My hands found bevelled holds in the tiled edge. Please be there, I prayed. A deep breath eased the block of fear in my chest. Another relaxed the tightness in my heart. I counted out each exhalation on the rhythm of my plea: please be there, please be there. The reflections of the bathing room shivered on the surface of the water. Below, the mosaic of the Nine Fish Wealth Circle bent and twisted. I paused, gathering myself for the final push into the energy world, my whole being tensed for the presence of the Mirror Dragon. And for Ido.
Around me, the bathing room blurred. I pushed deeper into the Hua, plunging into the swirling energy past the grey remnants of the drugs. There was time for one quick look, and then back to safety. I narrowed my mind-sight, seeking the forms of the dragons. My body listened for the voice of Ido in my mind, for the iron grip of him on my body. There was nothing. Around the edge of the bath, huge densities of energy coalesced. Took form.
Muzzles, eyes, horns, pearls. The dragons. I stared at the space in the circle, straining to see a hint of red scale, a glint of gold pearl. But there was still no Mirror Dragon.
'I know what you are,' I whispered. 'Please, forgive me. Show yourself. Give me some hope.'
Then was a flash of movement. The large blue head of the Rat Dnagon ducked down, level with my face. I felt his energy locus on me. The touch of his power licked my wet skin, rippling across it in a wordless question. I tried to step back, but I was already hard against the wall.
'No,' I said. 'No.'
Hut his power kept pressing against me; a wild offering of energy, formless and never-ending, ready to be moulded into human desire. It was too much. It was a road straight into the heart of me that Ido could walk in a moment.
Like a distant call, I felt my right hand catch on a loose tile. An anchor to the real world. I pushed harder. The muted sting of pierced flesh dragged me away from the dragon's mesmerising gaze. The pain sharpened and the energy world rushed past me, a maelstrom of colours: blue, pink, purple, silver, green, white. And red. My breath stopped. Red? Had I truly seen red? But I was already huddled alone in the bath, my hand impaled on the jagged edge of a tile, a steady drip of blood creating scarlet swirls in the water amongst the cream frangipani petals.
I stood before the dressing chamber mirror, rolling my shoulders against the weight of the Story Robe. My cut hand throbbed in its tight binding. I flexed it, trying to work some give into the bandaging.
'Be still,' Rilla ordered.
She kneeled and folded the front edges of the heavy silk against my body. In the mirror, I saw the reflection of Lady Dela behind me, freshly bathed and dressed in mourning white, holding the thick Story Robe sash. Our eyes met in the glass.
'Do you remember what I told you?' she asked. 'You will not have a chance to speak to the Pearl Emperor until the chorus of Beseechers have left and the Shola priests have sung their ancestry chants.'
1 nodded.
'When they leave, you will be alone with him for the ghost watch,' she continued. 'But you must not speak until he speaks to you.'
'No.' I shook my head. 'I will tell him as soon as possible. My words are not going to please him whether I observe the protocols or not. He will either listen to me or he won't.' I swallowed the sudden rise of fear. And we can't afford to waste time.'
Rilla looked up. 'Do as Lady Dela says. Please. Wait until the Emperor speaks. Do everything you can to protect yourself
I touched her shoulder. 'As soon as I am dressed, I want you to go. All right?' Her expression stiffened into stubborn loyalty. 'You have to take Chart to safety. You promised.'
She held out her hands for the sash.
'It is for the best,' Lady Dela said softly as she carefully passed the silk. 'This is going to end in bloodshed, whatever way it falls. You and your son are better out of it.'
Her dark eyes darted anxiously to me, but the prediction only confirmed what I already knew in my heart. Either the Emperor would quell his uncle's ambitions with my help, or Sethon would take the throne with Ido's power. Whatever happened, there would be blood.
Rilla nodded, and absorbed herself in winding the sash around me.
Are you ready to go too?' I asked Lady Dela. 'There is no guarantee that the Emperor will not take his revenge on all who have helped me, whatever their status. If I do not come out of the ghost watch...'
'I will wait here for you to bring the red folio,' she said firmly.
And if I don't come? If Sethon and Ido have a clear way?'
'Ryko and I have a plan.'
'The islands?'
She inclined her head.
Rilla sat back on her heels. 'You are ready, Lord Eon,' she said, her voice tight.
I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. I was, indeed, Lord Eon. The Story Robe had once more created the appearance of manliness in my slim body. To add to the illusion, something had stripped any last softness from my face — the Sun drug, perhaps — and its angularity echoed a new hardness that I felt within me. I lifted my chin; I did not want to give up being Lord Eon. Even with all the danger, all the despair, I had tasted power and respect. It was no wonder Ido craved it.
Rilla straightened a fold that marred the neat line at my calf, her hands suddenly bunching the silk hem. She was crying, silently and without fuss. In all the time I had known Rilla, I had never seen her cry.
'It's all right,' I said. A stupid, inadequate thing to say, but her tears were ripping away my hard-won composure.
She pressed my palm against her cheek. 'What you have done for Chart, for me...'
'Tell him...' I stopped, my throat blocked with a dry ache. There was too much to say. And nothing to say
'You may go, Rilla,' I whispered, letting go of her hand. 'Good luck.'
She stood and bowed, her gaze meeting mine for a long, bleak moment. 'Thank you, Lord Eon.'
She backed away. Then she was gone.
Lady Dela sighed. 'She is very devoted to you. While you were bathing, she told me how this all came about. The salt farm and Brannon's ambition.'
I finally looked away from the doorway. 'No doubt you found it an entertaining tale,' I said, taking refuge in my flimsy shell of hardness.
'No.' She faced the mirror. 'I have done many things to survive. Some at least as desperate as what you have done.' She turned and smiled wryly. 'I was very harsh in the carriage. It was the shock; you were the only hope...Well, you know the burden of hope that is on you. You should have confided in me and Ryko, but I understand why you acted as you did,'
'Why do you still help me? I am most probably a lost cause.'
She lifted her chin. 'Ryko will serve you and the Emperor to the end. And so will I.'
The danger ahead of us pushed me into blunt advice. 'You should tell Ryko that you love him.'
A flush deepened the swarthiness of her unpainted skin. A eunuch and a Contraire. How the gods would laugh,' she said bitterly.
'The gods are already laughing,' I said. 'How else could the future of an Empire rest on my shoulders?'
The old Emperor's body was laid out in the Pavilion of the Five Ghosts. It was the only building in the entire palace complex made of precious white marble, its blank facade more imposing for its lack of carving or gilt. My protocol escorts, four of the highest-ranked eunuchs, stopped at the bottom of the nine marble steps of mourning that led up to the doorway. Large brass incense burners were set to the left side of every step, the incense sticks thickening the air with their heavy melancholic perfume. Through the open doorway I could hear the soft entreaties of the Beseechers and see the flicker of their swinging lamps.
Tomorrow, the Emperor's body would be moved to the red and black Audience Hall in the entrance courtyard for all to mourn. But today, it would lie here under the watchful eyes of the new Emperor and his second mourner, set with the task of guarding it from the malevolent attention of bad spirits.
I looked back at Lady Dela. She had accompanied me as far as she was allowed — to the far edge of the Five Ghost Square — and now stood am
ongst the other silent courtiers, waiting for me to enter the pavilion. 'Ill see you in the apartment,' she had said firmly as I was ushered forwards by the protocol officers. I had nodded, but we both knew that the laughter ol gods did not
guarantee their goodwill. Across the expanse of the square, I could not make out Lady Dela's features, but 1 knew from the angle of her head that she was crying.
The two officers in front of me stepped to the side and bowed.
'Please ascend, my lord,' the highest-ranked man said. 'His Royal Highness the Pearl Emperor awaits you.'
I stared up the staircase at the dim arch of the double doorway. As soon as I walked into that pavilion, my life was forfeit. But I had already missed my chance of escape; it had passed me by on the sands of the Dragon Arena as I waited to make my defeated bow to an indifferent Emperor. How brief and hidden were the moments of destiny And now I faced another.
I took the first step, and then the second. Desperation had its own momentum. Now that the decision was made, I was almost impatient to meet the resolution.
But there was no hurrying destiny. I was met at the doorway by more protocol officers and led into the dim hall, past the kneeling ranks of Beseechers, the sound of their whispered entreaties made loud by sheer numbers, the swooshing swing of their lanterns an eerie counterpoint. The wrapped body of the old Emperor lay on a stone bier at the end of the chamber. A low table stood beside it, set with offerings of food and wine in gold bowls and goblets. Kneeling before his dead father was the Prince, the Pearl Emperor. He was facing the bier and his head was bowed, but I could see that it had already been shaved clean, with only the Imperial queue, braided with gold beads and jewels, left at the back. My eyes followed the broad line of his back to his hips. He wore no sword. No knife. I licked my lips in relief. He only had his hands, although with all his training they were lethal enough.
A cushion lay beside him for the second mourner. Slowly, I kneeled on it, the grinding ache in my hip dogging my movements again. My gaze dropped from the tense welcome on his face to the brutal mess of dried blood and bruising at the base of his throat. The Imperial Pearl. Its gold claw setting had been sewn roughly into the tender hollow between his collarbones, the wound still seeping into the while cloth of his robe.
'Good to have you by my side, Lord Eon.' I lis voice was hoarse and hesitant.
I met his pained eyes, my hand going to my own throat in sympathy.
He nodded. 'The royal physician fled last night.' He swallowed carefully. 'His replacement was nervous.' His pale lips quirked up into a wry smile. 'Very nervous.'
'Fled?'
The smile hardened. 'He will be found.' His dark eyes met mine and I saw how tightly he was controlling his rage. 'You and I will have our revenge.'
He bowed his head again as the Beseechers ended an entreaty progression and struck the gong. I bowed my head too, but more to hide my shock at the change in the Prince. There was something in his face and voice that made me think of Ido. I pushed back the rising fear and concentrated on the meaning behind the Prince's words. He believed the royal physician had been involved in his father's death. And my master's. Was it true? I went over and over the events leading up to my master's death and came no closer to a confident answer, but it kept me from dwelling on the moment when I would be alone with this new Emperor.
Two hours later, the Beseechers placed their lanterns on the floor in small circles of eternity, kowtowed and backed out of the pavilion. They were immediately replaced by the twelve Shola priests to sing the death chants. As we knelt through three hours of their intricate harmonies, I watched the new Emperor's hands slowly bunch into white-knuckled fists. I knew he was bracing himself against the pain; there had been so many times when I had done it myself. He was suffering and, may the gods forgive
me, I found my own hope in his weakened body. Perhaps his exhaustion would give me a chance to plead my case.
The final intonations of the death chants died away into a heavy silence. Beside me, the Pearl Emperor inhaled deeply, drawing in strength to stand. There was no evidence of his pain as he rose, bowed to his dead father and turned to face the priests, I struggled upright and bowed, then took my place at the side of the bier.
The twelve Shola priests kowtowed and backed out of the room, leaving only the two protocol officers. But they too bowed and backed away, pulling closed the heavy doors until only the mellow light from the Beseechers' lamps lit the chamber. The ghost watch had begun.
The Pearl Emperor rubbed wearily at his forehead. 'Get us some wine, Lord Eon,' he rasped, motioning towards an alcove. 'I think I will be able to drink now'
I bowed and edged over to a small table set with two gold bowls and a precious glass jug of wine.
'It is my belief that the royal physician had a hand in Lord Brannon's death,' he said, gingerly holding his throat as he spoke. 'And perhaps in my father's, although the canker in his leg was already poisoning him. The man will be found and he will pay for our sorrow'
I nodded.
'My messengers reported your success at Daikiko.' He walked towards me. 'It was well done.
You have kept your side of our pact. And I will keep mine.'
I picked up the jug, gripping hard to stop the trembling in my hand. The rich fruit scent of the red wine swirled up to me as I poured. There was a hung quality in the air, as though time had caught its breath. I picked up the bowls.
'Your Majesty,' I said, handing him the wine.
He looked into its depth then raised his eyes to mine. Waiting for me to test it. Slowly, I lifted the bowl and drank, tilting back
my head until it was drained. The wine burned as it went down, but it was the fire of alcohol.
The fire of false courage.
His mouth twisted. 'Habit,' he said and took a deep drink, wincing as he swallowed. 'I d
The moment had come.
'I am not Lord Eon,' I said.
He stilled. There was no immediate comprehension in his face, but he had heard the tone of betrayal.
'What?'
'I am not Lord Eon. The Mirror Dragon is female. And so am I.'
He tilted his head, his red-rimmed eyes narrowing. 'Female? You are a woman?'
I gave one nod, my body tensing for the final understanding.
A woman Dragoneye?'
'Yes.'
He stared at me, and I could see his quick political mind forging through the shock.
'The dragon returned because you are a woman.' His hand grasped my shoulder. And you have her power. Is it greater than Ido's?'
I did not expect him to find the heart of the matter so fast. Before I could mask my face, he saw the truth in it. His wine bowl hit the floor, his hand as quick as a snake strike under my jaw In one movement, he had me up against the pavilion wall, the back of my head connecting with the marble in a thud that sent sick pain tolling through my body His face was so close to mine I could feel the heated wine of his breath and smell the sweet decay of the blood-soaked cloth at his neck.
'Do you have power?'
My hands clawed at his fingers. He tightened his grip, his teeth bared for an answer.
'Yes,' I gasped.
His eyes searched mine. 'You're lying.'
Desperately I pulled at his arm. 'I have power, but not all of it. There's a hook...'
He hauled me off the wall and slammed me back against it, the blow sending jags of black pain across my eyes. I fought for breath. For consciousness.
'Do you know what you have done?' he screamed. 'Everything was balanced on you. A woman.'
All of his contained rage was loose and slowly crushing my throat. He was going to kill me. 1
could see it in his face. I could not stop him. He was my Emperor. My lord. My master. His will was mine.
No! Never again. My will was my own.
I let go of his arm. Curled my fingers into my bandaged palm. And, with strength made of panic, drove the heel of my hand into the centr
e of the Imperial Pearl. For a moment, I saw the pain crash through his eyes. Then he hit the floor, writhing, his broken gasps ominously wet.
I looked at my hand. It was stinging from the blow, smeared with blood. Royal blood.
Holy gods. What had I done?
I fell to my knees and scrabbled across to him. He saw me coming and hit out, his fist wild, his face grey with shock.
'Your Majesty' I grabbed his flailing arms and forced them against his body. He panted, each indrawn breath a rasp of pain.
I pulled him across my lap. 'Lord, forgive me.' Sweat sheened on his skin. 'Don't die.'
'Not...going to...die.' He took a deeper wavering breath, clenching his jaw with the effort.
'I...am...going...to kill...you.' He tried to lift his head, but fell back against me.
I pulled the robe away from his throat, wincing as his elbow found my ribs, Clamping his arms down harder, I checked his wound. There was fresh blood around the Imperial Pearl, but only from the edges of the stitching and the bottom of his throat hollow. If 1 had hit straighter, if the bandage had not cushioned
the blow, I would have killed him. I must have struck downwards and the pearl had hit his chest bone, nol his windpipe. The gods had been merciful. To both of us.
'You can't kill me,' I s;iid. 'Yon need me.'
He struggled upwards again, his pallor darkening into fury. He was already recovering his strength. I did not have long to make him understand.
'Listen to me. The Mirror Dragon is the Queen Dragon,' I said desperately. 'She chose me and she is Ascendant. That is at least double the power of the others.' His eyes flickered at that truth. 'But I haven't united with her properly. Not yet. I have no way to call her power, but Ido has a book that holds her name. If I can get it, then I will have all her power. At your command.'
'How...do you know you can call her power?'
'Because I can call Ido's dragon.'
His eyes widened. 'You have Ido's...power too?' He cleared his throat. His voice was stronger.
I nodded, keeping my gaze steady. It was half true. I had called the blue dragon at Ido's library. But I could not let the Emperor see the other half of the truth: that Ido could steal my body, harness my will, through that connection.
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