Dried blood, nearly black, clotted above his lips. His nose had been broken, his throat, neatly sliced—by someone with a steady hand who knew where to deliver the quickest, quietest death. His uniform, stolen.
Outside the bedchamber, Ammi screamed. I guessed she’d found the other dead guards.
* * *
• • •
“Well done,” Emperor Khanujin said when we reported what we’d found.
Bowing low at my side, Ammi beamed. The whole walk over to the emperor’s royal apartments, her emotions had wavered between horror at finding the dead bodies and eagerness to be in the emperor’s presence.
Now the horror was forgotten, but I couldn’t fault her. Even a glimpse of the emperor’s receiving chamber was more than a maid of her station might ever hope to see.
I wished I shared her excitement, but I felt only the sharp sting of regret.
“She’ll be dressed as a guard,” I said quietly. “Lord Xina, too. They left with the search parties so they wouldn’t draw attention. They can’t have gotten too far.”
From behind a tall wooden screen that obscured our view of him, the emperor spoke again.
“The two of you discovered this? No one else?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“If what you say is true, then you will be rewarded. You are dismissed.”
I started to lift myself, but the emperor’s headdress tinkled. “Master Tamarin.” Dread washed over me before he even uttered his next words. “A moment.”
Ammi flicked me a curious glance, and I mustered a smile to assure her everything would be all right. But, in truth, I had a bad feeling about this.
He waited until the doors shut with a snap and we were alone. “You were not in the palace this afternoon.”
“His Majesty had graciously given me the day off from my duties as imperial tailor.”
The emperor’s tone became harsh. Deadly. “Where were you?”
No more games. He knew I was aware of the enchantment Edan had cast over him, and why he hid himself behind that wooden screen.
“I went to the shrine to pray,” I lied, “for good fortune, in anticipation of His Majesty’s wedding.”
The emperor’s shadow leaned back, and he sniffed, sounding unconvinced. “I’m sure you are aware the Lord Enchanter is missing.”
So, he hadn’t found Edan.
“I was not,” I lied again.
Irritation pricked Khanujin’s voice. “I find that difficult to believe, Master Tamarin, given I am told he was last seen with you.”
My pulse quickened. “Your Majesty, I have not seen the Lord Enchanter since I presented the dresses to Lady Sarnai.”
“You dare to tell me more lies?” Angrily, Emperor Khanujin rose and stepped into the light. I bent into a bow, not daring to look up.
The cold tip of a dagger lifted my chin, hooking me like a fish from the water.
The glow of the emperor’s glorious former self had faded, but it wasn’t all gone yet. His height was still imposing, his shoulders still square and proud, his voice still smooth enough to charm a tiger into its cage.
But his face had begun to change. Cosmetics disguised the sallowness of his skin. His mouth pursed with cruelty, his teeth were larger and more crooked, and his eyes, which I’d once thought radiated the warmth of midsummer, were cold as a snake’s.
The emperor flinched, noticing me stare. “I’ll not ask you again. Where has the Lord Enchanter gone?”
His dagger bit into my skin, and I glanced at my reflection on its smooth blade. I hardly recognized the girl I saw, or the calm voice that uttered, “I would not dare lie to His Majesty. Truly, I do not know.”
Emperor Khanujin stared at me, his gaze narrow and calculating.
I waited, my pulse pounding, until he finally set down his blade.
“He did something when you put on that dress,” he hissed. “There was a flash of light—that was magic, I know it. You two planned it together.”
“If I planned to leave with the Lord Enchanter, why am I still here?”
“My guards found this in your chambers.”
The emperor held up a single black feather. A hawk’s.
Edan’s.
My pulse roared in my ears, but curiously, I held my calm. It was unlike me: yesterday, I would have stared at the ground, stammering a barely coherent response—begging for the emperor not to hurt Edan. Today, I simply clasped my hands and bowed my head. “The Lord Enchanter is known for taking the form of a hawk to facilitate his service to Your Majesty. If he visited my chambers, it was no doubt to ensure that I was working on my tasks for Lady Sarnai.”
“You’ve developed a courtier’s tongue while you were away, Tamarin,” said Emperor Khanujin. The praise rang hollow in my ears, as it was meant to. “You traveled with him for months. Why did he leave?”
That, I knew the answer to. Edan had left because I’d begged him to. Because I’d lied to him and told him I’d be fine without him. Because I had broken his oath to the emperor, and if he didn’t leave…gods knew what Khanujin would do to him.
But I couldn’t tell the emperor that.
I could lie, but no lie would keep Edan safe from Khanujin’s wrath forever. Unless…
I licked my lips, tasting the sweetness of a new possibility. I glanced at Emperor Khanujin’s throat, barely protected by the richly embroidered collar of his jacket.
Think how easy it would be, a dark voice bubbled within me. My voice.
If you want to protect Edan, this is what you must do. You have the strength. Khanujin is weak and alone.
Heat prickled my eyes, and my fingers twitched with temptation.
Yes. Do it. The voice resonated deeply, overthrowing my senses and my reason. Kill him.
No! I dug my nails into my palms. Go away.
The voice in my head chuckled. Little Maia. You know it’s only a matter of time. I grow stronger every minute. Soon my thoughts will be your thoughts. Our thoughts will be one. You won’t even notice it.
That was what I was afraid of. I gritted my teeth. LEAVE ME.
When the laughter floated away and finally faded, I uncurled my fingers and rubbed the bloody half-moons imprinted on my palms.
“Tamarin!” the emperor growled. “If you lie to me, I’ll have your father and brother brought here to be hanged.”
A flare of anger shot up to my chest, squeezing it so tight I could hardly breathe. I wanted to tell him I would kill him before that happened, that I’d give in to the darkness in me and shatter his bones one by one before I let him touch my family.