“He’s theEmperor.”
“He is. But he commands the Wolves. The cases given to the Wolves come from him. The Swords and the Hawks are different—but without the Emperor’s personal oversight, the Wolves wouldn’t exist. They wouldn’t be part of the Halls of Law.”
“You think of him as a step above Helmat.”
Severn nodded, because he was. Rosen stared at him. Her stare unearthed more words. “The Emperor’s will is law. The Emperor’s Laws exist because he desires that they exist—and be obeyed. His laws are commands the rest of us follow and enforce.”
Rosen nodded.
“I haven’t memorized all of his laws.”
“You will.”
“Yes. But I’ve studied enough of his laws—the larger ones, at least—that I can see a connecting thread between them. We’re the outliers. We’re expected—of course we are—to follow those laws while in pursuit of the criminals the Emperor wishes apprehended. But in some cases, we’re commanded to kill on sight.
“That breaks the rest of his laws. His kill on sight command is...it’s an exception. It’s only legal because the command comes from the Emperor. We’re given permission to break laws specifically because his commands supersede his written laws.”
Rosen nodded, folding her arms across her desktop.
“The Emperor therefore makes exceptions in his governance.” At Rosen’s expression, Severn exhaled. “He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and he’s not technically a criminal. It’s impossible for the Emperor to be a criminal in his own Empire.”
“And this leads you to somehow expect that you’ll be granted an audience directly with the Emperor?”
“Yes.”
“Try a better explanation—the one you made makes no sense.”
“What the Emperor wants for his Empire seems clear in his laws. He’s not stupid. He understands that laws will be broken, which is why the Halls of Law exist at all. What he wants—from us, and for the Empire—is clear in the laws. He’s a Dragon. He’s had to create laws that remove friction. It’s why the laws of exemption exist.”
“You don’t like the laws of exemption.”
“No one who works in the Halls of Law, in any branch, likes the exemptions. It allows the castelords to do whatever they want with their own people, free from consequences.”
“You don’t consider the Emperor’s edicts to be the same thing.”
“They’re not. Except perhaps in the overlap between Wolves and the rest of the Halls. I believe that the laws of exemption exist as a practical measure. Allow caste exemptions based on race, or face another war with the Barrani. Which would kill most of the rest of us. His permanent record of law has already made allowances that would prevent racial war in the Empire, even if justice—such as it exists—isn’t served by that compromise. It’s practical.”
“And you think that whatever you have to say to him somehow falls into that category?”
Severn nodded.
“Why didn’t you make Helmat ask?”
“It’s Tha’alani Caste Court business.”
“You are demonstrably not Tha’alani.”
“No. But my work with the Wolves means the Tha’alani will never be entirely free of me.”
“You really don’t hate them.”
“No. Had they any choice, they would sever all such connection without a second thought; they do what they do at the command of the Emperor. As do the Wolves.”
She waved a hand. “This is the date. I don’t need to tell you not to be late. If appointments run over their allotted time, you’ll have to wait—but the Emperor is never to be kept waiting.”
Since this was obvious to Severn, he nodded politely and waited while Rosen gave him the date.
The Wolflord didn’t elect to accompany Severn to the Imperial palace or his appointment. Elluvian, however, did. Severn noted that the Barrani Wolf hadn’t chosen to escort Severn from the office itself; he met him in the large chamber, with its rows of forward-facing seats, within the palace itself. While waiting, Elluvian was blue-eyed and silent. Any lectures he had were put in abeyance while they occupied the public waiting room, because the room was almost full.