"He's right," Gavril said. "As much as I would like Daigo at her side, the risk is too great."
"Then take me," Tyrus said. "Gavril found the two of us and took me prisoner, too."
"Then you would suffer the same fate as her wildcat," his father said. "If Alvar knows she is attached to you, he will kill you to punish her. If he does not, then he will kill you to punish me."
"Why? I'm only a bastard prince."
"Exactly. Killing you is not an act worthy of retaliation. In fact, given that the empire believes you betrayed it, Alvar would be lauded for executing you, and I would be unable to retaliate." The emperor walked to Tyrus, who was still locked between the sword blades. He lowered his voice. "Alvar knows me well. He knows how to hurt me the most."
Tyrus looked away. "All right. Then I will follow them. I will camp nearby and be there for Moria."
"No, Tyrus."
"Yes, I--"
"No, Tyrus. Another word, and I'll take you back to the imperial city and put you in my own dungeon. If that's what it takes to stop you."
"I'll go," Moria said. She moved in front of Tyrus and faced the emperor, no one stopping her now that her hands were bound, her dagger on the ground. "I've said I'll go, and I'll do it alone."
"No," Tyrus said. "You--"
She turned to him. "I cannot get out of this. You know I cannot. Find Ashyn for me. Please." She looked into his eyes. "That's what I need you to do. Make sure she's safe." She walked to him, passing between the men holding him still, and pressed her lips to his. "Please."
"No," the emperor said.
"What?" She spun on him. "My sister--"
"--will be found by Goro Okami's men."
Tyrus stiffened. "If you think I would pursue Moria--"
"He won't," Moria said. "If he gives me his word that he'll go straight after Ashyn, then there is no doubt he will."
"Just because he stays away from Alvar Kitsune does not mean he'll be safe. He's been branded a traitor."
It was Tyrus who had been betrayed, by an imperial warlord. But the only witness to return to the imperial city claimed the prince had been seduced by Moria, and that he'd fled the battlefield after leading his men to certain death.
The emperor continued. "With a bounty on his head, I'll not have him roaming the lands."
"I am a man, not a child," Tyrus said, his voice chilling. "Perhaps you forget that. I can do as I wish."
"Not if your emperor commands otherwise."
"And if my emperor acts as a father and not a ruler?"
"He acts as both."
Tyrus leaped back. The move was perfectly timed--the warriors had been intently following the conversation. They were caught off guard. Tyrus's sword swung up, hitting one blade and then a second, and both were knocked free of the men's grasps. Then he swung on the third, but the warrior was already in motion, the one quickest to recover, his sword firmly in his hand. Tyrus's blade caught him in the side, not quite piercing the armor, but Tyrus yanked it free and danced back, ready for another--
Moria heard the thwack of the dart before she saw it coming.
Tyrus pitched forward. "No." He staggered, turning on his father. "No. You would not . . ."
"I would," Emperor Tatsu said softly. "To keep you safe."
Tyrus fell, and Moria knelt beside him. Tyrus's eyelids fluttered as he struggled to stay conscious. She gripped his hand, and he squeezed hers back.
"Take . . ." he whispered. "Take . . ."