“Yes,” Asahi confirmed. “The emperor has put them up in the housing near the military buildings.”
They would stay until the one-month celebration that marked the success of my union with Tallu. I had yet to meet any of them, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I wasn’t sure I needed to know how evil the people who would be parceling out the Southern Imperium after Tallu’s death were.
It was hard enough knowing that perhaps Tallu wasn’t as cruel as his father, that perhaps that smilemeantsomething.
Then, as though thinking his name made him appear like a ghost in a story, he was there. I blinked, recognizing his Dogs first, the look of four lethal men surrounding one who was even more dangerous. Tallu wore deep green, which made his russet eyes stand out, his gaze fixed on the lake.
Tallu was taller than me, and his profile showed his sharp nose and dark hair. The gleam of his skin reminded me how soft it was, how comfortable it had been in his muscled arms.
For a moment, I thought of avoiding him, continuing down the path and skirting him altogether. But that would get me nowhere. No.
“My lord,” I said, approaching where he stood on the shoreline.
He turned to me, and his mouth didn’t move, didn’t change shape, but something in his eyes softened. He nodded at me, the breeze off the lake making his curls flutter, falling over the narrow band of gold he wore on his brow. Today, his robe was dark, with gold stars stitched into it, patterned after the constellations visible in the Imperium.
“Prince Airón,” he said, his voice rough, as though he hadn’t spoken for some time. He cleared his throat. “Are you out for a walk?”
The conversational gambit was weak, and I took pity on him. “I went to see General Saxu. I wondered if I’d misremembered the weapons. I wanted to see if there were any clues about their origin.”
“You don’t think they were from Krustau?” Tallu’s brow furrowed, and I shook my head.
“The opposite. I am now even more convinced they are from Krustau.” Planting evidence involved planting seeds that evidence might be there. “I learned recently that Krustavian blades have signets on the hilts. I thought if we found any missives from the attackers, we’d know who was hiring them.”
Tallu looked away, over the water again. Pulling something from a small bowl he held, he tossed it in the water. A sea serpent reared up, its crest clearing the surface as it ate whatever Tallu had thrown.
“I still have noevidenceit was Rute,” he said.
Surprised, I tried not to let it show. “But you think it was.”
“Him or one of the other hyenas you invited back to the palace.” His voice was so rough at first I thought he was angry, but then the corner of his mouth turned up, and I saw the laughter under his gaze. “Remind me why I offered to house every powerful imperial I deposed for a whole month?”
“You know, in the north, after you get married, you have to come live with your spouse and their other spouses, so if you think you can scare me with angrywedding guests, you’ve never seen a third husband trying to get his wife’s attention when the other spouses didn’t even want him in the clan.” I was grinning, and Tallu laughed sharply.
“Does that happen? I thought… well, it’s been brought to my attention that many of the rumors we rely on as truth about other countries might not be… true.” He looked out over the choppy water. The sea serpents were circling now that he’d thrown in some food. He threw another piece of meat into the water.
“Well, I think the romantic nature of many of the unions is exaggerated. Some do marry because of a romantic love they feel for all their partners, but for most, it’s just a way of strengthening their clans, of bringing in new blood and fresh ideas.” I thought about Yorîmu, my mother’s third wife and the only one she shared her bed with.
“Is that something you’d expect?” Tallu was staring at me now, and his eyes had gone narrow. His fingers were stained red with blood. “I have to warn you, I do not share.”
The moment hung tense in the air, and I could feel the pull of him. I was being dragged in, pulled by an undertow that I couldn’t escape. I didn’twantto escape.
“My dear lord,” I said quietly. “I promise that you are the only Imperial I have any interest in bedding.”
The wind off the lake snatched my words away, but Tallu didn’t make me repeat them. Wearing a satisfied smirk, he kept hold of my eyes as the sea serpents in the water grew more frantic.
I took a few steps forward, covering his hand with mine, sliding my fingers down into the bowl and picking up a slice of raw meat. Without looking, I tossed it into the water.
There was a hiss and a flurry of movement.
“You’re teasing them,” I said, staring up into Tallu’s eyes. “They want more.”
“I pity them,” Tallu said.
The words hit me, startling me out of the taut moment of flirtation that had become something heavier. I swallowed. “What?”
“I pity them. They are trapped here. They have eaten all the other fish and wildlife in the lake. They are faced with two options: cannibalism or death. And we continue to offer them just enough food to survive but no room to thrive. No space to grow. Then, when they are big enough, we eat them, and the cycle starts over again when their eggs hatch.” His eyes traced over my face, sliding away from the questions I knew were in my gaze.
Something cold settled in my stomach, and I wondered if he was talking about the Imperium: stagnant as it waited for the war to restart, for the empire to be given room to grow.
