Deathless (Editing)

Chapter 30: The Empire's Dogs

"Meir is a top advisor to the Emperor?" I asked once we were securely inside Tolly's apartment, which was composed of a wing of rooms, including the parlor in which we stood. I remembered Tolly mentioning that one of his brothers was a lawman, whose work had earned him favor with the Emperor.

"He is." Tolly flung himself over an ornate divan. His long limbs stretched out, reminding me of the illustrations of jungle cats lazing in the trees in Azure's storybooks.

Tolly then reached out for my hand, and, when I gave it to him, he pulled me close, so close that I had no choice but to balance my weight on the edge of the couch or else lay on Tolly directly.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, trying to ignore his sudden proximity.

"Well, you're a wanted person. What do you think?"

I grinned slyly. "That my bounty will make you a very rich man if you were to surrender me to your brother."

"You think I would surrender you to collect a bounty?" His face became deathly serious, and he searched me with a drawn look. Apparently, he took umbrage at the thought of me casting him as a traitor.

"Do I seriously think that? No. But it's a possibility. You'd be safe and well-compensated."

"I'd be locked away in the dreaded La Bianca until I died of desiccation."

I pressed my lips together and stared out the window. "We're fugitives, then?"

"Correction. You're a fugitive. They think I'm guarding supplies."

"If they find us together, then we're both fugitives."

"Yeah. But, you'll get a festival and a crown if they catch us. I'll get—"

"—the dreaded La Bianca?" I finished his thought for him, and, mindlessly, I brushed a few stray stands of hair from his eyes. "What do we do once we make it out of Draken Domain?"

"Return to the Veil."

"And then, what? Will the Empire call off its dogs?"

Tolly raised his brows. "You do realize that the Lord High Commander is one of the Empire's dogs?"

He had a point. But, if this Lord High Commander was like any of his former incarnations, then I had a sinking feeling that he had no true loyalty to the Emperor. However, he had been playing at loyalty for a while, and it was unlikely that he would suddenly expose himself as a traitor now without a good reason.

"A most dangerous dog," I agreed.

Tolly rolled his head back on a square cushion. "The Empire will not be satisfied with you at the Veil, but they will move less swiftly to apprehend you from the Lord High Commander. We'll have an opening to use whatever gift you obtain from Ammit at the Veil then."

"And then we end the war."

"That's the plan. Unless—" Hesitance, however, sealed his lips.

"Unless what?"

His jaw clenched, and his mouth pulled into a tight line. He didn't want to say, but, the instant I placed my hand against the plane of his chest, I felt his reservations begin to crumble. "Tell me."

Drawing a deep breath, Tolly closed his eyes, as if it took every bit of his resolve to find the words. "—unless you don't want to go to Draken Domain."

"Why wouldn't I want to go?"

Tolly peeked through one heavily lidded eye. "Because safety cannot be guaranteed."