‘Now tell me what you haven’t already.’
‘I think we have told you everything,’ Remi said quickly.
‘Where is Wei-Song?’ Lis asked.
‘With Master Yangshing,’ the empress said with a wave of her hand. Lis couldn’t remember seeing her in the crowd, but she nodded once. ‘What happened while you were away?’ she asked.
‘When we travelled?’ Lis asked.
The empress nodded once.
‘I lost control,’ Lis said.
‘There was more to it than that.’ The empress maintained her firm features and stern voice. Lis wanted to sit at her feet and beg for forgiveness, but she wasn’t sure why she felt she needed it.
‘Mother,’ Remi said softly. ‘What is it you want to know?’
‘Only what occurred. You were supposed to make things better. I threw away the last of the traditions for you, but you haven’t made things better.’
‘I’m not sure anything would have,’ Remi said. ‘The ministers are right. The Empire is collapsing, and if we don’t act now there will be nothing left.’
The empress shook her head.
‘The emperor has lived in fear,’ Remi said, taking Lis by surprise. ‘He feared what he had been told about the magics, and he decided to end them before they could end him. But it didn’t work. It didn’t save him, and Ta-Sho still died. All these years since the war, he still lived in fear. People died who didn’t need to, and a group of our own people plotted against us. In trying to save it all, he has destroyed us.’
The empress stared at him open mouthed.
‘He insisted you kill your own child. You knew it was wrong. It was why you saved her and sent her to those he would have killed.’
She pushed up from the throne, her face pale. ‘I have done all I can for this Empire,’ she hissed.
‘And you have kept far more from it than I ever did.’
She stopped and stared at them, then sat down again. Lis reached out her senses, half expecting the emperor to be close by. There was only a servant waiting in the shadows.
‘Did you break from what is right and bed this woman before she was your wife?’ the empress asked, but the strength had gone from her voice.
Remi shook his head. Lis wondered how they had returned to such a place when they had seemed so much more only days before.
‘What would I keep from you?’ Lis asked. ‘What do you think I haven’t shared? That I lost control, that the fear of the men caused my own to flare, that there is a way for those without magic to take from those who have. That my father is broken. That your son and I have some connection neither of us can explain. That a man I once cared for tried to rip the magic from my body with his hands.’
Remi put an arm across her then and moved her around behind him. Her heart beat too fast, and she was lost to the sound of it pounding in her ears.
‘Being empress is a sacrifice,’ she said. ‘You are the crown princess now. Life is different; life is harder than it was before.’
‘My life has always been hard,’ Lis said, clinging to Remi’s back. ‘I was nearly lost,’ she whispered.
‘You don’t matter,’ the empress said, the harshness of her words jarring Lis. ‘Your only purpose is to produce an heir. Not to try and save this Empire, not to guide your husband. A son is all you must do.’ She waved a servant forward and he bowed, holding out a golden cup. ‘Drink the tea.’
‘No,’ Lis said.
The empress stood slowly, and the anger rolling from her made Lis step back as the servant stepped forward.
‘We shall try to bring back to this Empire what we can. You will drink the tea. And on the seventh day, when we are sure your womb is clean, you will bed your husband before those who should observe it.’
‘No,’ Lis said again, pushing out with her barrier and knocking not only the tea from the servant’s hand but the man to the floor.
‘We must be sure that any child you carry is of the line. That man may have done more than try to take your magic.’
Lis stared at the woman, and she felt the heat of Remi’s fire simmering under his skin.
‘He hit me,’ she whispered, indicating her still-bruised face. ‘He choked me,’ she said, lifting her chin. ‘He ripped my clothes, but he did not get near enough to father any child.’
Remi blew out a soft breath and stepped between them again. ‘She was lucky in some way,’ Remi said softly, and Lis leaned into his back. Her hands balled around the material. No matter what they said, the empress would feel she had lost something. ‘They both are,’ he whispered. ‘The child was confirmed by the healer before she was taken. I know, we know, that there is no doubt to the lineage. There will be no tea,’ he said, and the certainty in his voice made Lis shiver. ‘There will be no observing of our private moments.’
The world was silent, and the servant picked up the cup and scampered away. Lis remained hidden, only able to see him scuttle away. She couldn’t sense anything from the empress. She wasn’t sure if that was due to her shock that her son would speak to her in such a way, or that he shielded them as he did.
When nothing more was said, Lis released her hold on Remi and he turned, pulling her into his arms and out into the sunshine before the empress could say anything further. She baulked at the top of the stairs. Remi, still with his arms tight around her shoulders, directed her along and through a doorway she hadn’t realised was there. He pressed a finger to her lips, and she nodded.
The room was dark, and it took a moment to adjust. Remi waited before stepping further inside. There was no one there.
Then Lis heard a door open, and in the darkness she sensed someone else. They waited, her hand in Remi’s, his finger still pressed against her lip. She took his hand and indicated he could move it.
‘What has happened?’ the emperor asked in a stern voice. ‘I wanted to talk with them about the meeting. Why would you approach this without me?’
‘I didn’t ask about the meeting,’ the empress said, her voice just as stern, and Lis felt a shiver cross her skin. ‘I wanted to know what they were doing. You heard the stories as I did, of his sneaking in and out of her palace. Some aspects of our society must be maintained.’
‘What does it matter if the girl was bedded beforehand? As long as it was only Remi doing the bedding.’
An angry silence followed. Lis glanced towards where Remi was, wondering what he thought of this.
‘Do you think it doesn’t happen?’ he asked.
‘She must be pure,’ the empress stammered. ‘U’Shi…’
‘Was a silly girl, and I can understand why Ta-Sho found interest in others. I understand some of the traditions—it reduced the fighting, stopped brothers killing each other—but we are men.’
Lis held her breath.
‘Pardon?’ the empress asked, her voice wobbling.
‘Where have I confused you?’ the emperor asked. He certainly wasn’t the sullen man he had been earlier.
‘Are you saying that my son…’
‘Bedded the maid, I believe, or was she a guard? Maybe both. She had some involvement with Remi, but I don’t think he wanted her in the same way.’
Lis could feel Remi’s heart beating at the same fast pace as her own.
‘Did you…’ the empress stammered, and Lis imagined her sitting on the throne, learning her world was not what she thought.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want the first time to be in front of a room full of officials watching my every move.’
‘But…’
‘An act,’ he said. ‘I was not as kind as I could have been. They like a bit of blood, my father had said, and then they would leave us alone and we could…’
The slap was loud in the following silence of the room.
Lis was reminded of the kindness and fun she and Remi had shared in that very room the emperor spoke of. It would have been very different with the officials watching. She wondered if there was more in the world she wasn’t awar
e of. He had spent so many nights simply curled around her. But had he sought his pleasure elsewhere?
‘I thought the girl not mine,’ the emperor said, the levity gone from his voice. ‘I knew what the tutor was, and as soon as I saw the magic in her, I knew she wasn’t mine.’
‘She was,’ the empress whispered. ‘She was every bit of you. Yet he would have taken us both,’ she said, the sadness at a life lost evident in her voice. ‘I could have left and raised her in peace without you.’
He laughed then, a bitter sound that caught Lis unawares. ‘You wouldn’t give up the power. You might not have killed her, but you abandoned her, passing her into an unknown world to ensure you maintained the hold you had over the one you knew.’
The empress cried out, and Lis wondered if he had hit her then. A small shutter opened to reveal the screen before them as the emperor and empress struggled on the other side. She had one arm raised as though to hit him, and he had hold of her forearm. He grabbed the back of her head and forced a kiss on her. Lis shivered and looked away, reminded of Peng.
Remi leaned against her, and she stifled a scream.
‘Is someone there?’ the advisor’s voice whispered hoarsely. Lis bit down on her lip. The hatch was raised, and she heard a distant door close softly. She wanted the light. But she could still hear muffled conversation within the throne room.
The weight of Remi against her kept her pinned to the wall. She could smell his skin and hear his heartbeat. Then she felt his breath by her ear. ‘When they are gone, we can move.’ She nodded against him. ‘I thought he didn’t know about Ta-Sho,’ he whispered.
Lis was desperate to ask what he might have kept from her, but she didn’t.
Chapter 31
Lis missed the sheets hanging in the laundry. The early morning sun slowly coloured the building, and the air around her felt pink. She wondered how the sheets would have reflected the light.
Remi walked around the edge of the building and stopped. She looked up and then back to the space that used to be sheets. There was a hesitation with him since hearing the emperor the day before. Lis wasn’t sure she could look at him in the same way, either. Remi might not be the man she thought he was. But then, she didn’t really know him. In this world, no one seemed to know anyone for who they really were.
Peng came to mind as she shuffled her toes in the dirt. He had been very clever at hiding who he was and what he wanted. Her time on their island home isolated from the world might have done her far more harm than her parents imagined. Remi sat beside her and laced his fingers in his lap. With his own feet firmly on the ground, she was reminded of how much taller than her he was, how much bigger, and she hoped they wouldn’t be facing each other again across a battlefield.
‘Any more boats?’ she asked, watching the pattern her toes made in the dirt rather than looking at him.
‘No. It appears everyone who is coming is here.’
She nodded once.
‘Did you sleep well?’ he asked, and she wondered how long he had been gone.
She shook her head, and they continued in silence.
‘Will you bring them back together, or do we ask for spokespeople?’ she eventually asked.
‘That might be more useful. We can pull them into a safer environment, talk more rather than have them yell ideas.’
She nodded. She slipped off the step and took a couple steps forward. ‘Where have you been?’ she asked. Again, she couldn’t look at him for fear he would lie to her.
‘I have been with the healers.’
‘I thought he said to stay away,’ she said, thinking of the Imperial Healer.
‘He was testing something with Yang.’
‘I don’t think it is safe for him to be there either.’
‘He wanted to help.’
Lis nodded and walked across the courtyard to the little garden by the wall. When she turned back, Remi was gone.
She must have dozed in the morning sunshine, for she woke to Wei-Song shaking her. ‘Are you well?’ she asked, the concern not only clear on her face, but flowing off her in waves. Lis held out her hand, and Wei-Song pulled her to her feet.
‘I didn’t sleep well last night,’ she said.
‘The prince sent me to find you. They have nominated representatives and decided to meet in the throne room.’
Lis waited a moment.
‘He needs you with him.’
‘Oh,’ she said. She looked across at the guard waiting for her by the gateway. He bowed once, and she followed him towards the throne room.
Lis joined the people entering the throne room. With the guard still a step behind her, she moved over to Remi. He indicated the cushion beside him, and she silently sat down.
The guard stepped behind her.
‘Are you concerned?’ Remi asked.
She shook her head and then followed his gaze to the man behind her. ‘He is doing as he does,’ she said, turning back. She noticed then that there were no other guards in the room, although she thought there should be, with such a gathering and the emperor, she guessed, looking at the empty throne.
‘It is a sign of faith,’ he murmured.
Lis waved the man out, and he left without question.
‘You don’t seem yourself today,’ Remi said.
‘Don’t I?’ she asked just as the emperor entered the room and everyone stood and bowed.
‘I thank you for taking the time to consider the best way forward,’ he said, glancing at Lis and Remi.
She nodded, but she wasn’t quite sure how she could hold a conversation with this man again. She had learnt too much of him, and she wondered what else had been learnt from that little room. She looked at Remi then, and he smiled at her. She tried to indicate across the room.
‘Gan,’ he whispered.
She nodded and hoped he was certain he was alone this time.
‘The survival of the Empire is utmost. I know there will be some complex matters to discuss, but if you have any clear ideas, now is the time to share them.’
‘You are thinking about the people then,’ Li Sho-Ma said, and Lis shivered. She hadn’t noticed him when she entered the room. ‘Are their needs forefront?’
‘Your needs,’ the emperor said. ‘Is there something particular you consider in your question—food, livestock, vessels?’
‘I am from Fourth,’ he said, and Lis tried not to move around on the cushion. ‘We used to have traders, before the war.’
‘What did you trade for?’ Lis asked.
‘We created fine cloth, and we would trade it for a range of items.’
‘Did you have trouble with magics?’ someone across the room asked, and she wasn’t sure who they were or who they represented.
‘We had magics amongst us,’ Li Sho-Ma said. Lis wondered if that was true. He had been determined to take their powers away. Although he was willing to share the Empire with them, or so he had claimed.
‘Do you fear magic?’ Lis asked.
He grinned at her as he shook his head. ‘No need to fear what we can control,’ he said.
A man across from Lis leapt to his feet, and a wind swirled dangerously around the room.
‘There is no need for hostility,’ Remi said, standing, his arms outstretched as though he were putting himself between them.
‘He wants to end us, not work with us,’ the man stammered, and the wind died down. ‘I heard there were some who thought they had a way to control the magics.’
The man tipped his head.
Lis could feel the crackle of magic as it built, and then Remi was holding a sword of fire in his hand. She wondered how he had managed such a thing. Chonglin’s eyes narrowed, and Lis knew he had connected the skill with something else. She moved slowly to stand beside him. She didn’t think there was anything she could do to help if he lost control, and she wasn’t confident they could bring the phoenix forward.
She glanced up at the emperor, who looked as though he had the upper hand. He smiled at
her, but she turned back to Chonglin. The emperor was hoping for something she didn’t think they would be able to give him.
‘We don’t have a representative of the priestesses,’ Chonglin said, and the sword died in Remi’s hand. ‘The high priestess should be here.’
He stepped out and around his table. Lis wondered what he might do with his guess, although it confirmed for Lis that the priestess had been working with the magics and sharing her visions with them. She wondered how the world might have turned out if she hadn’t died.
‘There is no high priestess,’ a priestess said in a clear voice from the doorway.
Murmuring started around the room.
The priestess stepped forward, ignoring the noise around her, and knelt before the emperor, touching her head to the floor. Lis was surprised, for she had never seen a priestess offer such reverence to an emperor before. ‘You have grown into a fine man, Emperor Rei.’
He stood then, and the noise increased. Lis could see he was torn between helping her up and sitting on the floor with her, but he stopped before he did anything that would draw any more attention. He indicated that she rise.
‘We are grateful the priestesses could spare you,’ he said softly. ‘Let me prepare a place for you.’
‘There is no need,’ she said softly, sitting on the step to the throne.
He looked lost for a moment and then sat back down.
‘The high priestess,’ she said, looking at Chonglin, ‘was not working with the gods. They have deemed not to choose another high priestess. I don’t know if they will change their minds.’
He bowed his head to her. Lis thought they had all been working together, that it was their way, but she supposed power did different things to different people. And all that knowledge would have been difficult to hold.
‘Please continue,’ she said.
The room broke into hushed conversations and the occasional shout.
‘You have no right to control the magic,’ someone called out.
‘You must understand the danger. We have to protect ourselves.’
‘But if we work together…’
The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 74
