it means that you understand me so perfectly.”

I watched his face, the fall of light off his perfect cheekbones, the way he was able to make such a calculated decision while burning with a desire that neither one of us could take the time to satisfy.

“We leave tomorrow,” Tallu said. “At the very latest. We will be in Krustau in two weeks, and after that, all we must do is not die.”

Four

“Ah, yes, our old friend, the directive ‘don’t die.’” I tried for a smile and ended up shaking my head. “We must leave tomorrow? Less than a day is a short amount of time to bring the Kennelmaster to our side.” I slouched back in my chair, dislodging the dragon. She hissed, using her tiny feet to crawl along the back of the chair, pawing at my hair unhappily, pulling loose some of the strands from Nuti’s arrangement. “I cannot shake the feeling that despite his claims of loyalty, money is the easiest way to guarantee he keeps the oath he swore. Pay him like a courtesan from the flower district. He’ll probably be about as loyal as one, too.”