Piivu’s eyes went wide, and he stuttered more awkward gratitude. I waved in what I hoped was an appropriate gesture instead of a dismissive one.
He quickly got the message, bowing himself out of the room.
“You’re thinking,” Terror said from the window, and I looked over to see the bird watching me. “You’re thinking about something else when you should be thinking about getting me food.”
“I am thinking about how to break into the empress’s quarters.” I walked over to the table, with a small bowl of nuts and dried fruits that had been appearing there frequently. Piivu knew I liked Terror and would provide food for him without me needing to ask.
“Why? You’ll just move in there after you get married.” Terror cocked his head at my surprised look. He cackled. “What? You think I can spy on everyone and not know that basic information?”
“I can’t wait until after the wedding,” I said thoughtfully. “I need it now.”
“Can’t you ask to see the quarters in advance?” Terror asked. “You’re terrible at this.”
Annoyed, I shut the window in the bird’s face. He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
That night, I snuck out. I used some of the clothing I had packed back in the Silver City. If anyone had asked, I had planned to say it was training clothing—a dark gray shirt that clung to my limbs and tight pants that were the same color. But no one had asked.
Nohe, or likely some servant she had assigned, had carefully unpacked all of my belongings, and no one had asked any questions about them, not even the “ceremonial” knives or the shirts and jackets that were weighted as though something heavy sat sewn into their seams.
Asahi had seen me to bed, his eyes narrowing when I told him I didn’t want any disruptions before morning. At his suspicion, I theatrically rolled my eyes.
“Tomorrow, the first of the council members are arriving. Excuse me for beingnervousabout maybe meeting the people who tried to kill me.” I shook my head. “When you are stabbed and hit and dropped in icy water,youcan feel nonchalant at having the people responsible in the same palace as you!”
Then I shut the door, turned off my lights, and waited until the house quieted. I meditated, I stretched, I turned over the series of things I had to take care of in my mind until I thought I had a plan forward.
Most people had been worried by the wedding invitations Tallu had sent to all of the living council members and the families of executed ones. Tallu was known for his politicking, known for being sneaky, so clearly, the emperor had some plan here the rest of the court was suspicious of.
Iwas not mentioned at all. Which was good, as it allowed me to play up my own fears, no matter how much Asahi disbelieved them.
When the moon had passed the halfway mark and the palace was quiet, I scaled the tree just outside my window and stepped onto the roof, then sped away as quietly as I could. My boots were made of well-broken leather, and I made no sound as I moved across the rooftops until I reached the part of the palace the throne room was in and had to scale a wall, then drop down and hide in the bushes.
The empress’s quarters were typically near the emperor’s but not actuallyinsidethe emperor’s personal quarters. It was a separate building, close enough that the emperor could summon the empress whenever he wanted her, and the empress would be available if he ever wanted to call on her, although she would never be allowed to make any of the same demands on him.
It was two people, theoretically sharing a life, but in reality, one was entirely at the whim of the other.
Was that what Tallu would be like as well? Would I spend all of my time wasting away, waiting to be called up like a doll inside a music box, waiting for the key to be turned?
A pair of guards passed, and I quickly regained my senses. I wasn’t marrying Tallu. Or, rather, I was, but only in order to complete my mission.
I darted to the next building, scaling a trellis until I was back on the roof, where I felt safer.Thiswas what I had trained for. I had run endless roofs in the Silver City until I knew how to run and climb on tile and stone and shale better than the ground. Two more rooftops and I was finally at the empress’s building. During a long walk, I had cased the building before.
Just under the rooftop was a narrow window that had been left open to ventilate the whole building. That attic entry was my way in.
Once I found the right spot, I knelt down, grasping hold of the edge of the roof carefully before swinging my legs into the window. It was a tight fit, tighter than I expected, but I alit inside the attic of the building.
Years of training had taught me to land near silently, but as soon as my feet hit the ground and my body was inside, I knelt, holding still until I was confident I heard no feet pounding up the stairway.
The building was dark around me, shutters drawn closed over the windows, letting in only narrow strips of light wherethe wood didn’t quite meet. It illuminated boxes and furniture covered in dusty sheets, the smell of small animal nests telling me that this was as unused as I’d assumed from the gossip. I searched for the way out and saw it across the attic.
Stepping over to the narrow ladder, I lowered it and climbed down. Everything looked as though Empress Koque was about to step in from a long trip.
A book sat open on a side table as I passed through what looked like the library. A set of children’s toys was neatly put away in a basket next to a comfortable-looking chair.
The entire top level looked like the empress’s most intimate rooms—a private library, a playroom, a small dining room that could only fit two people. I stopped at the baby prince’s bedroom.
A crib took up most of the far wall, a plush sitting chair next to it, along with a set of unused knitting needles. Had the prince’s nursemaid died along with the empress and the emperor?
A strange shiver shook me. This was what they said Tallu had done. I had forgotten, with the flirting and the hidden smile.
