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Tallu turned his hand so that our palms were touching, and his fingers tightened in warning. Perhaps I was overdoing it a bit.

“You have convinced my beloved. We welcome your offer to host us in the oasis. Let us be allies, at least until General Bemishu’s blood soaks into your sands,” Tallu said.

“They are not mine,” Zoigei said harshly. “They belong to no one but themselves. As all men do.”

His chin jerked toward one of the servants, still standing invisible along the wall of the tent. The woman barely moved, although the fact that she had shifted at all showed how startled she was by the attention. Imperials were used to treating Tallu’s servants as invisible, despite their eyes and ears.

“When shall we join you?” Tallu asked. “We come with enough of a number that I imagine it will take some time to prepare for us.”

“The council wants you to come now. One of the other tribes found evidence of the general you spoke of. But they found only his sand crawlers. Not any of his men.” Zoigei stopped, a frown carving deep lines on his forehead.

Tallu turned his attention to General Saxu. “If their sand crawlers ran out of fuel, would he have begun to journey on foot? Should we perhaps be looking for corpses instead of men?”

“Bemishu has been fighting in these lands for long enough that he would not make such a foolhardy move,” General Saxu said. “Not so close to his goal, not when he no longer has the support of the black throne. Did you find any evidence of where he had gone?”

“No. They simply disappeared. We have tried searching for them but can find no evidence of them. They disappeared near a large rock formation in the east that the other tribes say they were using to store their supplies. There are caves, but the tribe explored them and found nothing.” Zoigei waved his hand, and I looked around quickly, trying to see who among these dangerous men was going to take umbrage at the incredibly yet unintentionally offensive gesture.

“We will wait in the oasis and prepare for Bemishu’s attack. If it never comes, then we will count him as lost.” Tallu raised his eyebrows, and General Saxu stood. He nodded his head, and left through the tent flap, issuing orders as soon as it closed behind him.

“I wondered what sort of man threw so many into the desert with so little hope of their survival.” Zoigei tilted his head, then turned to one of his kin, nodding as though he had spoken.

Tallu didn’t try to explain how new he was to the crown, how little he had to do with previous orders. “Do I match your expectations?”

“No,” Zoigei said. Taking in the unhappy expression on his face, I wondered what that meant. Did he realize that Tallu was a different man from his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather? Or had he been hoping for a fight?

Were all of his provocations purposeful? Was he hoping to face off against the electricity of the emperor of the Southern Imperium?

“Let us know when your men are ready,” Zoigei said. “We were told you have a dragon. We would like to meet it.”

Twenty-Seven

My immediate reaction was to refuse him. Naî had been looking worse and worse each day we spent in the desert, not that she would admit that she was feeling ill. Instead, she hissed and bared her teeth and cuddled close with Prince Hallu, using the last of her strength to heal him.

Both she and General Saxu softened around the prince in a way I felt nearly jealous of. Where had the softness been when I was growing up?

“Why do you want to see the dragon?” I asked.

“We have guarded the animalia since they first retired from our world, and they are what we know. But dragons? None of us have seen a living dragon.” Zoigei crossed his arms, tilting his chin back, his pale hair falling down his back. “Many on the Council do not believe you have one. They believe it is a trick so that we will open the hidden waters to the Imperium.”

“The Imperium does not rely on tricks,” Tallu said. His cheekbones stood sharp, his eyes cold. “We do not need to.”

“No. You rely on turning the sands to clay through the blood of your people. You rely on building houses from the bones of those too soft to defend themselves against you. You rely on the magic you stole from the One Dragon.” Zoigei looked at the translator. “Tell him that.”

The translator didn’t hesitate, moving himself further behind Zoigei as he spoke.

“And yet you invite us into the hidden waters,” Tallu said.

“At the request of the council. The tribes have agreed. You were given a salamander because one of the tribes saw the dragon. That is the only reason we did not kill you.” Zoigei raised his chin. “Now I would see that dragon.”

“She is not some toy, nor a prize,” I said.

“And yet you ride her like an elephant.” Zoigei’s shoulders relaxed, but it was not a release of tension. He was readying himself for a fight.

“Your elephants are not toys, nor prizes either. I have spoken with them. They consider you family. I hold the same concern for the dragon.” Not for the first time, I wondered if we would see any of the elephants we had saved. I hoped not. I hoped they were being kept safe and pampered, and given somewhere to live out the rest of their lives in peace.

“So you will not show us the dragon,” Zoigei said, and the way he spoke made it clear he did not believe we had one. Behind him, one of his kin flexed his arm, the sharp spikes coming up with a sound like a blade being drawn.

I could barely hear Tallu’s breath. If we decided to fight, his Dogs would keep him safe, but the cost would be any hope of becoming allies, even temporarily, with the people of the hidden waters.