Page 39 of Shadow Throne King
My power over ice was an extension of my own desires, an extension of my will. What did I desire?
I wanted to bury my face in Spoiled Brat’s fur. I wanted to be lying against him in front of a warm fire as my father spoke loudly about his last hunt, exaggerating every detail until even my stoic mother was laughing at the absurdity. I wanted to look over and see Eonaî giggling until her warm tea came up her nose, her hand covering her mouth.
But more than that, more than any of that, I wanted Tallu to be in the Silver City with me, for both of us to be safe, protected behind the icy walls. I wanted my mother to push his hair back from his forehead and press a kiss to his brow as though she loved him as much as I did.
The ice in my hand lost shape, lost form, turning into a cold hard prism. I relaxed my grip. That wouldn’t do. That wasn’t what I could have.
I refocused on Spoiled Brat, on the long line of his snout, the soft flop of his ears when he was laughing. I focused on the thick coat of fur he wore during the winter. The ice in my hand reshaped itself, becoming a small version of him. I gasped, covering it with a cough, when the miniature turned its head, nuzzling into my palm.
Tallu leaned over on my other side, his voice warm in my ear.
“Are you all right?”
The ice in my hand turned to water, and Tallu reached out, catching some of it in his palm. His eyes went wide, and heshifted over, letting it dribble onto his pants where it wouldn’t be as obvious as a giant puddle on the floor.
The driver called back, “We are almost at the palace.”
The Kennelmaster called for a stop, and then, leaning out of the front, gestured at one of the Dogs on horseback. “Alert the palace as to who is coming.”
The rider nodded, bowing low to Tallu as he passed our cart. He reached into an inner pocket and removed his mask, placing it on his face. With that one change, even though he was wearing the clothes of a merchant, no one would have mistaken him for one.
He kicked his horse into motion, his hoofbeats fading as he rounded a bend. When he was gone, the Kennelmaster ordered the rest to make a temporary camp.
They lowered the stairs so Tallu could step out, his chair already set out under a shade covering. The Dogs went about their normal duties, caring for the horses, preparing a small meal that was first served to Tallu and me and then shared around the camp.
They were quiet, but when the Kennelmaster began speaking, everyone turned to him.
“We are not sure what we will find when we reach the Lakeshore Palace. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps the Shadow King has already taken it over. Either way, you are Dogs, bound to service, your lives and the emperor’s one and the same.”
The only sound was the shift of branches, Ratcatcher making a soft warbling sound of interest. Lerolian was frowning at the Kennelmaster, his arms crossed. He clearly did not like some barb in the Kennelmaster’s words, but all I knew was that the Kennelmaster should not be the one speaking to Tallu’s men. Not if we hoped to keep them.
Subtly, I leaned forward, nudging Tallu’s shoulder. His head dipped for just a moment, and I saw his eyes slide shut before he straightened again.
“You Dogs are my most loyal, most devoted men. There is no one in the empire I trust more.” Tallu’s voice carried, and the Kennelmaster turned his head just enough to be respectful, just enough to be looking at Tallu straight. “Without you, the Imperium will fall. Without you, Krustau will take half the empire for itself, if not the entirety of the nation generations have bled for. It is up to us—the twelve of us—to save the legacy of the Imperium. It is up to us to save Prince Hallu if he still lives and show the king of Krustau what happens when he crosses House Atobe, chosen emperors of the Imperium. Are you with me?”
At first, I thought their silence showed their uncertainty, but then, starting with Sagam, one by one, they put their masks back on. They were no longer men. They were Dogs.
If the ice was an extension of my will, the Dogs were an extension of Tallu’s. After a long beat, the Kennelmaster removed a mask from his own pocket. It was shaped like a bear, crossed with the scar from a weapon from the left eye socket to his right cheek.
“Let us retake what Krustau has stolen from me,” Tallu said.
I had thought the Dogs quiet when we had made and broken camp every day, but that was nothing to their silence now. Even the horses seemed to sense it, the normal jangle of the harnesses muted as we broke camp and headed for the Lakeshore Palace.
When it came into view, the cart pulled to a stop, everyone watching to see if there was any evidence of Krustavian incursion. Topi, who had been silently crying since we had failed to find her sister at General Maki’s camp, rubbed at her eyes with the hem of her dress. It only made them redder, but no one said anything. Naî had the gall to fall asleep curled between twoboxes, small enough that she could fit but large enough that no one dared try to share the space with her.
“It looks clear,” the driver said.
“Head on,” Tallu said. The cart pulled into motion again, the grind of the wheels on the paved road louder than the pounding of my heart in my ears.
The driver pulled to a stop again at the edge of a massive moat surrounding the palace. Atop the walls, I saw Tallu’s banners, and from the shouting, they were aware we were here.
Proximity to Krustau made the tall walls less decorative than those at the Mountainside Palace. On the other side of the moat, the walls were taller than an elephant, and at the base, enormous spikes protruded outward. Between the moat and the spikes, no horse or machinery of war could get close enough to touch them. The walls themselves were carved from stone, made to look like an enormous forest surrounding the palace.
What did the inside of the palace look like? Was it as luxurious as the Mountainside Palace, or was it as austere and brutal as the outside?
The gates opened, a drawbridge lowering with creaking slowness. The Dog who had preceded us galloped across, pulling his horse in a sharp circle to come up alongside our wagon.
He spoke loudly, his head bowed. “They are ready for you, Your Imperial Majesty.”