Page 28 of Shadow Throne King
We stopped in the shadow of the mountain for the evening meal, pulling far enough off the road that some large boulders once atop the mountain hid us from view of any travelers who might be using the road.
“We’ll put more men on guard tonight,” the Kennelmaster said.
Tallu nodded. We had seen more vehicles and people passing us now that we were back in a more inhabited area of the Imperium.
“Why don’t more people take the forest road?” I asked.
“It is illegal without a special pass, so that no one might take the trees we need for the imperial expansion,” Tallu said. “Luckily, the emperor gave us special dispensation to travel through it.”
“Luckily.” I smiled at Tallu. “How very generous to our small bands of armed merchants.”
When he smiled, there was almost no shift in his expression, just the slightest crinkling in the corners of his eyes. Even among his Dogs, Tallu was careful. He was still the emperor. A week on the road couldn’t change that.
The Dogs set up camp as the sun fell behind the mountain. In the shade, the land was nearly cold, a soft sort of chill that made everything seem quieter, every soft snort of the horses as loud as thunder.
“We’ll stay in a town tomorrow, and then it’s only five days until the Lakeshore Palace,” the Kennelmaster said.
“Will that be safe?” I asked, thinking of the cabins we’d stayed at so far, well equipped despite their apparent abandonment.
“I have people in cities who know House Vakuri and owe us some favors.” The Kennelmaster glanced at Topi. “We were lucky this last time. But LadyBemishuis a smart girl. She knows the consequences if she steps out of line or makes a fuss.”
“Ah, yes, my very dear friends the Dogs will kindly remove my head from my body if I endanger His Imperial Majesty by opening my mouth.” Topi smiled sweetly, her expression hidingthe sour twist to her lips. “What a gracious host you are, Your Imperial Majesty.”
Tallu watched her from his seat, and his expression was so still that Topi’s own contracted in terror. The seat Tallu sat in was no throne, having none of the high backing or carved dragon bones that made the one in the throne room so daunting, but the chair was so distinctly his that when he lounged in it, he still looked the part of the cold, calculating man they all expected him to be. The Kennelmaster always had the seat taken out first, Tallu given the first serving of every meal, and I thought again of what he’d said.
His own fate was tied to Tallu’s. He depended on the emperor just as much as we depended on his men to help us safely cross the Imperium.
“Your Imperial Majesty…” Topi was afraid, the raw fear so palpable it permeated through the guards. They might know what a threat she posed, but most of them were not monsters who enjoyed the torture of women and children, and her fear made them wonder what came next, what Tallu’s next step could possibly be.
“Lady Topi,” I said, interrupting the tension. “Walk with me.”
I gestured to the wide field bounded by a few sparse trees. On my shoulder, Naîshifted, her small claws digging in. I usually only let her out in the cart or when we’d settled into tents for the night, but she was particularly vocal about her freedom the closer we got to the more traveled roads, as though she knew her days of being let out at all were growing limited.
The tall grasses came to nearly my knee, the ends tipped by small, tufted flowers. I let my fingers drift over them, not saying anything. They were sharp despite their soft shape, catching on my fingertips like nettles. Beside me, Topi’s rapid breathing slowed.
I heard a swish through the grass and glanced backward to see Asahi a few yards behind us, his eyes trailing around the field, darting from invisible danger to invisible danger, as though he was convinced some assassin had been lying in wait and was ready to leap out at the first opportunity.
“I have a twin, too,” I said.
Topi’s breath caught again, the gasp audible. I didn’t look at her, continuing to walk toward the mountain. It had the effect of most mountains, looking closer than it actually was. I wondered how long it would take to reach the base, how long to climb to the summit.
“I remember,” Topi said. “The pretty girl with you on your first day in court. She tried to save you.”
It was only a few months earlier, but that seemed forever ago now. Eonaî’s desperation, my own panic that she was about to make a mistake that would cost both of us.
The pretty girl who was with you.I considered the difference between me and Topi Bemishu. I had spent all these months believing that Eonaî was safe. She was north, shielded behind the walls of the Silver City. She wassafe.
Topi had given no indication which of the many powerful men on the game board had her sister, and I knew that she must be agonizing about her sister’s safety, unable to act with any certainty that her sister was unharmed.
She didn’t even have that cold comfort to help her sleep at night, a candle holding out against the darkness of winter.
“Eonaî,” I said. “She and I were born the same hour, only a few minutes apart, and I don’t think we spent more than those minutes apart for the rest of our lives. She was with me when I learned how to be a northern warrior, and I watched her learn to be empress.”
“Well, hopefully she took to your lessons better than you to hers,” Topi said dryly.
I ignored her. “She could know what I would say to anything. She could answer for me because we knew each other so well that not even our own mother could tell which of us said a thing. She once got so angry at me for ruining a painting of hers that she opened my window in the dead of winter and covered my bed with a bucket of water. It froze, and I slept a week in the main hall until my room had defrosted.”
“And you cannot hate her because you would have done the same,” Topi said, her smile twisted, eyes still not seeing the view in front of us. On my shoulder, Naî yawned and opened her wings, flapping once before lifting off my shoulder and then diving into the grass. I heard a helpless squeak as she found a quick meal.