by Jasmine Walt
“The damn thing stopped working.” She flung the egg onto the table, hoping the impact would inspire Mott to appear, but the informa remained stubbornly silent.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kestrel grabbed Lynx’s hand and leaped to her feet. “But come, or we’ll be late.”
Lynx resisted, pulling her sister back down onto the bed. “Wait. Just because I can’t show you Mott’s message doesn’t mean I don’t have something to tell you.”
“The only message the emperor has for us is to go and have fun raiding some treasure,” Kestrel said. “And I would have thought you’d be happy for me. Aren’t you the one always extolling egg raids?”
“No. Yes. Not like this.” Lynx sighed, knowing she wasn’t winning any friends here. “Look, Kestrel, I know it’s a lot to take in, but Mott sent me a hidden message in my egg, telling me that unless I sleep with Lukan on our wedding night, he’ll send Axel to Norin to behead our parents.” Even as she spoke, Lynx knew how unlikely that sounded. She didn’t need Kestrel’s incredulous expression to guess her sister thought her crazy.
“A hidden message? To you? From the Emperor of All Chenaya and the Conquered Territories? Come on, Lynx, you might have been someone special in Norin, but it doesn’t count here.”
“It’s not like that, Kestrel,” Lynx pleaded.
“Then where’s my hidden message?” Kestrel demanded.
This wasn’t the time to get into a debate with Kestrel, so Lynx picked up her egg again. “Mott and Felix watch everyone all the time. They have something called electricity. I don’t know how it works because it predates the Burning, but it powers these insane devices—like this egg—that show moving pictures of people. They even come with sound so—”
“Predates the Burning?” Kestrel interrupted. “Really, Lynx, do you think I’m that stupid? And of course the emperor wants you to sleep with Lukan. You are marrying him.”
“Kestrel, please listen, for once.”
Kestrel jumped to her feet. “No, Lynx, you listen to me. For once. I want that golden egg, and this is your chance to prove your love by sponsoring me. So, either you come with me now, or our sisterhood is over.”
Lynx let out a long, slow breath, thinking it wasn’t much of a sisterhood to begin with. She was about to refuse to go when it occurred to her that Axel would probably be at the raid. She could speak with him while Kestrel played at being a Norin.
Lynx’s shoulders slumped. Axel wasn’t in the tapestry-hung room where the egg hunt—she refused to call it a raid—was to commence. Neither, she noted, was Lukan. As usual, Tao waited alone for her and Kestrel to join him.
On the other side of the hall, a mass of celebrating young high-born thronged a wooden archway. Shaped like a golden ostrich egg, it led into the labyrinth.
Tao looked bored. Lynx sympathized. Clearly, treasure hunts were not his pleasure, either. She smiled in greeting as she and Kestrel approached.
He seemed pleased to see her. “Missed you at breakfast, Lynx. Too much ball last night?”
“Something like that,” she said dismissively.
Tao offered Kestrel his arm. It took her sister a moment to notice because her eyes darted around the hall.
Looking for Lukan, too?
Clearly not finding the object of her search, Kestrel smiled at Tao—it didn’t quite wipe the disappointment off her face—and clasped arms with him. Sadness flickered through Tao’s eyes and then vanished.
Lynx motioned to the labyrinth. “So how does all this work?”
“Everybody lines up at the archway, and when the trumpet blows, they take off into the labyrinth.”
Lynx raised her eyebrows at the idea of all those people rushing headlong through the narrow entrance.
Tao nodded. “Those who survive the crush head out to find the treasure. Today, it’s an egg.”
Lynx suppressed a smile; so much for Kestrel’s claims that there would be no unnecessary bloodshed.
“Surely our rank will let us go first?” Kestrel asked, staring bright eyed at the archway, her body quivering with excitement.
“No. It’s precisely because of our rank we’ll hold back. A treasure hunt is one of the few ways we spread wealth to the high-born.” Tao cocked a finger at the exuberant youth waiting for the signal to start. “They love these events, even though most of them will be hopelessly lost in the first few minutes. It’ll take hours for them to find their way out.”
“Sounds awful,” Lynx said. “How long does it take for the treasure to be claimed?”
“Expect to be here at suppertime.” No wonder Tao looked so unenthusiastic.
Undeterred, Kestrel asked, “How many people will make it to the egg?” She was too busy eyeing her competition to hear Tao saying the hunt wasn’t for them.
“Very few, and then they have to fight over it. But there are plenty of other sparkly trinkets hidden in the labyrinth to keep the excitement up. Almost everyone comes away with something.” Tao smiled. “It keeps resentment at bay. They think the Avanovs are actually sharing with them.”
“That’s condemning,” Lynx said, wishing she could get behind Tao’s façade to read his real thoughts.
“The truth often is.” Tao’s beautiful blue eyes scanned the crowd, and then he sighed. “Lukan is turning out to be extremely trying.” He shot Lynx a grin. “I blame you. Word of advice—hitting a man on the jaw isn’t a good recipe for keeping him around.”
Lynx cracked a small, contrite smile.
“Thank you, Tao,” Kestrel said. “I’ve been trying to tell Lynx for days now to control her temper.”
Lynx waved to the Lukan-free space around her. “And it turns out you are both right. I take my chastisement without murmur.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Tao turned to the boisterous crowd. “Well, we can’t wait for him, or we’ll end up having a riot.” He clicked his fingers to signal to the trumpeter. “Begin.”
As the guardsman lifted the trumpet to his lips, Kestrel broke into a run, headed for the lineup. She called over her shoulder for Lynx and Tao to follow. Lynx folded her arms across her chest.
“Hey, come back,” Tao shouted to Kestrel over the blast of the trumpet.
Either Kestrel didn’t hear, or she chose to ignore him. Lynx suspected it was the latter but could do nothing about it as the crowd stampeded Kestrel through the archway.
Face distraught, Tao turned to Lynx. “How am I supposed to spend the rest of my life with a girl that pays me no mind? She’s only interested in what she can get from me.”
The rest of us have had to cope. Nice as you are Tao, what makes you different?
Lynx squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry, Tao, but my sister is a Norin. As you have seen, we don’t take instructions well.”
“‘Not taking instructions well’ is an attribute I happen to admire. Being grasping and greedy is something else altogether. Hell, it’s not like I haven’t already given her some jewelry. And if she thinks I’m going to run after her when I told her it’s not for us, then she has another thing coming.”
Tao had the measure of Kestrel.
Still, Lynx wasn’t going to let him get away with an attack on her family. “She also happens to be my sister,” she said. “Please show her some respect.”
“Yes,” Tao agreed. “And Lukan is my brother. But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to his faults. Trust me, he has plenty, as you have also seen.”
“Whereas you and I are perfect?” Lynx asked with an arched eyebrow.
Tao snorted a laugh. “Of course. That goes without saying.”
Lynx was rather pleased Kestrel had bolted. The rest of the crowd had also disappeared into the labyrinth, and she was alone with the enigmatic Tao Avanov. It was time to see if he could be trusted to get her letter safely through to Norin.
She cracked her sweetest smile and whispered, “I have two questions for you, Tao. Firstly, are we being watched? And, secondly, how does electricity work?”
W
ithout missing a beat, Tao responded in perfect—but accented—Norin, “Watched? Definitely.”
Lynx’s hand flew up. “Whoa. You speak Norin?”
Tao laughed and said, still speaking Norin, “I look so much like you lot that I figured I’d teach myself the language.”
Lynx grinned. “Well, you certainly are a marvel.” She frowned. “Anyone else—”
“If you mean Lukan? No. He never bothered. If you can stand my accent, we’ll continue this discussion in Norin, if you don’t mind.”
Lynx laughed, delighted with an ever closer link to Tao. “Your accent is probably as bad as mine, but as long as we understand each other, who cares?”
“My point exactly.”
A thought struck. “Were you the ‘friend’ Axel used to translate my conversation with my uncle?”
Tao nodded. “Quite a discussion that was.” A quizzical smile. “Now, you’re asking about electricity. It’s like a river of cool heat flowing along special pathways, never stopping, never ending. Open a door to the pathway, and it can energize anything you want. That’s the poetic explanation, but if it’s technical specifications you need, ask Lukan.” He paused. “But I doubt he’d tell you. He’s not as forthcoming as me. Another of his faults I was telling you about.”
Stunned by his frank answer, Lynx fell against the wall, sending up a cloud of dust from the tapestry. She shot forward, choking out a cough. Tao patted her on the back until she cleared her throat. “Well, that put me in my place.”
Tao grinned at her. “Axel danced with you last night. He must like you a lot if he not only spared you the consequences of that conversation, but told you our deepest, darkest secret.”
“You have secrets far worse than that.” Lynx pointed to the diamond next to his eye.
Tao responded by touching it. “True. But it all starts with power.” Despite speaking Norin, his voice dropped. “Care to take this conversation into the labyrinth? We’re less likely to be overheard there.”
Doubt flared in Lynx’s chest. “I thought no one else but you spoke Norin.”
“I’m not willing to take a chance on that. Are you?”
He had a point. But Lynx had no love for dark, dank places. “What about getting lost? The last thing I want is to spend the rest of the day wandering around a maze.”
“There are enough escape routes to stop it being a spectacularly awful experience.”
Lynx followed Tao through the archway into a narrow walkway. The black brick walls and low ceiling had no distinguishing features. Randomly placed candle sconces cast the only light. About fifty paces in, the passage branched, one going straight, another to the right, and the final one to the left.
Tao led her left. The path soon split, with more identical corridors forking off. Again, Tao chose without hesitation. Despite counting their steps, Lynx became disoriented. The passages were deserted, even though shouted voices echoed back at her. After walking in silence for almost five minutes, she noticed Tao watching her with an air of expectation.
“What?”
“We can talk here.”
Nothing indicated that this eerily dark passage was any different than the others they had passed through.
“Axel and you?” Tao asked.
“Don’t get excited. As much as I like your cousin, I am marrying your brother.”
Tao’s face was all sympathy.
It prompted Lynx to say, “It seems your father heard and saw Axel telling me about the cameras.”
Tao rocked back on his heels, whistling. “You have had an education.” He paused, looking her up and down. “It adds to your charm.” Grinning, he held his hand out to her. “We haven’t met properly. Tao Avanov. Care to be friends?”
Lynx put her hands on her hips and made a show of checking him out, too. He had the most open face of any Chenayan she’d ever met, and his eyes were gentle. She could be friends with Tao—even if he was an Avanov.
She took his hand, giving it a firm handshake. “Why else would I follow you into a maze?”
“Good point. You don’t strike me as the trusting kind.” He started walking, leading Lynx deeper into the labyrinth. Then he said, “I hope you don’t think Axel told him. It’s not his style.”
“No, I don’t. Your cousin is arrogant and snarky, but I don’t have him down as a deceiver.” She cocked her head. “And you, what can you tell me about yourself?”
Tao laughed self-consciously. “As you have seen, I don’t always approve of what goes on around here.”
Lynx’s heart fluttered with all the possibilities Tao’s words opened. “I happen to like that about you.” She paused, thinking, and then asked, “So if Axel is going to be Lukan’s Lord of the Conquest, what happens to you? Lord of the Household?”
“I won’t get a position of power. According to my brother, I lack the killer instinct necessary to help him govern Chenaya when our father dies.” Tao gave Lynx a wry smile. “I’ve always seen that as an advantage. He and I had a different set of nannies growing up. Mine actually cared. As a result, I see our subjects differently than he does. I happen to like them, and that’s why Lukan and the Fifteen will never allow me any influence.”
“More’s the pity. So what will you do with yourself?” When Tao shrugged, looking embarrassed, Lynx cajoled, “Come on, I’ve told you things about me and Axel. Now it’s your turn to share. It’s what friends do.”
Tao hesitated, then he blushed. “Laugh and—lack of killer instinct notwithstanding—I may just slap you.”
“Glad you’re a perfect gentleman.”
“There aren’t too many options open to failed Avanovs. So, I want to try my hand at parenting, hopefully doing a better job than my father did. It’s the only reason I let him force me into marrying Kestrel.” Tao gave a hollow laugh. “Before I met her, I consoled myself with the idea that a rebellious Norin would make me a better wife than a high-born chasing rank and power. But now, I’m not sure. She pretends to like me, but I know it’s Lukan she wants. It’ll be even worse when she learns I’ll never be powerful.”
Lynx’s heart went out to him. “I understand how my sister may seem like a . . . disappointment.”
Tao looked glum. “Nothing I can do about it now. The wedding announcements have been sent out, and my father would slit my throat before he’d let me back out of it.” Then, his face brightened. “Maybe motherhood will change her.” His face fell again. “No, my children will probably end up horrible.”
“That’s what aunts are for, to help raise their nephews and nieces. It’s what I did at home with my little nephew, Raven. He’s a great child, but you’re going to have to work much harder with your children, Tao. Honestly, the world desperately needs some decent Avanovs.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.”
Lynx was about to broach the letter when Tao opened a door she hadn’t noticed in the brickwork. “Through here. It’s a shortcut to the other side of the labyrinth.”
She stepped into a very different type of passageway. More like a tiny room, four walls and ceiling made of mirrors reflected her image into infinity. The stuffy air forced her to breathe through her mouth. She swirled around, starting to complain to Tao, but he had vanished. Worse, the door had disappeared.
Lynx sucked in a breath, both confused and disoriented. “Tao? This isn’t funny. Open up.”
There was no reply.
The urge to pound her fists against the glass was overwhelming, but she resisted it. Lacerated hands were the last thing she needed. Fighting claustrophobia and panic, she sucked in a breath, telling herself there had to be another way out. She slid her hands across the closest wall, feeling for a concealed door.
Nothing presented itself.
As she turned to tackle the next wall, a cool draft brushed her face. She squeaked with relief. Somewhere, there was an opening; she just had to find it. She turned a full circle, scanning the walls, trying to focus on the glass behind her reflection. No easy task, she quickly d
iscovered. She had been hard at work for a few minutes when someone spoke.
“That is what you have to do in Chenaya. Look beyond the illusion to find reality.”
Lynx spun to find the speaker, but there was no one there. Her skin prickled with fear. “W-who’s there?”
“Perhaps this will help,” the speaker said. Laughter sounded, reminiscent of a bubbling stream, as a winsome girl about Lynx’s age stepped out of the mirror.
Lynx almost jumped out of her skin. She slumped back against the mirror, hand clasped to her wildly beating heart. The girl looked like a shiny version of her. But as she shimmied closer, Lynx noticed she was taller than her visitor. There were slight differences in their faces, too, the most notable being their eyes. The girl’s were a gentle gray. Apart from that, her visitor looked as if she had arrived here straight from Norin.
Recovering from her fear, Lynx put her hands on her hips. With as much flippancy as she could muster, she said, “I never thought I’d see the day when I’d actually talk with one of Emperor Mott’s fantastical creations.”
The girl raised a perfect eyebrow. “Is that what you think I am? A hologram?”
“A what?”
“A hologram. That is what the Dreaded are made from. Light reflections designed to deceive.”
More technology from before the Burning? It had to be. “Is that what you are?” Even as Lynx asked the question, she doubted she would get a truthful answer.
“Lynx, you face illusion at every turn, so you can no longer trust what you see.” The girl waved her arm at the mirrors. “Now you have to rely on your heart.” She stepped up to Lynx and dragged a finger down the line of her cheekbone, making her gasp. “I’m as solid as you are.”
Lynx gripped her wrist. It was tangible and warm, nothing like the light that had come from Axel’s informa. Nor, Lynx realized, did she look like the Dreaded. More than one had jumped out at her since her first night here. She shoved the girl’s hand away. “Stop messing with me. What are you? You can’t be human, because you stepped unscathed through glass.”