The emperor stopped directly in front of me. He looked me over, his eyes tracing from the mockery of an imperial hairstyle to my plain gray pants. He leaned in close, and I smelled whatever perfume he wore. It was something almost metallic, like lightning on the open ice.
Lightning and blood.
“Well, Your Imperial Majesty?” I asked, holding out my arms. I let my shoulders roll back, the clothes showing off my body more than furs ever would. “Do you approve?”
“At least you no longer reek,” Tallu said, and for a second, I thought maybe I saw something like amusement in his eyes before they chilled. He turned to Lord Sotonam and the servants. “Who did this?”
He gestured to me, his wave encompassing the hair down to my plain jacket. The room was suddenly even more still, and I looked out at a room full of metal statues. They had even seemed to stop breathing, as though Tallu were a lightning strike on the open tundra and they knew they were going to be hit next.
He turned his eyes back to me, and I held my breath, everything in me feeling tight.
“The servants did.” Lord Sotonam finally broke his silence. He gestured at Nuti and the senior seamstress. The elderly seamstress seemed to shrink back, as though her age and experience could no more save her than her silk dress could stop an arrow. “I trusted their guidance.”
“Youtrusted their guidance?” Emperor Tallu looked away from me. As his gaze left me, I found myself inhaling sharply, finally able to take a full breath.
Why did I fear him?Hewas the one who ought to fearme.
“I did,” Lord Sotonam said. “Of course I would. They are members of your household—they know best, do they not?”
He was speaking rapidly now, mostly to the floor, his words becoming desperate. He knelt on the wooden floor, his foreheadalmost pressed against it and his hands braced in the shape of a triangle.
“I did not send you to trust anyone else. I sent you to use your own judgment.” Tallu’s words were soft, the threat as tangible as a hand on Sotonam’s neck. “So I will take his appearance as a reflection onyourjudgment.”
Sotonam’s harsh gasp was the only sound.
“No one asked my betrothed his opinions?” Emperor Tallu said.
The silence chilled the air more than the setting of the sun. Nuti exchanged a glance with the seamstress. “We asked him whether he’d prefer paints or powders, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“And he said…” The emperor’s eyes fixed on Lord Sotonam, prostrated in front of him.
“He said he didn’t want paints or powders,” Nuti ended on a whisper. “Prince Tall… I mean, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“I imagine he didn’t. They do not wear paints or powders in the north. Nor is this the style for men’s hair.” Tallu leaned forward, and one of his silken sleeves brushed over my cheek.
I felt a tug on the back of my head.
He pulled back, holding the golden hairpin. His eyes caught on mine, and my heart sped, but I kept my breathing steady, as any hunter would when lining up a shot. BecauseIwas his hunter. I was his assassin. I was?—
Only that smell distracted me, left me breathless. The emperor smirked at me, then stepped back, out of my space.
“You know,” I said, my voice low. Despite our audience, I let myself imagine this man naked and then let it show on my face. “You could also askmeif you’d like to know what they did. I was here the entire time. Fully conscious except for a moment where I may have blacked out when I tasted whatever fried dumpling your chef prepared.”
“You enjoyed it?” Tallu asked, his voice doing very interesting things to my stomach.
“Greatly.” I wondered if licking my bottom lip was too much and decided on a smirk. “What otherdelicaciesdo you recommend?”
“I’m sure I can have the chef prepare some of myfavorites.” The crown gleamed on his brow, a circle of gold that shone in the light. His eyes were just as sharp, just as precise, and I wondered how much he saw when he looked at me. I wondered if he was implying thatIwas one of his favorites already.
Well, I hadn’t expected my work of seduction to be quite this easy. Perhaps too easy? Before my suspicions could coalesce, Emperor Tallu spoke.
“Asahi.” He held out a hand.
One of his guards stepped forward. With the black mask on his face, I had no way to distinguish him from his three peers. He wore a sword at his waist, and I didn’t need Yorîmu’s eyes to see the knives he had hidden.
Asahi handed the emperor something, and Tallu held it out to me. For a long second, I stared at the limp piece of leather draped over Tallu’s golden rings before recognizing it as my hair tie, discarded in the bath.
I tilted my head, then asked quietly, “Do you not wish for me to fit in with your court?”
