by Resa Nelson
“Emperor Po dead,” GranGran said.
With a start, Frayka remembered the strange sight they had seen earlier today on the outskirts of Zangcheen. A dark but compact storm had gathered above the city in the vicinity of the royal complex. The storm had whipped a kite high in the air and taken someone with it. The bright yellow robe they’d seen with the flying kite had to be that of the Emperor Po. The law allowed no one but an emperor to wear that color.
And they had all seen the emperor fall to what must have been a certain death.
“One hope,” GranGran said.
Again, Frayka turned to TeaTree for an explanation.
“When Madam spoke to Emperor Po, he knew Njall is your husband. The emperor was willing to look the other way for your sake. Madam believes that’s why the emperor made Njall his servant—to keep him and your marriage to him a secret. That is the only thing that will keep you safe. Remember: there are laws against a Far Eastern woman marrying anyone other than a Far Eastern man. Such laws could get both you and Njall killed.”
Frayka scoffed. “Everyone wants me killed. That’s no reason to keep me from helping my husband. And you’re saying the one hope that GranGran talks about is the fact that Njall is a royal servant?”
TeaTree shook his head. “No. The one hope, sadly to say, is the emperor’s death. He confided in Madam that he stood on the verge of changing the law so that his daughters would be in line to rule instead of the men who might marry them. If Emperor Po put that decision into law before he died, the royal complex will be in an uproar. His daughter will be fighting to become empress while the advisors are likely to oppose her. There is likely to be turbulence, and that will make it easier for us to find out where Njall is. Those with power will be preoccupied, and those without will be fearful and willing to talk.”
“All the more reason I should go with you,” Frayka said. “If there’s turmoil, then I can slip in and out of the royal complex just as easily as any of you.” She stood firm with her arms crossed.
“And if you go with us to Zangcheen, whether we succeed in freeing your husband or not, will you then agree to travel to the Gate of Earth?” Kikita said.
Frayka frowned, torn between her commitment to find the dragon gods and her impatience to reunite with her husband. “Can’t it wait until we find Njall?”
Kikita’s image became unfocused for a moment when a breeze blew through her. “As I told you before, if you want to settle the problems between the Northlander gods and the dragon gods, you must convince the dragon gods of all elements to work with you. The elements either work together or not at all.”
Frayka said, “But Njall—”
“I have agreed to help you because I trust Madam Po,” Kikita said. “Because Madam Po asked me to help you, I will. No other dragon god is likely to do so. But I believe the easiest god to convince is the dragon god of earth. If he agrees to help you, it will be easier to convince the others. Time is of the essence. Njall must wait.”
Everything she says makes sense. I think I can trust Kikita. She obviously has GranGran’s trust. Surely, they can find Njall and keep him safe if I don’t find him first.
“Agreed,” Frayka said. “We will all go to Zangcheen and look for Njall in the royal complex. Whatever happens, good or bad, I will then go to the Gate of Earth.”
CHAPTER 2
Still dressed in the royal yellow robes that had belonged to her father, the Imperial Daughter Ti sauntered into the room within the Hall of Justice where she would soon meet with his advisors. Emperor Po’s funeral ended a short while ago, and his body still burned inside the Temple of Passing. Alone in the room, Ti relaxed, relieved that she had a moment so she could stop pretending to grieve.
If Ti were to allow herself to feel the full ramifications of her decisions, they would cause her to crumble in anguish. Emperor Po had been the one person in all the world who showed love for Ti. Her step-mother and step-sisters treated her like a nuisance. All the men in the royal complex treated her like a prize to be won and then discarded once the winner became emperor. Asu Chu, her only friend, made a decent companion, but his ways were so peculiar that she struggled to understand whether he cared about her or looked to her simply as a way to ease his own loneliness.
Ti couldn’t afford to dwell on the fact that she killed her father. She pushed away the memory of convincing Asu Chu to create the tableau magic that caused her father’s death, willing it to leave her mind forever.
If she didn’t, Ti knew she would end up like every other woman in the royal complex or even in the city of Zangcheen that surrounded the complex. Endangered and at risk of kneeling to the whim of any man who sought to control her. Despite her father’s love, she knew he could never protect her as well as she could protect herself.
No one will ever control me. I am my own woman. I will lead my own life.
She tensed at the sound of a man clearing his throat behind her.
Ti turned to see Li Chien, one of her father’s most trusted advisors, standing in the doorway to the room.
“Empress Po,” Li Chien said with a bow.
Ti bristled at the similarity to the way her father had been addressed. She didn’t need a constant reminder of him. “That doesn’t suit me,” she said. “Call me Empress Ti instead.”
“As you wish,” Li Chien said. “My condolences for your loss. I offer my allegiance for serving you in the troubled times ahead.”
Ti frowned but gestured for Li Chien to enter the room. “Troubled times?”
“Not everyone who served Emperor Po is quick to obey the new law.”
Ti noticed a thread of suspicion in Li Chien’s voice but no threat in it. If she didn’t already know that Li Chien would much rather gaze with longing at the fit and handsome royal guards than at Ti or any other woman, she would wonder if he meant to marry her to ensure his position in the royal complex.
Does he know?
Ti decided to test him. “I’m lucky my father looked out for my well being. Whoever would have guessed those wretched high winds would have killed him?”
“Indeed. Who would have guessed?” Li Chien spoke with gentleness, but he kept a sharp eye on Ti as if ready to dodge a hidden danger. “But we must move on, mustn’t we? Life is for the living.”
He knows. But he also knows it’s in his best interest to stand by my side.
Ti decided to make a bold move. “Ming Shen was my father’s most trusted aide. Such a shame he was struck by lightning on the same day my father died.”
Li Chien cocked his head to one side and then the other as if weighing options. “A shame indeed but perhaps in the best interest of the new empress.”
“Why?”
Li Chien gave her a knowing smile. “Everyone knows that Ming Shen wished to marry you and become emperor. Were he still alive, protocol would demand that he become your top ally. How awkward that would be. With due respect, the new empress must realize that I have no romantic interest in her and never will.”
Ti returned his knowing smile. “Duly noted.”
A calculating look surfaced in Li Chien’s eyes. “And wouldn’t it benefit us both for you to have a most trusted aide who will never have a reason to romance you?”
Of course. Li Chien sees the opportunity to take over Ming Shen’s position. He’ll earn more money and gain more power.
And because he has no chance of becoming emperor, he has no reason to oppose the new law. He has every reason to help and protect me.
“I like your way of thinking,” Ti said. “Consider yourself my new and most trusted aide.”
Li Chien took a small step forward. “Your father’s other advisors will arrive soon. Let me offer my first advice. Stand your ground, and I will stand behind you. After we meet with them, make immediate changes that will show them you suffer no fools.”
A sense of power rushed through Ti’s body. The same thing happened yesterday when she drank water from the Fountain of Immortality that Madam Po had brought fo
r the sake of healing Ti’s youngest step-sister.
Maybe it’s a sign that I’m already becoming immortal.
Ti wondered about the implications of immortality. Did it mean she would be invincible and that no mortal hand could kill her? Or did it mean she would live forever in terms of staying healthy and vital as long as no one attempted to end her life?
Focusing on Li Chien again, Ti said, “How do I show them I suffer no fools?”
“Show them you are the same as your father. Emperor Po had concubines, but you have no need of such women. Bring them into the palace and make them your handmaidens.”
Before she realized it, Ti caught her breath.
Li Chien gave her a knowing smile. “It will be an especially bold move to house your father’s concubines under the same roof as your mother.”
“Step-mother,” Ti said. “My mother belonged to a privileged family within the royal complex. I was her only child. When she died, my father married one of his concubines.”
“As I remember,” Li Chien said. “Your step-mother and step-sisters come from a low class. It would benefit you to keep them in their place with a daily reminder of your superiority to them.”
“What about the Hall of Concubines?” Ti said. “How will I look powerful if I let that building go to waste?”
“No need to do so. Gather men you find attractive and put them in the Hall of Concubines.”
Ti liked the idea and imagined replacing the women in the Hall of Concubines with handsome men. “I’ll need to change the name of the building. Maybe something like the Hall of Kept Men?”
Li Chien shook his head. “I advise against that. Call the men concubines. Leave the name of the hall the same.”
“Why?”
Li Chien smiled. “Most Far Eastern men have so little regard for women that being called one demolishes their pride. What better way to exert control over men than to crush their self-importance? The men you call concubines will wallow in defeat, and the men who know about them will be terrified of you. After all, if they cross you, they could end up in the Hall of Concubines themselves.”
“That is a good first step,” Ti said. “After we meet with the advisors today, will you help me round up my father’s concubines and then select some men to take their place?”
Li Chien beamed. “It would be my pleasure.”
CHAPTER 3
Because Madam Po had told the royal guards to return to Zangcheen—and because TeaTree had given his fabrics to the small number of people who lived at the base of the fingerling mountain, giving them incentive to sell those fabrics in the city—no one remained at the mountain. When Frayka descended with Madam Po and TeaTree, they found themselves alone.
“I don’t understand,” Frayka said to Madam Po while they walked toward the distant city across a plain of dry, cracked earth. The ground crunched under Frayka’s feet. “If Kikita could carry you to Zangcheen yesterday, why do we have to walk today?”
“Bad magic,” Madam Po said.
Perplexed, Frayka looked at TeaTree.
“Yesterday, when Kikita brought Madam Po back to Zangcheen in a wind of the goddess’s making, something unexpected happened,” TeaTree said. “An unseen force took control of Kikita’s wind. That force killed Emperor Po. It used Kikita and her essence to commit murder.”
“Not again,” Madam Po said. Her voice cracked as deeply as the earth beneath their feet. “Never again.”
Acknowledging Madam Po’s concern, TeaTree said to her, “We will do everything we can to prevent anything like this from happening again.”
“But Kikita is a goddess,” Frayka said. “How could some other force control her?”
“She is an elemental,” TeaTree said. “Her powers are limited. She can take mortal shape or form her shape from air. She can take the shape of a dragon. She can control the wind, create storms, and move them at her command. It takes powerful and terrible magic to control a dragon goddess like Kikita, but it can be done.”
In that moment, everything made sense. Frayka remembered a dragon goddess of water she’d found captured in the Land of Ice and managed to set free. A powerful sorcerer had controlled that goddess, and now someone else with such power had manipulated Kikita.
“That means there’s a sorcerer in Zangcheen,” Frayka said.
“Every royal court has a magician who works with the emperor,” TeaTree said.
“Not magician,” Madam Po said. “Good man!”
Frayka practiced her new habit of showing respect to her elders. She turned to her great-grandmother and phrased her question in the best way she knew how. “How can you be sure it’s not the emperor’s magician who killed him?”
Madam Po shook her head violently. “Not him!”
“I do believe Madam is correct,” TeaTree said. “The court magician is a fine man who served Emperor Po well. My understanding is that they were childhood friends. The magician must be devastated by the emperor’s death.”
“No bad magic!” Madam Po said.
“Correct again,” TeaTree said. “And it’s a good point to make. The court magician has never dabbled in evil magic. Everyone respects him for that.”
“If the court magician isn’t the one who drummed up the bad magic,” Frayka said, “then who did?”
Madam Po shrugged.
“It is a mystery,” TeaTree said. “And until that mystery is solved, we should get out of Zangcheen the moment we find Njall.”
Frayka stared at the city in the distance. With luck, they would arrive before nightfall. With more luck, they would find Njall and escape Zangcheen with him before sunrise.
* * *
The council room in the Hall of Justice filled quickly with Emperor Po’s advisors.
Ti noticed the impact her father’s death had on each man. With the exception of her new-found most trusted advisor, Li Chien, each man seemed to have aged overnight. Their eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and the serious expressions on their faces made it seem as if an army of dragons had descended on the world to destroy it.
A few servants drifted into the room just long enough to deposit cups and pots of steaming tea on the table where the advisors sat.
Ti recognized the rich spicy aroma of fire-leaf tea, a delicacy from the Mountains of Dawn. Although she hadn’t asked the servants to serve tea or choose such a rare one, Ti imagined they acted from years of experience in service to her father.
Maybe it’s a tradition of the Po Dynasty to serve special tea when the emperor dies and his successor takes over.
Pei Sung cleared his throat. With sagging skin and no hair, he acted as the oldest advisor, having served the Po Dynasty for many decades. “Empress Po.”
“Empress Ti,” Li Chien said. Making no apology or excuses for his interruption, he said, “The new leader of the Po Dynasty requests to be addressed as Empress Ti.”
Pei Sung made no acknowledgement of hearing Li Chien’s words. “We witnessed the change in law made by Emperor Po. We all trust he harbored good intentions, but now that his death demands someone fill his place, you must agree that this is exactly why we must reconsider and restore the original law.”
“Reconsider?” When Ti spoke, her voice sounded sharper than she intended. She suppressed a smile, considering it to be a good thing. “That’s why my father changed the law. To prevent people like you from taking what isn’t rightfully theirs.”
Pei Sung’s expression remained calm. “We have all been struck by the greatest of tragedies. And you were struck especially hard, Empress Ti. This is a time when our emotions can easily get the best of us. Even members of the Dynasty itself. This is the time when the guiding hand of a trusted advisor can be the best medicine.”
“I have a trusted advisor.” Ti pointed at Li Chien. Turning to him, she said, “Pei Sung insinuates that I’m incapable of ruling the Wulong Province. Is that your opinion as well, my Most Trusted Advisor?”
Li Chien’s eyes gleamed in conspiracy. “Not at all,
Empress Ti. You strike me as being particularly level-headed in lieu of all that has happened.” Li Chien cast a demeaning glance at Pei Sung. “No matter what those who oppose you proclaim.”
Instead of catching his breath in surprise, Pei Sung appeared to stop breathing. Moments later, he sighed and said, “We do not oppose you, Empress Ti. We merely offer our help for the transition that our city and province now undertake.”
“It doesn’t sound like it to me,” Ti said. Looking at Li Chien, she said, “Most Trusted Advisor, do you think your fellow advisors have my best interests at heart?”
“I do not,” Li Chien said. “I believe they scheme to steal your legal right to rule away from you by speaking baffling words and making nonsensical arguments.”
“As do I,” Ti said.
Unable to keep their peace any longer, all of the advisors began protesting at once.
Good. I’m under their skin. They’ve already admitted I’m legally in the right, and now they know I have one advisor who stands by my side, no matter what.
With a sizzling pop, a puff of purple smoke appeared on the tabletop in front of the court magician, Tao Chu. He was standing while all others sat.
Ti looked at him with a start.
Did he come into the room with the other advisors? Did I not notice him until now? Or did he make himself appear?
“I must interrupt with information, some of it promising and some of it disturbing,” the court magician said. Tao Chu’s position officially made him an advisor, although his purple robes delineated him as a spiritual rather than a business advisor to the Po Dynasty.
“We could all use something good,” Ti said. “Begin with the promising information.”
Tao Chu bowed to Empress Ti. “Your ailing step-sister appears to be on the mend. Her fever is dissipating, and she finds the strength to eat and drink again. Her physicians hold the hope for her to experience a full recovery.”
The advisors chattered briefly with relief while Tao Chu held Ti’s gaze.
How can this be happening? I’m the one who drank the water from the Fountain of Immortality, not her. How can she recover without it?