‘Not magics,’ she whispered.
‘Do you know who they were?’
She shook her head.
Lis didn’t think she really wanted to know if something else had happened while she had been locked away in that building. She could still taste the spice that had been tied around her neck. The whole idea of it made her sick, not just the taste, but that she could do nothing to protect herself. She shivered again at the thought of Peng and his hands on her body. In some ways, it was a relief to know he was gone. She was sad in a way, but more relieved.
‘What can you feel?’ she asked Yang, scared more of the answer than the worried look on his face.
‘I can feel something, I’m still not sure about the magic, but all is fine.’
She sighed with the relief and then burst into tears.
She leaned on Yang, and he tentatively patted her back, which just made her cry all the more.
She hadn’t said anything to Remi on the journey home because she wasn’t sure what she could say, what she could do to make any of this better. She hadn’t been as safe as she’d thought, and Yang and her father had been hurt.
She pulled back then and looked at him closely. She raised a gentle hand to his face, but she didn’t touch him. ‘Does it hurt?’
He shook his head, but she could tell he lied.
‘How is my father?’
‘Suffering more from his loss than the bang to the head.’
Lis nodded slowly. She too had felt her sister’s loss, but after spending time with Peng she knew in some ways that Ting was in a better place, and she hated herself for thinking such a thing.
‘Is it my fault she died?’ she asked.
‘No. It sounds as though the child wasn’t fully formed, and there was a lot of bleeding. Nothing could have been done for her. No matter where she was.’
Lis nodded once. The girl at the school must have known that, and it was why she had sent her away. Lis didn’t think she would have blamed them if her sister had died in their care, but grief is a strange thing.
‘I think you should sleep,’ Yang said softly, looking around for the bedding.
‘I’m not sure I’m ready to face the darkness alone,’ Lis admitted. ‘I would like to sit in the sun, but I’m not sure I want to be seen.’
‘Did you tell him what happened?’
Lis shook her head again. ‘I don’t want him to be disappointed in me.’
‘He would never be disappointed. The moment you are in trouble, he forgets everything else and races to rescue you. You are his everything. Both of you.’
‘I don’t know that I can live up to that.’
‘You chose to be here.’
‘I did, and I wouldn’t be anywhere else. But what if he is better off with someone else? What if he had chosen someone else? Someone without magic.’
‘Then he wouldn’t be happy. Now rest.’
‘Would you fetch my guard?’
He nodded and climbed to his feet, leaving the door open. She heard him call to some soldiers, who then appeared before her and bowed.
‘Would you mind waiting inside the door?’ she asked.
They bowed again and stood to attention.
She allowed Yang to help her into the bed. Although her body ached, it was a relief to lie still and warm. Lis closed her eyes and, knowing that they were safe, she tentatively rested her hand on her stomach. But she couldn’t feel anything there, nor could she sense any life yet.
Chapter 28
Remi stood in the throne room; his hands clenched before him with a nervousness he wasn’t sure how to deal with.
‘Where was she?’ his mother asked.
‘On a remote island. We thought nothing was there and…’
‘Who took her?’ the emperor interrupted. ‘Magics? Are they so determined to destroy us?’
‘She hasn’t said, and it wasn’t clear. They used something to hinder her magic, so I’m inclined to believe…’
‘Hinder her magic?’ the emperor interrupted again.
Remi took a deep breath and nodded once. He worried that with all the tension, he would burst into flames at the slightest provocation, and she wasn’t here to stop it. She nearly wasn’t here at all, he thought as he clenched his fist tighter.
‘There was a death?’
‘Wu Peng, her sister’s husband. We found him hanging in the middle of the settlement.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know,’ Remi said through clenched teeth. ‘It isn’t clear if he was taken too or if he was somehow involved.’
‘Why would he be involved?’
‘His wife died…’
‘Poor Lis,’ the empress said. ‘Does she not know what happened?’
‘I think she does. She may not know how to tell me.’
‘Does she think you will not support her?’ his father asked.
‘She might think I will burn them all to the gods.’
His mother chewed her lip. She had seen him lose his temper, and she had reason to fear him. Thankfully, Yang had the skill of no other, and there wasn’t even a mark where he had cut her that day. He wondered for the first time whether she had shared his outburst with the emperor.
‘The healers are looking over the substance they used. I don’t want to replicate it,’ Remi said quickly, beating his father to another interruption. ‘I want to understand it, and it may be that we can form an antidote.’
‘If we could take out the magics,’ his father mused.
‘You might also take out our best defence.’
‘How long until it wears off?’
‘I don’t know. Lis still seems to be suffering the effects. She rinsed it from her body, but inhaling it seems to do the damage.’
‘Do you think she will heal?’ his mother asked.
He hoped so. It had taken her so long after he had tried to kill her, and she had been so broken. He only hoped she was more determined to survive now for the child’s sake. He opened his mouth to tell his mother the news, but he decided against it. Something may have happened while Lis was locked away that changed things, and he needed to be sure she was safe. That they were both safe.
‘Go,’ his father said. ‘As soon as you have word, return. We need to move on whatever is happening in the Empire as soon as we can.’
‘Or there will be no Empire left.’
The emperor nodded once, and Remi turned and left the room.
He hurried across the Palace Isle to Lis. She had needed some space. Although he had sat with her while she had curled up and cried on the journey back from the island, she had almost shut down the moment the boat reached the docks and the soldiers started unloading. He only hoped she had not pushed them away this time.
He rounded the corner into the laundry to find Yang and Wei-Song in quiet conversation. The hunter and the general were sitting near General Long, who sat staring out at the world. Remi could sense the soldiers around the space, but he couldn’t see Lis. Although she was possibly resting, he had to see her.
He pushed the door open a crack and came eye to eye with a soldier. The relief was overwhelming, and the man put his finger to his lips. Remi nodded and slipped into the room. Another soldier stood a little further into the room. Both watched the sleeping princess. Remi felt as though he could breathe for the first time that day.
He knelt down beside her and brushed her hair from her face. She murmured something in her sleep. She didn’t appear frightened, but he couldn’t understand what she said.
He brushed his lips over her forehead and sat back. What would he do if he lost her now? All of this was a risk. They may have to face the magics again, and she had nearly died the last time, although they would be fighting together. He wondered if the phoenix would ever be of use.
He jumped when her soft hand touched the side of his face. Lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed her wake.
‘We are ok,’ she whispered.
He kissed her forehead again, and when he ma
de to kiss her lips, she moved out from beneath him and sat up. She reached for his hands, but before he could say anything she looked to the guards and nodded her head. They bowed low and filed from the room, quietly closing the door behind them.
‘Wu Peng was behind this,’ she said softly.
‘Peng?’
She nodded.
‘Because of your sister?’
‘I thought so, but he wanted my magic. When we were at the island, he was determined that I could give it to him like I had given you yours.’
‘Well, not exactly…’ he murmured. ‘How was he going to take it?’
She shook her head.
‘Did he…?’
‘It wasn’t what the others wanted. They want a truce with the magics. They see the end of the Empire coming, and they think they can share it. Their spice dust is a way to stop the magics taking control of the whole Empire.’
‘They hung him because he wanted what they were fighting against?’
‘I think so, but I think it was something the magic said. He wanted me dead.’ She swallowed loudly. ‘But they wouldn’t let him. Peng had become a liability, and I think they were willing to give him up.’
‘Who was the magic?’
‘I know he was there in the square that day. A fire bearer. He was near you. But I don’t know his name. They didn’t use names. I didn’t know any of the others either.’
‘They weren’t from Fifth?’
‘I think they were at Fourth.’
Remi let out a long sigh. ‘We are trying to bring the two sides together, and they are trying to work on a truce without us.’
‘They want to rule instead of the emperor. They will split the Empire down the middle.’
‘Who gets the Palace Isle?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘It may not be as easy as they think. They may imagine different halves, different solutions, and it will be another war. Only this time they have something to fight the magics with that will level the playing field.’
‘The emperor wants to use the dust,’ she said.
‘He has considered it, but it would do more harm than good.’
‘Because of the impact it would have on us?’
‘And on the Hidden. We need to find some middle ground. And at the moment, this island is it, as there is no one else here.’
‘Could we offer it as refuge, for either side? Both sides?’
‘And what will we do if one side tries to take advantage of that?’
Lis sighed. ‘We need a vision, an idea of how we can do this. There has been nothing but empty promises and vague ideas.’
‘The visions have stopped.’
She waited silently.
‘Not just the child Wei-Song knew—all of the visions. In our search for you, we visited the Sacred Isle.’
She clutched his hand.
‘I met a priestess who once knew my father. She was the one who told him the magic would kill his son. She told me that when we came together, something shifted.’
‘When the phoenix showed itself?’
He nodded. ‘All visions ceased. There has not been one since that time. No one is able to tell us what is to come or what we might need to do to make it happen.’
Lis closed her eyes, and a large tear rolled down her cheek. ‘Thank the gods,’ she whispered.
‘I thought you said we needed a vision,’ he said.
‘But without them, we aren’t trying to live up to anything—we aren’t trying to be something the people want. We can be what we think we need to be. What we can be.’
Chapter 29
Remi and Lis stood before the emperor and empress, trying to stay focused on why they were there. The ministers stood to the side, their neat rows giving the indication of attentiveness and obedience, and yet their quiet murmuring showed that they were anything but obedient.
‘You can’t seriously bring a whole group of magics onto the island,’ the emperor said.
‘We need to work together,’ Remi said.
The ministers glared at him as though he should be locked away somewhere, and the emperor sighed.
‘We are strong enough without their help,’ another said.
‘Are we?’ the emperor asked. ‘We couldn’t stand against them last time. Perhaps it is better to find a truce.’
‘They will demand land and resources,’ a third minister said, ‘which we cannot give.’
Remi wondered just how much land they already had. So much of the Empire was empty, sitting vacant since the magic war when they had killed so many. ‘If it comes to war again, the Empire will not survive,’ he said.
The ministers grumbled amongst themselves.
‘He is right,’ General Long said, bowing again before the emperor. ‘I can only add my advice. The Empire is not what it was. The Palace Isle is a shadow of the great city it was. Even before the fight when I escorted my child here to be…’ He stopped and looked at Lis before he cleared his throat. ‘I may have lived on my island for a long time,’ he said more clearly, ‘but I soon realised that the world was not what it was when I left the Palace Isle.’
The emperor nodded wearily.
‘The Empire of Rei-Een was once a strong and thriving nation. Let us help restore it to what it was.’
‘Could we consider trading again with other nations?’ Lis asked.
‘What would we trade?’ one of the ministers snapped. ‘We barely have grain for the people we have, and you want to give it away.’
The emperor stood from his throne, and the room hushed. ‘Truly, minister?’ he asked, and Remi felt the threat in the quiet question.
The man nodded, then seemed to remember himself and shook his head.
‘You are the minister in charge of such things. When were you to tell me you had failed in your duty?’
The man stammered and looked amongst his friends, but the other ministers looked away.
‘The Empire is falling,’ the emperor said with a sadness Remi felt wash across the room. ‘Our world is coming to an end. It appears to have been happening for some time. Maybe the magic war was the beginning of the end.’ He sat heavily in his throne.
‘But we can restore it,’ Lis offered. ‘Working together, we can make it strong again.’
The emperor stared at her unseeing.
Advisor Gan stepped forward and bowed low. ‘I think the crown princess is correct,’ he said softly, and Remi wondered if the man truly believed what he said. He had changed his mind too often for Remi’s liking.
‘I suggest a council, Your Eminence.’
The emperor turned slowly to look at the man, and Remi wondered whether he would survive this. If the Empire ended as they feared, would his father die with it?
‘Who would you suggest to bring together for this council?’
‘The prince and princess as the voice of the Empire,’ Gan said clearly, bowing. ‘Representatives of the army, perhaps a minister or two,’ he said, looking back over the men standing beside him with apparent disappointment. ‘The elders of the Hidden, representatives of the common people, be it those willing to settle with the magics or others,’ he added, ‘and of course, the magics.’
The murmuring increased in the room. Some clearly approved his suggestion; others didn’t, and Remi wondered if that was more about it encroaching on their power rather than it being a bad idea.
‘And how do you propose to bring these people together without them killing each other, or us?’ the emperor asked.
The little advisor looked uncomfortable for just a moment, but then he glanced at Remi and took a deep breath. ‘We invite them,’ he said. ‘We send notices around the Empire to be posted in halls and gathering places, markets and the like.’
‘And if no one comes?’ the emperor asked.
‘Then we think of something else.’
Remi nodded once to the man, and he stepped back. It was a good idea, but it could also end as badly as his father feared. And Remi wasn’t
sure he wanted to be stepping between magics and those without to keep the peace. He glanced at Lis, who may have been thinking the same thing, for she looked quite serious.
He leaned towards her, but she gave a little shake of her head. ‘Could we offer some form of protection?’ she asked.
‘You want to get between them?’ Remi asked quickly.
‘No, but I think we need to reassure those with magic that this is not an attempt to capture them, and to reassure those without that they are not entering a fight.’
The emperor nodded once. ‘Send out your notices,’ he said to the advisor, who grinned broadly. ‘You have until the sun rises the day after tomorrow to have them here, or the world may end before you get a chance.’
His smile faltered, but the advisor bowed low and raced from the room. The emperor waved his hand at the room and sat down slowly. The empress stepped up to him as the room emptied, and Remi took Lis’s hand and moved forward.
‘I don’t want to talk about it any further,’ he said before Remi could speak. ‘Has your magic returned?’ he asked Lis.
She shook her head. Remi wasn’t sure if it was the amount of time she had breathed in the dust or that she carried a child that had caused it to have such an effect.
‘Take her to the healers,’ the emperor said. ‘I know you trust your own, but another may be better able to help you.’
They bowed low to the emperor and, with a glance towards the empress, they left.
‘A visit to the healers may alert my parents to your condition,’ he murmured.
‘I am sure they will learn of it soon enough. I thought my father would have said something. There are too many who know our secrets.’
‘But there are many who will keep them,’ a soldier behind them whispered.
Remi turned to nod at the man.
They headed towards the healers’ compound, which Remi thought was the only part of the Palace Isle not to change. People had come and gone, but the healers always remained. They walked in silence, but Lis still allowed him to hold her hand, and he wondered what else might change as the Empire was rebuilt. If it could be.
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 72
