Tenzin sat in silence on a low silk couch in the anteroom of Sina’s quarters in Elder Han’s section of the palace compound as the ancient kept her waiting.
And waiting.
She’d already received a note from Ben that a suspect in the harness maker’s killing had been identified, but she’d heard nothing since, and Zhang had left her to report their findings in the treasury to Elder Cao. It would be essential that they quietly find where the missing artifacts were and how they’d been stolen.
“Mistress Tenzin?”
Tenzin looked up and saw a servant standing in an arched doorway. “Yes?”
“Sina will see you now.”
She rose and followed the servant into a hallway and to a pair of double doors. The servant opened the right side and ushered Tenzin into a room that had the same sweltering heat and humidity of the first chamber where she and Ben had met with the Pacific ancient.
Sina was sitting on a low woven cushion behind a tea table with two human women lounging behind her on silk couches. She looked up from a stack of papers and waved Tenzin over, motioning to another cushion across from her.
Tenzin sat and prepared to wait some more.
“Your mate is not with you.” Sina made the statement without looking up from the table where Tenzin could see letters spread out, and another vampire was writing with an old-fashioned fountain pen and brilliant blue ink.
“He is not. He is questioning suspects in the town about the events of last night.”
“Is this about my pearl?”
No, it’s about a dead human. “We believe there was a murder in the town that may have had something to do with the theft, yes.”
Sina looked up and set her fountain pen down. “A murder?”
“Yes. A harness maker who had been hired by some of the workers on the Pearl Gate renovation was killed. According to my partner, he was a blackmailer and may have discovered the identity of the thief.”
“So the thief killed him?”
“It’s possible.”
“Hmm.” Sina appeared interested. “You call him your partner, not your mate?”
Tenzin sensed that she should be careful with her words. Sina was an unknown. There was little Tenzin had even heard from rumors. She truly was a mystery, both intriguing and dangerous.
“Benjamin is both my mate and my partner.”
Sina looked Tenzin up and down in a speculative sweep of her dark brown eyes. “Are you monogamous in your habits?”
In another time and another life, Tenzin would have been more than interested. Everything that made Sina intriguing and dangerous made her attractive as well. Plus she was a beautifully formed woman. Her breasts were small and high set. Her lips were wide and full. Her skin glowed with life and warmth despite her element.
Tenzin smiled in appreciation of the compliment. “With my mate, I am monogamous, yes.”
Sina lifted an eyebrow. “He is young.”
“And possessive.”
Sina pressed her lips forward in a thoughtful pout. “My mate and I are excellent allies and his element complements mine, but we are not monogamous. We have been mated for over a thousand years and prefer some variety in sexual partners.”
“A thousand years is a long time.”
“With luck, you will discover that yourself.” Sina looked down again, picked up her pen, then swiped what looked like a signature over the bottom of the page and handed the letter to one of the women behind her, who took it from her fingers and scurried off. “The journey from our island takes some time. I had correspondence to catch up on. Thank you for your patience.”
“I understood that Mahina handled the day-to-day running of your court?”
“We are in transition now, are we not?” Sina’s lips offered a hint of a smile. “My daughter and her mate have come to me and told me of their wishes. It is not unreasonable, and my daughter is more than wise. Her son is ready to act as regent for a time.” Sina looked down, picked up her pen again, and started another letter. “But that letter wasn’t a business matter; it was for one of my children.”
“Do you have many?”
“Yes.”
“My lady—”
“Please, only call me Sina or Rumak. Name or title is all I need from those not my children.”
“Sina then. I am happy for Elder Han’s sake and for the benefit of Penglai Palace that Mahina will be able to reside here as much as she wishes. She can only bring prestige and wisdom to the court of the elders.”
Sina didn’t stop writing. “You are fortunate to have her. Find her pearl, or I will be forced to be insulted by the incompetence of the palace guard.”
Tenzin bit her lip because she couldn’t argue with her. The palace had become too casual about security. “The problem may be more complicated than one missing pearl.”
The ancient looked up, and a gold loc fell from the twisted crown on her head. “Explain.”
“I have recently examined the treasury,” Tenzin said. “Can you tell me why three of the official state gifts you have given the elders over the past thousand years might have been stolen?”
Chapter Nineteen
Le Tianyu was rocking back and forth on a wooden stool in the small house where he lived. The front room was far neater than Haitao’s and showed the touch of a woman, though no wife appeared when Ben and Jae appeared at the door. Instead, with a look of resignation, the carpenter ushered them in, brought two stools around the tea table in the living room, and started boiling water.
There was a delicacy and artistry to the home that was lacking in most other cottages in the village. There were exquisite, colorful paintings hanging on the walls, with hand-carved wood frames that were works of art in themselves.
The human’s house screamed domestic comfort and family warmth. Books were stacked everywhere, and a doll was propped carefully in the corner with a yellow ribbon in its hair. A neat orange coat with pink trim hung by Tianyu’s heavy work jacket.
“You live alone?” Ben asked.
The man kept his eyes on the steaming kettle. “No, my daughter lives with me.”
Any child would be sleeping; it was near midnight.
Le Tianyu had a gentle demeanor, and nothing about him seemed capable of violence. Instead, the hands that poured boiling water into the teapot appeared deft and deliberate despite the calluses that marked him as a man of labor.
Jae whispered, “I never would have suspected him of murder.”
“I still don’t.”
“Then what are we doing here?”
Ben murmured, “Because he knows something.”
Tianyu brought the tea to the low table in the sitting area. “My wife died several years ago; she was an artist at the palace.” He pointed to a childish painting of a woman in an intricately carved frame. “My daughter painted that just after she died. If she had a photograph, she would be able to make a better portrait now, but photographs are not allowed on the islands.” He looked at the picture again. “She was very young when she made it.”
“It’s still very good.” Ben was impressed. Clearly artistic talent ran in the family. “And you made the frame.” Looking around the room, Ben saw more woodwork: beautifully made carvings, walking sticks with traditional motifs, and furniture that glowed with a flawless finish. “You’re very talented.”