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“That is a possibility,” General Saxu agreed. “And we have experience with men who we thought subdued, but had powers beyond what we conceived of.”

It was a graceful way of alluding to the time when the Krustavian dwarf had entered the Mountainside Palace in chains and then nearly buried us all in rubble.

“But?” I prompted.

“If we have any hope of catching General Kacha off his guard, if this soldier truly does intend to switch his allegiance, we must take the opportunity.” General Saxu nodded his head, his hand resting on the cane he used in the morning and evening, when the chill and damp made his leg worse.

I plucked an oval-shaped fruit from the two that had been brought with breakfast, biting into it as I considered his words. Tallu’s servants finally finished with him and one of them presented Tallu with a plate full of delicacies that Gotuye and I had already tasted.

“What does the new Kennelmaster think?” I asked, as Tallu selected his food and began to eat.

If he was going to go with General Saxu, it wouldn’t be before he ate a full meal.

“He believes that, with proper guards, it is an opportunity. We do not have enough eyes and ears to cover the entire swamp. Not with General Kacha having so many more men than us.” General Saxu waited, then said, “I believe the new Kennelmaster is focusing on recruiting new Dogs and leaving the balance of warfare to Your Imperial Majesty and me.”

“And you believe that’s the wrong decision?” Tallu asked.

But when Tallu asked anything, it wasn’t a real question, it was a barbed thorn hidden in a rose, and General Saxu knew that well.

“It is not my place to have any opinion on the actions of your Kennelmaster,” General Saxu said. It was not as mild as his normal reproofs, which made it all the more notable. He was tired, the exhaustion clear as he bowed his head in mild acknowledgment that his words had been unwise.

I wondered how much the fires reminded him of his failure at the Mountainside Palace, when he’d watched servants and soldiers burn alive before fleeing.

“What are the plans to keep His Imperial Majesty safe?” I asked.

“I will be there, along with Commander Rede and the two men I have guarding him. From his uniform and his actions so far, he is not an electro mage.” Saxu looked between me and Tallu.

“And that will be enough?” I asked.

“We would like to include you, as you have proven how nuanced your understanding of the situation is,” General Saxu started, and I could hear the but in his words even before he said it, “however, the prisoner is loyal to Emperor Tallu and sees you in the same light as General Kacha does.”

“In other words, a traitor to the crown?” I said.

“A threat to the stability of the Imperium itself,” General Saxu said.

“And you, high general?” I looked at him. I had been away for nearly two weeks, and much could change in a few days. Much could change in a few hours. Perhaps Saxu had begun to realize that, as useful as my magic was, it went against everything that the Imperium held sacrosanct.

No, if that had happened, Tallu would have warned me long before I arrived back. The ghosts would have told him, and he would have killed Saxu himself.

“I see how much you care for the emperor and our nation,” General Saxu said. “It is impossible to know a man until you have seen him in battle, and I have seen you in battle several times. I have also seen General Kacha in battle. I cannot forget what he did to the capital city, nor the Mountainside Palace. A man who burns everyone, including his own soldiers, is a danger to everything I have spent my life working to achieve.”

“The promise,” I said.

“House Atobe will unite the continent,” General Saxu said. “I still believe such a thing to be true.”

I didn’t look at Tallu, I couldn’t, not without giving away the game. When we had arrived in Tavornai, Spider had told us that the promise General Saxu had devoted his life to, the promise that the Imperium was founded on, was only half of the prophecy given to the first emperor of the Southern Imperium.

Your line will unite the continent and be free.

For four emperors, the words had been taken to mean that House Atobe would conquer all of the free nations and unite them under the banner of the Southern Imperium. But Tallu and I had heard the words and realized that we could do the same without wars of conquest. We could unite the continent, create peace between the free nations, give Tavornai back its liberty, let the air mages come down from their floating islands, and when we had done all that, Tallu would be free of the curse of the blood mages.

“I believe in the promise as well,” I said, not letting my voice get choked, not letting myself flinch.

“Then you understand how important it is to find out what General Kacha plans,” General Saxu said. “I do not doubt His Imperial Majesty’s ability to defend himself, nor my or any of my men’s willingness to give our lives for the same cause.”

“Saxu, are you promising that you will lay down your life for His Imperial Majesty, just so I won’t attend this meeting?”

“I am merely reminding Your Highness that time is one resource we cannot control, nor can we recoup it once it has been spent.” Saxu waited on me, his eyes unyielding. His body might be tired, might show the wear of years of injuries, but his mind was just as sharp as it had been when he fought against my father and mother in the north.