“You cannot believe him,” General Kacha said.
“I might believe one man was scarred by an accident.” General Saxu loosened the hoods of the other two men. “But all three scarred by the same accident? And before you say it, if these are northerners who agreed to be mutilated in order to pretend to be Krustavian soldiers, why weartheir own clothes, which make them look like northerners rather than Krustavian armor?”
General Kacha strode over to the men. He peered down, frowning.
“No, it is too convenient. The moment he has you alone, you are attacked by men wielding northern blades. Your Imperial Majesty must see how suspicious this is.”
“They weren’t northern blades. We might use Krustau’s metal, but we haven’t traded with them in twenty years, not since Ristorium fell. Our weapons are merely plated in Krustavian ore. These men fought with blades heavy from it.”
“Sagam?” General Saxu asked.
“Their weapons were heavy. They cut down three of us with them.” Sagam looked down at his hands. “They could easily have cut down four.”
“So, I suppose the question comes down to whether the Northern Kingdom would send assassins after me. Whether the man who is promised to me intends to kill me.” Tallu leaned back in his throne, raising his chin, his eyes looking down at all of us. Then, he turned to me, and I felt pierced through by his gaze. He saw into me.
“Well,” Tallu purred, “Prince Airón, do you intend to kill me?”
Twelve
My heart stopped. Around me, the room was suddenly deathly silent.
“No, Your Imperial Majesty. I don’t intend to kill you.” The lie tasted foul on my tongue, the flavor of it rising up my throat like bile.
Eonaî should be here. She had been trained to say all the pretty words that now choked me.
“Well. There we have our answer. Someone is attempting to restart conflict with the Northern Kingdom.” Tallu steepled his fingers, looking around the room. “Iwillfind out who it is, just as I have found all of the previous men and women who were attempting to undermine the Imperium. And Iwillmake them pay for their endeavor.”
The lights in the room flickered, flashing violently before they settled into a constant glow.
“We will seek out whoever might have sent these men,” General Saxu said mildly. “I’ll start at the forts along the border with Krustau.”
“I have a feeling whoever sent them is considerably closer to home,” Tallu said.
He turned, glancing at the ministers. Lord Sotonam dropped into a reflexive bow, and the others followed suit, their expressions pale, cheeks hollow with fear.
No. None of these men would do it. These men would sooner throw themselves in the northern ocean than participate in a plot against the emperor. Could Rute be so obvious? Would he be so foolish?
“Your Imperial Majesty.” General Saxu turned, bowing low. “May I ask how you survived?”
Tallu leaned back in his throne, both hands resting on the arms of it. His fingers were pale, and I could see the bruising underneath the tattoo on his arm. No one had offered him his robe yet, and he looked naked without it.
For a blinding second, I was reminded of clutching him tight in the water, his body against mine, the muscles of his arms and legs working, trying to keep himself above water.
“We fought off two of the men who made it onto the soothsayer’s island. When it became clear that they had taken the entire temple, we chose the river. After swimming downstream, we found a way out of the caves and made our way back to the capital through the forest.” Tallu looked around. “Did the soothsayer survive? How many of the monks were killed?”
“The soothsayer lives,” Sagam said. “And all but three of the monks were murdered.”
Tallu’s face was blank, completely unfeeling as he considered Sagam’s words. Finally, he shook his head. “The monks will not come here?”
“No. They say their place is in the caverns.” Without his mask, Sagam looked strangely exposed.
His voice held no emotion, but I could read it in the pull of his lips, the way his jaw clenched in anger. He was unableto protect these people who had died because of the Emperor’s Dogs’ failures.
“Send guards. And food. Have the chefs prepare as much as they need. When they are ready to perform the mourning rites, let us know. We should be there.” Tallu looked away, as though he was just as uncomfortable with Sagam’s exposed expression. “It has been a tiring day. Inform us when you have any more information about where these attackers came from.”
The order sent everyone into motion. The ministers left quickly, grouped together like waterfowl who knew a predator could only attack them alone. General Kacha bowed low, and Rute stepped forward.
“Cousin, I am grateful you survived the encounter. I worried for you.” Rute’s brows were drawn together, his mouth pulled down at the sides.
