“In the north, they just use snow.” Sotonam sniffed. “You’ll need to do something about his hair.”
I reached up to touch my hair. In the Northern Kingdom, it was common for men to keep their hair cropped short on the sides. A long tail started on the top of the head; it was either braided by a lover or bound in a knot until marriage.
“It’s perfectly safe, Your Highness,” Nuti said. She took one of the cloths resting on the side of the tub and pantomimed washing herself with it. As I began to scrub myself down, I realized how filthy I truly was. Sweat and dirt had caked itself into my skin. The water was warm, and I closed my eyes, putting my face underneath the spigot and bowing my head, feeling it flow through my hair. Self-consciously, I took the leather tie out of my hair, then scrubbed my fingers through it.
At home, we washed in tubs, some of the clans having massive ones that could fit a half dozen people. I was used to lying in water warmed from the fire until it cooled. This was strange.
Nuti cleared her throat and then gestured to a small basin at the edge of the stream of water. She took out a handful of sand and scrubbed it over her arm, rinsing it under the spray.
I understood immediately. Sometimes, when on hunting trips, the men would rub themselves with snow to clean themselves. I took a handful and scrubbed it over my body, paying careful attention to the crevices of skin that hadn’t been cleaned since I had left home. The ship we’d been on had barely had enough clean water for washing our faces every other day.
After a few minutes, Nuti leaned forward, turning the spigot off. She didn’t offer a towel, instead holding out a thick robe. I put my arms in and grabbed the few things I had taken out of my clothes. I cradled them close, taking care to feel the dragon egg.It felt unharmed. Gesturing, Nuti led me down a short hall and into a room full of steam.
Inside, she gestured for me to hang the robe next to the door, then pointed to some stairs. It was as though the imperials had brought the lake into the room. The water was colored blues and greens, and the edges of the pool faded into darkness as though we were in a hidden cavern.
Lord Sotonam stood at the door, then shouted loudly at me, “Do not attempt to leave! I will be here when you are done!”
I wondered where he had gotten the impression that I was going to run. Instead, I took the steps carefully down, letting myself float in the water. I closed my eyes, something about the large tub so familiar. In winter, when the men returned from their hunts, sharing a soak was the only time my father and I seemed to spend together. I had always assumed that was because he was ashamed of me.
Mother had trained me for a worse sort of killing than my father committed. A dishonorable sort of killing—finding an opening when your victim wasn’t able to defend themselves. Assassination was the opposite of the honest hunting and warfare my father practiced.
It didn’t even have the dignity of a long hunt across the tundra where the elements and the challenge made you equal with your prey.
And my father had known of the boat. He had been there on that ship and seen what I had done, what my mother’s third wife, Yorîmu, had trained me to do.
I shook my head, my vision going spotty. I wasn’t at home, and I would never be home again. My father was not about to join me for a soak, Yorîmu wasn’t waiting outside to test my reflexes, Eonaî wasn’t about to race me all the way to the stables to see which of us could saddle up a borealis wolf faster.
My body was nearly weightless in the water, and I took a deep breath of the steamy air. If I was going to play both parts, if I was going to be both Eonaî and myself, I needed to decide on my approach. Her plan had been to seduce Emperor Millu, and she’d designed everything about herself around that goal, every choice of styling designed to appeal to him—from the face free of makeup to make her look younger to the way she moved, eyes down, looking up through her eyelashes.
Could I take the same approach with Emperor Tallu? No one would mistake me for a child. No one would mistake me for anything other than what I was: a northern prince trained to survive where only arctic animals should be able to thrive. He’d chosen me, so clearly, he didn’t want the subservient girl Eonaî had been pretending to be.
I’d just have to seduce him the best I could. Seduce him. Get him to lower his guard around me. Kill him.
Easy.
Standing, I made my way out of the water, my skin jumping, trembling. For some reason, I was having trouble catching my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. Yorîmu would have called it battle nerves. That was all it was.
Through the door, I could hear the servants talking.
“Your sister married a northerner, didn’t she?” Tilo said.
“She married someone fromDragon’s Rest Mountains,” Nuti huffed. “I’d hardly call him anortherner. He’s got imperial blood.”
“He might have imperial blood, but they all intermix up there. The question is, do all northerners have as nice a cock as the princeling?”
“Tilo,hush,” Nuti hissed.
I put the robe back on, tucking my precious belongings carefully into the pockets, and opened the door. Nuti and Tilo both stood waiting, their expressions as mild as milk, neithershowing any sign of what they’d been discussing. Lord Sotonam was nowhere to be seen.
“This way, Prince Airón,” Nuti said.
We walked through the rest of the bathing rooms, reaching a small set of stairs that led to a second floor. It was open, all of the shades lifted, completely exposed to the air. It also provided a view of the lake and the rest of the palace.
A small table sat low to the floor, cushions around it. On the table was a delicious spread of food: meats, dumplings, and small fried delicacies that I didn’t recognize. A platter of sliced vegetables was set to the side as a palate cleanser.
“Dinner, while we wait for the seamstresses to arrive.” Nuti approached, holding a series of delicate metal pins in her hands. “Your hair is too long to look truly imperial, no matter what Lord Sotonam wants. I’ll try my best, unless you’d like a haircut?”
Her tone was hopeful, but I shook my head, feeling the wet strands drag over my shoulders.
