by JC Kang
“And yet, you betrayed Tong. Why?”
“Once his allies abandoned the attack on Prince Kai-Wu’s wedding, he had already lost.” Fool that he was for keeping the princess’ decoy alive, even after Kai-Long’s warning. “He would have revealed all the conspirators.”
The man shook his head. “No, earlier. Why push for marriage to Princess Kaiya instead of the original plan for encouraging a siege of Wailian Castle?”
Because it was a last-ditch effort to get her killed. “I didn’t expect her to suggest marriage, for Tianzi to approve it, or for her to show her worth.” Though really, she was like a rat, surviving where she shouldn’t have. First, on the night he’d smuggled her out of the castle into an ambush, where it could have been pinned on the Madurans targeting Prince Hardeep; and then when he told Tong to wipe out the supply brigade that he’d lured her into joining.
“I see. Well, as promised, the Water Snake Clan is at your service, though we must lay low until the Black Lotus clan forgets about us.”
Kai-Long grinned. He was one of the privileged few to know that Moquan were more than just imaginary child snatchers. Furthermore, beside the Tianzi himself, he was now the only lord to have them under his employ. “We will maintain contact through our normal channels.”
“As you command, Jue-ye.”
“What shall I call you?”
“My former comrades in the Black Lotus knew me as the Surgeon.” The man melted into the shadows, but then his voice came from the general on the chessboard. “Chariot moves left three. Checkmate.”
Flanked by an aide, Haros Bovyanthas marched toward his office in the Assembly Hall of Telesite to wait for the election’s results. Because of his birth to a virgin, his promotion to First Consul of the Teleri Empire was a foregone conclusion. After all, the Keepers of the Shrine of Geros all believed the prophecies proclaiming that he would be the one to end the first of the three Bovyan curses.
He chuckled to himself. The prophecies hadn’t kept his rivals in the Directori from assigning him to the inconsequential duty of administering relations with the kingdoms of the northwest. Until now, it didn’t matter. Let them bumble over the futile invasion of Eldaeri lands. Brute force alone would not prevail, and that was all the Bovyans knew.
Except him. As a youth, he’d read the Cathayi Founder’s work, The Art of War. Wang Xinchang was a warrior genius, even if his descendants were nothing more than petty merchant princes. Incorporating his strategies, Haros had used his position to cultivate relationships and turn his spheres of influence into profitable income streams and new tactical tools. How ironic that all of these would be turned against Cathay when the time was right.
Warriors all thumped their chests in salute as he passed. His steward opened his door and Haros walked in.
And gawked.
Sitting in his chair was the Altivorc King himself, with feet kicked up on his desk. Bedecked in a dapper uniform and crowned with a silver circlet, the King of the Orcs held a message addressed to Haros in his filthy paws.
“How did you get in here?” Haros jabbed a finger at the King.
The King lowered the missive and bared his fangs in a patronizing smile. “Now, now, Haros, there’s no need to be rude.”
Frowning, Haros turned back to the aide outside the door. “How did he get in here?”
The steward’s mouth hung agape. So unsightly for a Bovyan. “I…I don’t know. The door was closed from the time you visited the Shrine and the Conclave.”
“I come, I go.” Shrugging, the King flicked the paper over. “It looks like you have bigger problems than pest control, though.”
Amazingly, the message flew in a straight line. Haros snatched it out of the air and skimmed it. He then looked back at the Altivorc King. “Everything proceeds as planned.”
The Altivorc King lowered his feet and leaned forward on the table. “Lord Tong is dead. Without him, you can’t influence Cathay.”
Apparently, the thousand-year-old King wasn’t as all-knowing as the legends proclaimed. Haros laughed. “Lord Tong would have never succeeded. My agreement with him was all a ploy to plant my operative in their country. Cathay will not be taken with the sword alone. It will take eight years to undermine them from within.”
“How old are you now? Thirty?” The Altivorc King counted off on his fingers. “If the curse remains in place, you’ll die in three years.”
Haros crumpled up the message. “You were the one who identified my mother. You must know I will be the one to end the curse.”
Boots clopped to a stop at the entrance. Haros turned to see the messenger, dressed in the robes of the Keepers of the Shrine of Geros.
He pounded a fist to his chest. “Your Eminence, congratulations. You have been elected First Consul.”
Haros turned back to gloat. “You see—”
The Altivorc King was gone, the chair empty as if no one had been there.
With a snort, Haros turned back to the courier. “When is the Eye-plucking ceremony?”
“Tonight. Once you will receive the Eye of Solaris and Pin of Geros, you will formally take the name, Geros Bovyan, XLIII.”
Haros dismissed the man with a wave of his hand, then covered his right eye. All the previous First Consuls claimed they could see through the Eye of Solaris. Then again, men were liars.
He lowered his hand. Losing an eye was worth the chance to become the greatest Bovayn since their progenitor, the mortal son of Solaris. He smoothed out the message and read it again.
Perhaps this Peng Kai-Long, who had captured the impregnable Wailian Castle, would prove to be a more worthy adversary than Cathay’s emperor. Haros would have to tell his spy to keep close eye on this upstart lord.
In the meantime, while Haros plot to undermine Cathay simmered, it was time to turn his attention to the Eldaeri Kingdoms. His spy there had already gotten into Tarkothi Prince Aryn’s good graces, and seeded discord between Tarkoth and Serikoth. Haros would succeed where his political adversaries had failed.
EPILOGUE
Diverging Paths
Jie found Tian in the corner of her eye as they walked along the docks of Jiangkou Harbor. Two weeks had passed since the Battle of Wailian Castle and the foiled attack on Prince Kai-Wu’s wedding. Plots uncovered by Tian and her, respectively. While Lord Peng received the accolades for his improbable victory, in Black Lotus fashion, she and Tian headed to receive their rewards.
“Here’s my steed.” Jie jerked her head at the Tarkothi ship Indomitable, where sailors prepared for departure. It was far easier to watch them work than to make eye contact with him. Her heart might have been a rock in her chest, if a rock weighed more than a dwarven anvil.
Tian turned and looked up at the hulking black ship. “Make sure Prince Aryn keeps his hands off of you.”
She grinned. “What if I want to put my hands on him?”
Tian’s expression betrayed neither concern nor jealousy. “As long as it doesn’t cloud your objectivity.”
Was that it? Jie sucked on her bottom lip before letting it go with a pop.
Tian’s face hardened. “I should be going with you.”
While she might appreciate the sentiment, “As the Founder said, Never send a man to do a woman’s job.”
“Did he say that?” He cocked his head.
Jie giggled. “No, that’s my proverb. Will you miss me?”
“I will always miss my little sister. Just be careful. You are going into a foreign land and you barely speak the language.”
Jie’s chest squeezed. Still the little sister. “I will have at least a month immersed with the Eldaeri sailors. I’m sure my Arkothi will be fine by the end.” If fine meant laden with chauvinism and curse words.
His eyes and mouth made perfect circles. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing. The surprise melted and he started turning toward his own berth on the Wild Orchid.
She tugged at Tian’s official robes to take out some of the wrinkles. “You need to make a good
first impression, Junior Clerk Zheng. See you in a few years.”
While she was off tracking the Water Snake Clan to its source in Arkothi lands, what kind of man would he grow into? And when they met again after those few years, her body still wouldn’t have matured into a woman’s.
Tian cast a surreptitious glance back at Jie as she headed up the dock to the Indomitable. She was just a girl, all alone with a bunch of sailors. Then, she’d go on a lonely, deep reconnaissance mission into Serikoth and the Teleri Empire itself.
Perhaps they were chasing their tails. In the end, Master Yan had only been able to uncover two Yu-Ming lords conspiring in the failed attack on Prince Kai-Wu’s wedding, and none of the foreigners Jie suspected even attended—the altivorcs had wandered into restricted areas of the palace and been expelled the night before the wedding. With Lord Tong dead, they hadn’t been able to confirm any of the alliances he’d established, either foreign or domestic.
The only reliable leads were the large boys of the Water Snake Clan, who Lord Tong had referred to as Bovyan. Never mind that the ruling race of the Teleri Empire were huge and fair-skinned. Still, the Teleri’s vassals in Rotuvi had threatened the imperial army in the North, preventing General Lu from helping in the siege of Wailian Castle. It couldn’t be just a coincidence.
Which was why Tian was now headed for a new position as a trade official in the Kingdom of Iksuvi. In reality, he would serve as head of information in the Northori Northwest, as a reward for his uncovering of Lord Tong’s plot. Farther than ever from Princess Kaiya.
Kaiya listened to the songbirds warbling outside the Hall of Bountiful Harvests, her hands trembling. This was where her unlikely adventure had begun when she first greeted Prince Hardeep.
Here too, it would end. Father had allowed one last meeting with Prince Hardeep, a reward for her role in subduing the North and for his in saving her.
Servants opened the doors. Chen Xin and Ma Jun snapped into a salute.
Secretary Hong bowed and extended a hand inviting her to enter. “The Tianzi will allow you to meet Prince Hardeep alone.”
Alone. She smoothed out her court gown. If only she had a mirror. She’d spent hours preening, in hopes of giving Prince Hardeep a perfect last memory of her. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over the high threshold.
Prince Hardeep pressed his palms together and bowed his head. Dressed in a ceremonial kurta, he looked so handsome. So perfect. It was hard to imagine that just two weeks before, his face had been covered in soot. Though even then, his hair never seemed out of place. He smiled at her. “Princess Kaiya, thank you for seeing me off.”
He made it sound so…trivial. A simple parting, after everything they’d been through. She bowed her head. “It is my honor to do so. I am sorry I could not do anything for your homeland. The treaty with Madura remains in place for one more year, and the remains of the Dragon Scale Lute are buried beneath Wailian Castle.” Not that Father would allow her to go to Ankira, anyway.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. You have given me something more precious. Hope.”
Tears threatened to ruin her make-up.
“Will you sing for me? As a memory of our meeting.”
An audacious request under normal circumstances, but there was nothing normal about the two of them. He had guided her to the power of Dragon Songs, made her find her purpose beyond political marriage. She cast a glance out of the Hall, where her guards and Secretary Hong stood. Who cared what they thought? She owed Hardeep this courtesy. “I’ve put words to your lute song.”
His eyebrow lifted and his lips quirked into a smile. She’d spent the last two weeks composing the lyrics. Toes gripping the floor, spine straight, she let her spirit guide her song about an uncertain girl who’d found purpose beyond the circumstances of her birth. Jubilation coursed through her, sending each nerve tingling. Even if he wouldn’t understand the words, he would feel her intent.
“So much emotion,” he intoned.
She drew inspiration from his voice, pouring her soul into words. With each note, her spirit floated higher until it reached a crescendo. His irises sparkled back at her. No matter what anyone else thought, she felt truly beautiful in his eyes. Finishing her song, she looked up at him through her lashes.
In three quick steps, he stood before her and clasped her hands. Warmth surged through her. He leaned in, breath hot on her neck.
“Thank you, Princess Kaiya. Your voice, just like the legendary Yanyan’s, could enchant the dragon Avarax. I may return home empty-handed, but my heart is full.” He withdrew, his lips tracing across her neck. Electricity coursed through her, every nerve on edge.
He turned toward the door.
No! He was leaving. It was too soon.
“Wait.” She loosened several dwarf-forged platinum pins binding her voluminous hair, sending unruly locks tumbling down to her waist. Fiddling with an errant tendril, she proffered the jewels, each worth a soldier’s annual pay. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be insulted. “Prince Hardeep, please accept these as my personal apology for not being able to help you.”
He plucked the simplest hairpin, her favorite. The brush of his finger across her palm sent a jolt of excitement up her spine. He pressed the jewel to his breast. “I will keep this one as a bittersweet souvenir of you and your voice.”
Kaiya started to speak, but no words came out.
Lips trembling upward, Hardeep unpinned from his shirt a shard of cinnabar, shaped into the likeness of Ankira’s nine-pointed lotus. He pressed the trinket in her palm and closed her hand around it. His large, strong hands wrapped around hers. “Please accept this as a symbol of our meeting. When you gaze at it, remember that no matter how far away I am, I will be thinking of you.”
Warm like his smile, the lotus jewel buzzed, sending pleasant pulsations through her.
He turned and left. When he reached the door, he bent his head with a sidelong glance at her. “Once you have grown in your music, I am sure you will come to me.” Without waiting for a response, he marched out of the hall.
Was it her pulse or the lotus jewel vibrating so rapidly? Kaiya reached back toward a column to steady herself. Yes, when she was ready, she would go to him.
PRELUDE TO Orchestra of Treacheries
Holding the music in her head, Kaiya arched back under the sweep of her jian straightsword and lifted her leg into a kick with the point of her toe. The blade passed within a hairbreadth of her cheek as she transitioned the movement into a precise stab. She held the nearly inverted pose, grateful for not nicking her now-pretty face with the complicated technique. Until today, she’d held back on the Dance of Swords for fear of marring her now smooth skin with a self-inflicted scar.
It’d taken a year of drinking bitter herbal medicines to finally quell her rebellious complexion. Vanquishing thoughts of Prince Hardeep had proved more difficult. Since then, the Tianzi had arranged a dozen introductions to self-absorbed sons of first rank Tai-Ming and second rank Yu-Ming lords.
None could compare to Prince Hardeep’s charm. Those three days, a year past, still twisted her stomach into cartwheels when she thought about them.
Which was too often.
Kaiya tried to cope with unfulfilled love by immersing herself in dance and music. At times, it worked. At other times, she would stare at his lotus jewel for hours on end. After all, why did she practice, except for the secret hope of Hardeep returning?
Applause from the doors interrupted her concentration. With a jian in either hand, Kaiya pirouetted into a cross-legged low stance to avoid tumbling into an embarrassing heap. Her gaze fell on her sisters-in-law Xiulan and Yanli, whose floral outer gowns trailed across the gleaming wood of the training-hall floors. Several handmaidens followed them.
Crown Princess Xiulan’s dark eyes danced with mirth, reminiscent of the whimsical gardenia motif of her pink outer gown. “Kaiya, you’re hiding here to avoid a second meeting with Lord Chen.”
Kaiya shuddered at the thought of the
Yu-Ming heir from Jiangzhou Province, the latest in a long line of rejected suitors. “Young Lord Chen may be handsome, but he’s as dumb as a rock. And he wouldn’t stop looking at my chest.” As if there was much to see.
Yanli sighed. The gold pine branch design of her green robes suited her usually subtle pragmatism. Today, her tone bordered on irritability. “Don’t be so picky. Some counties of Jiangzhou grow restless, and your marriage to one of their Yu-Ming would go far in reasserting imperial authority there.”
Kaiya twirled to her feet, flipping the pair of swords together. The lightweight jian, considered the marriage of elegance and practicality, at first seemed like the perfect metaphor for her purpose in this world. Yet even if she could choreograph the exact movements of the blades, her own life was more like a cherry blossom petal, carried on the whim of fickle political winds. “Is that why you married my brother? So your father could proclaim allegiance to mine?”
She held the swords out. The imperial guard Zhao Yue, up to now as motionless as a statue, strode forward. Bowing, he received them in two hands and shuffled backward to his unassuming place by the door.
Yanli opened her mouth, but Xiulan cast a furtive glance, silencing her. The Crown Princess smiled. “Oh, Kaiya… Yanli’s situation was different. How could the Tianzi deny such a torrid mutual love?”
How could he deny her love for Hardeep? And torrid? Sappy would be a more accurate description of Kai-Wu and Yanli. At any other time of the month, Yanli would’ve waxed poetic about it.
Today, she pursed her lips. “It was just as much a reward for our province’s longstanding loyalty.” Her eyes bored into Kaiya’s, pushing her point. “Yes, our love was enabled by the unprecedented leeway your father allows his children. But that indulgence has left you unmarried at fifteen! Please, stop being selfish and think about his poor health. It would ease his mind to know the imperial bloodline was secure.”
