she easily scaled the tree, he had a little more trouble. There were situations in which having a long blade hanging at your side was problematic. She remembered in the Wastes, when sheâd broken into a run upon seeing Fairview ahead, and sheâd laughed atâ
Moria banished the memory. Sheâd not recall any that included him. The point was that a warriorâs blade could hinder running or climbing, yet as long as a warrior remained upright, his weapons stayed at his side or in his hand. There were no other choices.
Once up the tree, Tyrus pointed to the wall and said, âCan you jump?â
âInto the palace yard?â
He nodded.
âI can butââ
âThen follow me. Tell Daigo to wait.â
He jumped onto the wall and then swung down. By the time sheâd spoken to her wildcat, Tyrus had disappeared. She jumped to the base of the wall and looked about.
âOver here,â he whispered, peeking from behind a building. When she caught up, he said, âKeep following. Quietly. Donât sneak, though. Thereâs no reason I canât bring you to my quarters, but Iâd prefer not to take the ruse that far, for the sake of your reputation. Just follow quietly and take note of the route. Youâll want to use it again. Soon.â
Like the court, the palace itself was a complex of buildings. The emperorâs residence was in the middleâor so sheâd heard, having not been here before. His first and second wives also had homes in the compound, as did his concubines, including Tyrusâs mother. Tyrus himself lived here, like all the emperorâs children, except the daughters whoâd married and left.
When Moria once asked how many children the emperor had, Tyrus estimated fourteenâfour legitimate sons, two legitimate daughters, and the rest by his official concubines, though he allowed he may have forgotten one or two. The legitimate offspring were all older than Tyrus. Two of the bastard daughters were older and married, living elsewhere. The remainder were at least three summers younger, meaning Tyrus was the only one who posed a threat, and thus garnered all his brothersâ interest.
Given the size of the imperial family, the palace compound was not small. It may even have been larger than thecourt. Besides the residences, it included a number of other buildings, for guests and entertainment. Those were along the wall adjoining the court, and thatâs where Tyrus led her. They stopped outside a window shuttered against the late-day heat. Inside, she caught the bustle of serving staff preparing for a meal.
âCan you hear what theyâre saying?â Tyrus whispered, leaning in so close his breath warmed her ear.
She could pick up nothing of import. Just someone asking a steward about the menu, someone else being chastised for poorly arranging flowers. When she said as much to Tyrus, he nodded.
âI only wanted to know if you could hear them. The window ought to be open tonight, but if thereâs a sharp breeze, theyâll close it.â
âWhy would Iâ?â
He waved for her to follow. When she caught up, he whispered, âYouâll need to return to the court a different way. Iâll show you.â
He took her almost to the rear corner. One of the palace buildings came close enough to the wall that they could climb onto it. They emerged in a quiet pocket behind the armory. There was a bench there, with a small koi pond. Theyâd barely sat when Daigo appeared and settled silently at Moriaâs feet.
âWhen I was growing up, my father loved to tell me tales of dragons,â Tyrus said. âI swear he didnât know a story that didnât have at least one.â He rubbed his thumb over the red dragon on his forearm. âThey were as important to him as our actual ancestors. One of his favorite tales was of a sand dragon.I presume Iâd be wasting breath if I asked whether you