“You are my Northern Prince.” As fast as a viper, Emperor Tallu reached out, grabbing hold of my hand and placing the leather tie in it.
I considered the leather band. It had been decorated with some beads, a shimmer of blues and silver dotting the back of it. “You know, Your Imperial Majesty, in the north, our beloveds braid our hair.”
Tallu’s eyes narrowed, and although his lips stayed flat, I could see a slight crinkle in the corner of his eyes. “After we are wed, you will have to teach me the art.”
Unable to take my eyes off him, I pulled my hair back into a traditional tail. I wished I had a mirror to make sure it was even. With my fingers, it was impossible to tell if it looked smooth. Tallu nodded at me as though this was exactly what he had wanted.
“Who dressed him in these colors?” Tallu asked mildly. He looked me over, and I raised an eyebrow, turning slightly to show off my profile to its advantage.
“I am still right here.” I swept aside the coat to test the fall of the fabric, and Tallu’s eyes watched as it moved. I definitely wasn’t imagining the way his eyes lingered on my waist, on the way the jacket settled back at mid-thigh.
“We thought it best to show his skin to its advantage. He has no gleam, no shine naturally. We thought perhaps if we used muted colors, matte fabric, he would not have to use paints,” the seamstress said. She bowed low, fingers forming a triangle above her forehead, although she didn’t prostrate herself like Lord Sotonam did.
“No. He is a northerner, used to furs and skins. But more than that, he is my future consort. I will not have him dressing like a beggar or a monk.” He turned to look at her, and she continued to stare at the ground, although I saw a shiver of apprehension trail up her spine. Her fingers twitched reflexively.
“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty,” she spoke to the ground. “It was my error. Please give me a chance to correct it.”
“Find colors that suit his skin. Blue, if I’m not mistaken. Sea green, to contrast his eyes. He should have the same quality of clothing as me. I wear no powders, and no one comments on my silks.” His voice was so mild, so flat that it was easy to believe he was just commenting on the clothes and that no one was beingreprimanded, no one feared their own death or banishment over a mistake.
Emperor Tallu was staring at me again. He looked down at where I’d placed my few precious belongings as the seamstresses had been dressing me. Raising an eyebrow, he ran a finger over the rabbit skin pouch. I held myself calm. He wouldn’t look inside. He wouldn’t look inside. He wouldn’t?—
Tallu said, “We found some of your furs. I know they are heirlooms in the north and wanted to return them to you before we ruined them with our attempt at laundering.”
He lifted his hand away from the pouch and gestured another of his Dogs forward. He stepped forward, carrying an armful of my clothes, and knelt to place them down. I felt my eyebrows go up. The Dog would have felt the extra weight of knives, would have noticed the small pouches sewn into the seams. Unless he hadn’t?
My heart raced, but I kept my breathing steady. If anyone had noticed anything wrong, my head would already be on the floor with the mewling Lord Sotonam. He definitely wouldn’t beflirtingwith me. “You are too kind. Did you go into the shower hoping to catch me there? I would be more than happy to take another so you can see how much I enjoyed it after our long voyage.”
“I have heard that bathing is more communal in the Northern Kingdom. Did you miss the company?” Tallu leaned in, his next words for me alone. “Would youlikecompany the next time?”
“Only very specific company,” I said. “Your company.”
Tallu looked me over once more, the small smirk in the corner of his lips enough to make me feel as though I’d won. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as hard as I’d thought. The emperor was already doing half the work; now, I just needed to find the right timing. Maybe I could even kill him before our wedding.
“I’ll have to consider,” Tallu said. “We are more private in the south.”
He turned, and I thought he was going to leave, the heavy pressure of his presence going with him. Instead, he looked around the room, raising an eyebrow, and Nuti and Tilo both jumped at the same time, rushing over to a corner of the room where a set of chairs was positioned around a matching dining room table. They carried over the one from the head of the table, a heavy piece of furniture that it took them both to balance.
As gently as they could, they lowered the chair, and Tallu swept his long robe aside in order to sit. The tension increased, and Tallu said, “Well?”
His gentle tone made me worry about the future of everyone in the room. Gone was the teasing, gone was the flirting. His gaze swept over the seamstresses and servants and Lord Sotonam still prone on the ground. His guards moved into position like shadows, silently disappearing in their nearly black outfits.
The seamstress seemed to wake first, approaching me with an unsteady totter she hadn’t had when she’d first come in.
“Get him out of that,” the seamstress whispered, pulling at the ties so desperately that she failed to loosen them, tightening the knots instead. “Blue. Find all the blues we have.”
One of her assistants pawed through the stack of jackets and pants, pulling out every shade of blue imaginable. Tallu continued to watch, entirely still as I put my hands over the seamstress’s shaking ones. Her wrinkled skin was cold under my palms.
I waited until she caught my eyes and then let her go, undoing the ties myself. The jacket came off my shoulders and fell into a silken puddle on the ground. Pulling the tie of the pants, I had to work at the strips of fabric briefly to undo the knot the seamstress had made in her struggles to undo it. Whenit finally came loose, the strips of fabric hung loosely on my hips, and I pulled off the shirt.
I turned to Tallu, one hand resting on my hip. I could feel the cold already on my skin, making goose bumps rise, turning my nipples hard. His eyes trailed over me, the russet brown focused on what I had just exposed.
“Is changing not also private in the Southern Imperium?” I raised both my eyebrows. Nuti came forward, holding a robe similar to the one she had given me after the bath.
She slipped it over my arms, and I let it hang open as the seamstress sorted through the clothing they’d brought. Lord Sotonam slowly sat up, clearing his throat and wiping at his brow with a handkerchief.
It came away stained with his makeup, the sweat smearing the rest across his face. He pushed himself up to his feet, walking over to the seamstress.
“We’ll stay away from electro mage colors. Does the emperor mean he wants Prince Airón in imperial blue?” Her voice was so quiet that I wasn’t sure anyone else even heard.
