There was a small grunt from Ryko at the doorway
Lady Dela unfurled the fan and hid us behind it. 'Ryko thinks my mouth runs as fast as a rickshaw's wheels,' she said in a loud whisper that easily carried to the guard.
'No, lady. I think that if Lord Eon is under your instruction in matters of court intrigue, he could not have a better teacher.'
She widened her eyes at me. 'Now he thinks I am an intriguer.'
'I certainly find you intriguing, lady,' I said, attempting to match their banter.
Lady Dela nodded her approval. 'A deft deflection, my lord.' She shut the fan. 'I think you will do well at court. Now, would you like to hear the history of your robe? It is something you should probably know before you enter the banquet room tonight.'
She took my hand and held it out so that the wide-cut sleeve fell freely.
'This robe was designed and woven by Master Wulan. It was commissioned as a gift for the Emperor by the family of Lord Ido when he was chosen as apprentice.'
I flinched at the Dragoneye's name. Lady Dela nodded at my reaction, tracing her finger along an emblem woven into the sleeve.
'See here, this is the family device and under it is the character for ambition, the Rat Dragoneye's area of special influence. The robe tells the story of the bountiful summer, but if you look closely you will see that worked into the waterfall and peacock is a hint of winter — the Lin and Gan encompassed in —'
'Lady Dela,' I said tightly, breaking into her obvious digression. 'Why does the Emperor give me a gift he received from Lord Ido's family?'
She glanced at Ryko.
'Tell him everything,' the guard said flatly 'This is not a time to play games.'
'It is the most important time,' she snapped.
He glared across the space between them. 'No. Even a leaf in the wind settles sometime. You knew this choice was coming.'
She opened her fan and closed it, fingering the polished bamboo ribs as she watched Ryko walk the length of the open doorway, surveying the garden.
'Well?' she asked.
He nodded. 'We are alone. Tell him.'
All right, all right,' she said, holding up her hands. 'The robe is the Emperor's way of sending a message to Lord Ido and, through him, to High Lord Sethon, his royal brother.'
'Lord Ido serves High Lord Sethon,' I said, remembering the snatch of conversation between my master and the official at the arena.
'Yes, you are very quick,' she said, lowering her voice. 'Together they have built a base of power that, in all truth, exceeds the Emperor's. It is no secret that Sethon covets the throne and now, through Ido, he owns the Dragoneye Council as well as the armies. With the Emperor ill and Prince Kygo of age but still living within the protection of the harem, Sethon was near making his move. That is, until you came along.' She touched my shoulder. 'The awakener of the Mirror Dragon. A Co-Ascendant Dragoneye. But more importantly, a potential split in the Dragoneye Council. And the Emperor is not wasting any time claiming you and your dragon as his own.'
The horror of her words rolled down over me. Without having even seen High Lord Sethon, I had made an enemy of the most powerful man in the land. And the Emperor saw me as his way back to supremacy. I was the rabbit caught between two ravenous wolves.
'It is why the Emperor is keeping you close,' Lady Dela said. 'Why you were brought to the palace. Granted, there is no Mirror Dragon Hall at the moment, but you could have gone to one of the other halls. And tonight, when you walk into the banquet room in the Harmony Robe, the Emperor will have made his intentions very clear to his brother and to the I) ragoneye Council.'
I pressed my fingers over my mouth, trying to keep the terror from screaming out of me. My master had not reckoned on me becoming the focus of royal attention — I was only supposed to be an apprentice. Ryko crossed the floor and laid his hand on my shoulder, the heavy weight of it keeping me from gathering up
the misnamed robe and running as far away from this deadly struggle as I could.
'Courage, my lord,' he said gruffly. 'There is nowhere to go. You are locked in this game until its end play'
'Do you know where my master has gone?' I asked urgently 'I need to see my master.'
He would know what to do. How to tread softly between these two mighty forces.
'Heuris Brannon,' Lady Dela corrected gently, 'has returned to his home to dress for the banquet.'
A cold realisation washed over me. From now on, my master would not always be there to protect and counsel me.
'This is too big. Too big,' I said. 'What do I do?'
'You follow your destiny' Ryko said. As we all do. With honour and courage.'
Lady Dela rolled her eyes. 'What kind of piddling answer is that to give the boy?' She grabbed my arm, her long fingernails digging through the silk. I felt the man's strength in her grip.
'Listen to me. You are no longer a penniless candidate. You are a Dragoneye lord. The court is abuzz with the sight of the other dragons bowing to you. You have power that frightens even Lord Ido. So use it.'
I could barely sense my dragon, let alone use his power. Lord Ido had nothing to fear from me. But even if he knew that, it would not stop him. I remembered the look on his face as he watched the dragons bow to me. That was what he wanted: all of the dragons bowing to him.
And I was in the way
I pulled my arm from Lady Dela's grasp. She was a man living as a woman; a survivor. She would not align herself with a hopeless cause.
Who do you think will win this struggle, Lady Dela?' I asked. 'Who do you follow?'
She sat back, eyeing me silently. I stayed very still, not even blinking under her scrutiny
'The Emperor,' she finally said.
'Why?'
'Because Lord Ido and High Lord Sethon despise what I am.'
'And because the Emperor is the Heavenly Master,' Ryko admonished.
We both looked at him.
'No,' Lady Dela said softly 'Because the Heavenly Master now has the most powerful Dragoneye on his side.'
CHAPTER 8
'Welcome, Lord Eon,' the Emperor's whispery voice said above me.
He was seated at the top of a tiered dais and I could see his foot, swollen and bandaged, resting on a small stool under the banquet table. Beside it, a matching stool had been placed in front of an empty chair; a ghost setting for the Empress, dead almost a year.
'The Harmony Robe suits you well,' His Majesty said. 'You may rise.'
I lifted my knee and painfully slid my foot forwards, rocking up into the crouching stand that Lady Dela had shown me. I chanced a quick look at the Heavenly Master. His shoulders were hunched in pale blue silk, and the sallow loose skin of his face left the impression that he had recently been a much bigger, more vigorous man. The huge Imperial Pearl, easily the size of a duck egg, filled the hollow at the base of his throat. Unlike Lady Dela's black pearl strung on a piercing rod, this pearl was held in a gold setting and sewn into the Emperor's skin. It was a symbol of his wisdom and sovereignty — his descent from the ancient dragons and would only be removed on his death to be sewn into the throat of his heir. I could see that the Emperor's skin had grown over the gold base, melding man and gem together.
My eyes flicked up to his face and, for a frozen moment, the Heavenly Master's gaze met mine. I looked away as required, but not before I saw his eyes cut to Lord Ido at the table below. His Majesty had also caught the Dragoneye's tension at the sight of my robe.
One of the eunuchs in charge of banquet etiquette appeared at my elbow.
'This way, my lord,' he murmured through the rise of whispers behind me. I bowed, preparing to retreat.
'Lord Eon.'
The voice was young and forceful.
I looked up and saw the Prince Heir leaning forwards in his seat on the lower level of the dais.
He had the same determined jaw and broad forehead as his father. His eyes, too, held the same watchful intelligence.
'My esteemed father has
suggested you may wish to study statecraft to prepare for your new position as Co-Ascendant Dragoneye,' he said. 'I am tutored in the mornings by the most excellent Prahn. Would you care to join us tomorrow?'
I gripped the edges of the robe tightly and bowed again. 'It will be an honour, Your Highness.'
There was a brief glance between father and son. Lady Dela had predicted a very public manoeuvre to draw me quickly into the Imperial circle. It will not be a command from the Emperor, she had said. It will be an invitation from someone known to be his supporter — that way you will be seen to be declaring your colours.
But even she had not imagined it would be the Prince Heir.
The eunuch touched my shoulder and we backed up the length of the huge room, between the two lower tables full of courtiers and administrators. The richly dressed men and their women sat along the gold walls lined with bright oil lamps, and I felt them watch me as we made our slow progress. Some were just curious, some hostile, some afraid. Halfway along, I saw my master. Until I confirmed him as my proxy the next day, he could not sit with me. He nodded and smiled, but even that did not give me heart.
The eunuch led me along the right wall and up a step towards the high Dragoneye table, set beside the Imperial dais. The two chairs closest to the royal table were empty; the end one guarded by Ryko, the other alongside Dillon. Lady Dela had kept her promise: I would have a chance to talk to my friend. He sat in stiff-backed terror beside Lord Ido. All of the other apprentices stood behind their Dragoneye lords, ready to serve them. They bowed as I passed, eyes lowered. Their masters were not so polite. I sensed a wave of movement behind me as each Dragoneye turned in his seat to get a better look, and heard their soft words follow me down the row: too young, a danger, too late.
Lady Dela seemed to be the only one in the room at ease. She was standing by a large carved screen that was set at an angle across the corner of the room. In between the closely worked design, glimpses of dark hair, gold pins and shades of blue silk marked the positions of three ladies. The Imperial concubines currently in favour. Lady Dela was obviously bargaining with one of them for she made the sweeping hand gesture from forehead to heart that closed a deal.
She looked up as the eunuch seated me.
'Lord Eon,' she said, hurrying over, the black pearl swinging at her throat. 'How pleasant to see you again.' She dropped to one knee. 'The Prince was asking me about you just before seating, and now I see he has asked you to study with him. A most thoughtful invitation.' She flicked open her fan and, from behind its cover, showed me round eyes and raised brows. Her court smile was back in place as the fan snapped shut. 'And I believe you know Apprentice Dillon,' she continued smoothly, rising and nodding to the eunuch to pull out her chair. As she sat, Ryko
bowed and moved into his position at her shoulder, his face carefully blank.
Beside me, Dillon bent low over his clasped hands. 'Lord Eon.' I lis gaze was fixed on the floor.
'I'm glad we are sitting next to each other,' I said. 'We have a lot to talk about.'
He glanced up, a hesitant smile easing the tight fear on his face. I winked in my old way and his smile widened.
I looked past him to his master. 'Greetings, Lord Ido,' I said with a nod, pleased that my voice did not tremble.
'Lord Eon. You are very resplendent tonight,' he said smoothly 'I am honoured that His Majesty has given you the robe my family presented to him.'
I felt Lady Dela shift beside me in warning. We had rehearsed as many of Lord Ido's reactions as we could imagine before she was called to take her place at the table. I forced a smile as false as his own.
'I am doubly honoured,' I said. A robe with such a fortunate history can only bring luck to the wearer.'
He stared at me for a moment. 'As we Dragoneyes know, luck is a fragile force. It can easily turn bad in the wrong hands. Is it not so, Lord Eon?'
Murmuring my agreement, I arranged the robe to hide my shaking hands. Before me was a plate of translucent blue porcelain flanked by silver chopsticks and a soup spoon cast into the shape of a swan. A perfect frangipani floated in a matching blue fingerbowl. I focused on each piece, finding comfort in their beauty
' You are doing well,' Lady Dela said, touching my arm.
I looked over at the table of ranked courtiers opposite. 'Which one is High Lord Sethon?'
'He is not here,' Lady Dela said softly 'Gone to quell a border dispute in the east.' Her eyes flicked across to Lord Ido. 'But he will not he ignorant of tonight's events.'
A heavy thump brought sudden silence in the room. The Emperor's personal herald was pounding his staff in the middle of the floor, calling for attention.
'His Imperial Majesty will speak,' the man cried.
Immediately, we all bowed over our plates. The Heavenly Master released us with a wave of his hand.
'We are here to honour the changing of the year and with it the ascension of the Rat Dragoneye, Lord Ido, and his new apprentice, Dillon.' Everyone sat forwards to catch the thin threads of his voice. 'But it is also a celebration of a most momentous occasion. The return of the Mirror Dragon and the extraordinary ascension of a young man to Dragoneye status. Lord Eon and his Mirror Dragon are a sign to us that our rule is favoured by the gods.' He lifted a gold bowl. 'We give our thanks for such a gift.'
I stared at the silver bowl in my hand. The Emperor was making me into a sign from the gods.
A drowning man groping for a twig. And his dismissal of Lord Ido's ascension was not going to sit well with the Dragoneye.
'With thanks,' I said, blending my voice into the tail end of the reverence and wetting my lips with the wine. Beside me, Dillon drained his cup noisily, his startled eyes appearing over the rim as he realised his mistake.
'More importantly,' His Majesty continued in a stronger voice, 'the augurs tell me that the Mirror Dragon has come back to us, out of his own year of ascension, for a specific purpose.'
I looked up. His Majesty was staring at me.
'It is not a secret that my health is failing. But eighteen years ago, the land was blessed by the birth of my heir, Prince Kygo. The augurs say that the Mirror Dragon, the Dragon Dragon, has returned and chosen Lord Eon to prepare for my son's reign. Lord Eon and the Mirror Dragon are here to build a stronghold of power and good fortune for the Prince Heir.'
For a moment there was silence, and then in a ragged wave people rose to their feet and turned to me, bowing and clapping.
In shock, I met the Heavenly Master's eyes. They were glazed with the fever of belief. Or was it desperation?
What could I do? Deny the Emperor? It would be immediate death. I stared out into the blur of hands and faces. My master would know what to do. I found him still sitting, his body rigid, his face blanched. He looked up at me, and in his widened eyes I saw the same fevered belief.
Was it true, then? Had I been chosen by the Mirror Dragon to stand behind the Prince Heir?
The Emperor and my master believed it. The Imperial augurs believed it. Who was I to question them?
An empire resting on my shoulders; it was too much weight to bear.
There was one other person who had not jumped to his feet at His Majesty's announcement.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Lord Ido sitting back in his chair, watching me with a grim smile. My elevation to heavenly sign had come as no surprise or joy to him.
'His Majesty makes another bold move,' Lady Dela whispered behind the cover of her clapping hands. 'Bow to him, quickly, or we'll never eat.'
She was right — it was just another move in a game of power. Strangely reassured, I pressed my hands together and lowered my head away from the expectation in the faces in front of me. The din was suddenly stopped by the thump of the herald's staff. All attention was returned to the Emperor.
'Lord Eon will be my guest at the palace until the Mirror Dragon Hall can be rebuilt. And as part of Twelfth Day celebrations, I will be honoured to return to him and his dragon those treasures that we
re saved from the fire that took the hall live hundred years ago. It has been a sacred duty of this dynasty to protect the treasure of the Mirror Dragon. When my father, the Master of Ten Thousand Years, showed me the vault in our library and passed on the duty to me, he offered these words of
wisdom.' The Emperor paused for effect. 'Remember, my son, a dragon is like a tax collector: one piece of gold short, and he will hunt you for eternity'
Beside him, Prince Kygo threw back his head and laughed. Belatedly, the room broke into polite giggles, the ladies hiding their mouths behind spread fans.
Treasure? Kept for me?
'Is there really a vault full of gold?' I asked Lady Dela.
Before she could speak, Lord Ido had ordered Dillon out of his seat and was leaning towards me across the generous gap. 'His Majesty speaks figuratively, Lord Eon,' he said, casting a wry look at the Emperor who was still smiling at his own wit. 'The treasure is not gold.'
'You've seen it, my lord?' I asked, hiding my disappointment in the quick question.
'No. But the Council holds records of what was saved. It is nearly the only record we have of the Mirror Dragon.' He paused, glancing down the table at the other Dragoneyes, all of them lethargic in comparison to his dark energy. His lips quirked upwards. 'You and your dragon are quite the mystery. As you can see, the Council is almost frenzied in its excitement.'
I found myself smiling, drawn into his playful mockery
He moved closer and I saw a flick of silver pass across his eyes. According to the records, the treasures in the vault include some fine pieces of furniture…'
A wave of nausea suddenly pulled at me. I felt something struggling through layers of resistance, giving me a moment of clear mind-sight. In front of me was a silvery line of power being siphoned from the energy in the room. It flowed into Lord Ido, feeding the yellow point of power in the delta of his ribs. The centre of charisma. Above it, the green heart-point seemed even paler and smaller than before.
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