Tallu strode through the palace, Sagam and one of his other Dogs loping behind him. Even through my swimming vision, I saw guards slinking from shadow to shadow, seeminglyappearing through the walls. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.
We reached a door, and Tallu pressed his hand into it, the spark of electricity waking the secret lock that looked like a maze. The round mechanism spun open, and he strode through into darkness. Asahi led me behind him, Sagam taking the rear.
Walking down a narrow staircase, we exited into the tunnels underneath the palace. No one spoke, and my mind spun with too many possibilities. Tallu had wanted me to show off to Kacha. Why?
He’d been furious at how far Kacha and his men had taken it, and he’d saved me. That roar of his voice as he protected me. I couldn’t think; I couldn’t accept what it meant that the man Ihadto kill cared about me that much.
Tallu led us up a narrow, spiral staircase. When we stepped out, we were in a building I recognized, although the last time I’d been carried in, I had been unconscious.
I remembered my first day in the Imperium, when Velethuil had pointed out the emperor’s private quarters. He had said servants locked them every evening from the inside. Once they closed, it was impossible to open them until dawn.
We continued up a larger staircase, the spiral leading us to the third floor. Servants waited inside the thick metal door at the top. As soon as we walked through, Tallu said, “Close the doors.”
The servants exchanged a look behind his back but hurried to obey. The doors were massive, large enough to fit an Ariphadi elephant with all of its supplies inside. It took two servants per side to shut the double doors.
Once they closed in the middle, there was a cracking sound, and gearwork creaked into motion. I had never seen inside any of the southern machines. Even on our trip south, soldiers had kept Eonaî and me away from the workings of the ship.
Now, I watched as gears turned, teeth moving into position, metal creaking together as a series of bolts slid into place. Nothing could get through this door. The Ariphadi tribes could send all of their elephants to tear the door from its hinges and the building would collapse before the door gave way.
“How does it open?” I asked Asahi.
“Tomorrow morning, at the appointed hour.” Asahi indicated a ticking cog in the corner of the door. “Or if Emperor Tallu uses his magic.”
My leg trembled. One soldier must have gotten in a better hit than I thought. I could feel the muscle jumping in pain. Tallu continued down the hall, and Asahi moved to follow, dragging me with him.
Tallu paused in front of a doorway, looking inside before turning to Asahi. “Have the servants clean him up. Then I want him in my bedroom.”
He spun, his robe floating in the air for a moment before it settled, and then he disappeared down another hallway. The pause let me get my feet underneath myself, and when Asahi tried to drag me into the room, I said, “I can clean myself.”
“Can you?” Asahi challenged. He sounded furious, and I couldn’t see his eyes with his face turned away from me, but I knew he was more thanangry. Something was eating at him.
“What is it? Did my desperate fight dishonor me? Or you?” I pushed myself up, steadier, and glared at him.
“You dishonored no one. They dishonored themselves. Every single one of your blows could have killed a man if the blade had been sharp. They should have gone down. In an honorable fight, they would have ceded that you had won.” His voice turned even harder. “There was no honor for the Southern Imperium today.”
“Awww, Asahi, it almost sounds like you thought I did a good job,” I teased. “What do you think? Am I good enough to protect the emperor as one of his Dogs?”
Asahi tightened his grip around my waist and pulled me into the bathing room. A servant squeezed past to start the shower.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Asahi said. “You didn’t fight like you had anything to protect.”
I sat heavily on the nearby bench, allowing the servant to unlace my shoes. For a moment, I flashed back to the fight, realizing that Asahi was right. Yorîmu had always taught me to fight as though the important thing wasn’t protecting my own life but doing the most harm to others.
An assassin fought to kill, not to survive the attempt.
Asahi was watching me, and I hoped none of my feelings were on my face, even though all I could think was how right he was. How much it hurt to realize that even now, when I couldn’t die until my mission was finished, I would never see anyone I loved ever again.
The Imperium would fall, but I would fall along with it, and hopefully, Eonaî could build something on the ashes.
I took off my shirt, hiding the blade in the folds of the fabric as I set it aside. They helped me with my pants, and soon enough, the servant had me in the shower, gently scrubbing all the sweat and blood from my skin. The hot water relaxed something in my back so that I could finally turn again without moving as though my entire torso was carved from wood.
When I got out, two servants were having a hushed conversation under Asahi’s glare.
“What is it?” I asked, taking the offered towel. My skin smelled fresh, slightly floral, and the hot water had made my vision spotty again. I shook my head.
“We don’t have any of your clothing here, Consort Airón,” one servant finally said. He bowed his head, eyes fixed on the stone floor.
I frowned at him. “What?”
