“Nightly,” Terror groused. “Every night. A different partner, though. Rarely the same one.”
“And his guards go with him?”
Terror gave me another annoyed look, his head tilting sharply.
“Two men with swords, dressed in amber, follow him?” I asked.
“They only go when he travels out of the palace walls.” Terror snapped his beak, and I took the unsubtle hint, handing him one of the slices of fish.
Nohe’s schedule hadn’t left me any time to track Rute and his routines myself. Although it left me with a passable alibi, I was also unprepared, and I warred again with the idea of waiting until after the wedding ceremony. When it was all done, I wouldhave more time but also more people watching me. I drummed fingers on the table, and in my distraction, Terror stole the rest of the fish.
“And he always comes back before dawn,” I said slowly. “Always?”
“How would I know?” Terror asked. “You are not paying me to miss out on my own sleep. He is always back when I wake.”
“Right,” I said. “I need to examine the layout myself.”
“When?” Terror asked. “Tonight?”
He sounded interested, and that made me suspicious. “Why?”
“If you die, do you think they’ll perform the rites in the northern way or in the southern way?” He cocked his head, and I could practically see him salivating over my corpse.
“I suppose they could feed my body to the sea serpents. They have them available after all.” Did the serpents in the lake even know how to eat people, or were they too used to the fatty animals from the farms?
Terror made a rough sound. “Tell them you want to be left out to view the storms in the southern way. Then I will have a chance to eat your liver.”
My lips pulled to the side. “Really.”
“The liver is quite delicious,” Terror said.
Blowing out a long breath, I said, “Tonight.”
“Good. I was growing tired of fish. Human liver sounds perfect.” Terror bobbed his head in satisfaction. “Yes. Human liver sounds perfect.”
“I would feel a lot more confident if you at least pretended you thought I’d succeed,” I said.
“I don’t think youwillsucceed.” Terror cocked his head. “But I’m entertained enough to watch you try.”
“Great,” I said. “Thank you for your support.”
That night, my confidence was better. I wore the same outfit I’d used to break into Empress Koque’s rooms and had a similar plan. The Mountain Thrown building that Rute lived in was the territory of House Sotonam, which meant that Count Sotonam and the rest of his house took up most of the building. It seemed as though Rute had lived there since childhood and had been given an upgraded room as his position had improved to royal heir.
The upgrade had apparently displaced Count Sotonam, which was part of the animosity between the two. However, it benefitted me because now Rute was on the top floor, meaning I wouldn’t have to search several levels to find his rooms. I had acquired most of the information from Terror, although the gossip had come from Tilo, the bathhouse attendant who was happy to gossip about the other royals for the low cost of a few coins.
It was also from Tilo that I found out the steward of the Mountain Thrown buildings didn’t let any female servants work in the House Sotonam buildings. After the gift of one of my coins, Tilo had leaned in, whispering, “Too many of the girls couldn’t work after Prince Rute’s attentions. He has at least three children besides the acknowledged one from his mistress. And the girls who didn’t end up with childstillcouldn’t work because…”
She trailed off, touching the corner of her lips in the imperial signal that the rest was implied. I was able to fill in the blanks.
“Is he any different with the men?” I asked.
Tilo shrugged. “No, butsomeonehas to work in the prince’s rooms. The rumor is that now he has his favorite servants, and they’ll do anything to keep their good standing with him.”
As far as I could see, the servants would be the main problem. This wasn’t the abandoned quarters of the lastempress. I would need to use all my skills to get in and out without losing my head or revealing myself.
After a long beat of hesitation, I took two weapons out of my luggage. One was a short blade that might have been ceremonial, if it hadn’t been sharp enough to slice off a finger. The dagger was paired with a longer blade, a sword we called a wolf’s claw. The sword was designed for close fighting, the sort of battle I’d expect with darkness and surprise on my side.
When both blades were strapped on, I tied a mask on my face, double-checking that the lumpy pillow under the blanket was the right shape. Then, I crawled out of my window and climbed up onto the roof. A dark shape fluttered down next to me, and I almost fell off the roof, catching myself at the last second.
