The Heart Forger

by Rin Chupeco

  Emperor Shifang smiled. He turned toward his audience and made an announcement in strident tones. A hushed whisper spread among his courtiers and nobles. Zoya remained calm and composed, and the faint blue tinge blooming in her heartsglass was my only warning. She launched into another monologue, addressing the emperor directly, but the royal cut her off with a curt wave of his hand. A dismissal.

  “What’s going on, Zoya?” Inessa asked again.

  The asha’s face was set. “The emperor has gotten it into his head that you are here to offer yourself in marriage, Your Highness. He said this was the agreement your mother sent him as part of your visit to Daanoris.”

  “That’s impossible!” To her credit, Princess Inessa’s face was outwardly serene and smiling, though the words issuing out the side of her mouth were anything but. “I’m already engaged! Surely he knows that!”

  “Nobility from other kingdoms are beneath them, Your Highness. They believe that any contracts they make supersede those of other nations. Either your mother agreed to this betrothal or some miscommunication occurred between the envoys.”

  “No, this stinks of my mother’s schemes. I was wondering why she was so adamant that I not come with you. He will not be happy if I refuse, will he?”

  “We don’t have much choice,” Kalen said tersely. “As long as these wards remain, we can do little. We need to find the source of the magic.”

  Emperor Shifang might not have understood us, but I supposed our body language spoke volumes. His eyes turned flinty, and the next words issuing out of his mouth had a threatening air about them.

  Immediately, there was a clanking noise as the guards in the throne room lifted their spears, their tips leveled at us.

  “So much for diplomacy,” Shadi murmured. “How goes the daeva summoning, Tea?”

  “Oblivious to my commands.”

  “So I assume asking the daeva to rain down fire is out of the question?”

  “No.” Princess Inessa shook her head. “I’d like to scale back on the calamities. We’ve had enough misadventures. We must find the Heartforger, and that will be difficult with the whole country in chaos. The emperor might be fond of your azi, but I suspect his people want nothing to do with it.” She stepped forward. “Emperor Shifang,” she began, her voice strong with none of the anger and frustration she’d expressed only seconds ago. “The First Daughter of Kion agrees to your offer. We hope that this engagement will mark the start of a new and better alliance between Ankyo and Daanoris and that prosperity shall smile down on both our kingdoms with this union.”

  She turned toward Zoya, who was staring at her. “Make sure you translate that properly, Zoya.”

  “Are you certain about this, Your Highness?”

  “As you said, there are undoubtedly a few advisers here who understood me, so there’s no going back. It will give us the freedom to find the Heartforger and several days’ respite while I think of a way to turn him down without insulting another kingdom.”

  The guards’ spears retreated. The emperor smiled broadly, the epitome of congeniality once more, and stepped down from his throne to take Princess Inessa’s hands in his own. Another court official, an elderly man with a long beard and a tall hat, scuttled forward and made several more announcements. To this, a younger man began to protest. They argued for a few minutes before the emperor interrupted them both with an irritated wave. The two men bowed and shuffled away, scowling at one another.

  Khalad frowned. “That younger man,” he said. “He looks familiar. I believe he knows the master.”

  “That’s unusual,” Kalen said. “The younger man wishes to postpone the ceremony to a later date, while the other wants to carry out the king’s orders without delay.”

  “You speak Daanorian?” I asked.

  “I understand the language better than I speak it. The old man’s name is Tansoong and the other, Baoyi. We might have some trouble with the latter. He believes we’re swindlers out to fleece the king, and he’s ready to send us to the hangman’s block if he has his way.”

  There was a certain smugness to the older official’s voice as he announced that the next two weeks would be spent celebrating the engagement, with us as their guests of honor.

  Emperor Shifang looked over at us appreciatively and added something else in a suggestive tone I would have understood regardless of language.

  “The Daanorians have a longstanding tradition of concubineship,” Zoya said dryly, “and it is not unusual for noble visitors to present the emperor with a few as a show of their appreciation.”

  “He wants Princess Inessa to give him a concubine?” Likh asked incredulously. “But he just announced their engagement!”

  “It’s the custom,” Shadi confirmed. “The number of wives and concubines is directly proportional to one’s power and influence—or so it is believed. That he is granting Princess Inessa the status of first wife is one of the highest honors in Daanoris, considering she is foreign born. The position is usually restricted to local nobility.”

  “I’m flattered,” Inessa said, sounding anything but. “Truly.”

  The emperor spoke again. Zoya cleared her throat. “He’s already made the decision apparently. His words translated verbatim are, ‘I am particularly enchanted by the lovely concubine in the beautiful red dress.”

  “Me?” Likh squeaked. “I’m not sure I meet the requirements he’s looking for.”

  “Do you want to turn him down?” Princess Inessa turned back to the emperor. “Tell him we accept the conditions if he will agree to one of our own.”

  Likh blanched. Khalad patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.

  The emperor looked puzzled but nodded.

  “One of my subjects is missing. He was last heard from in Santiang, and I would like to ask the emperor’s leave to search the city for him on the morrow.”

  “What is his name?”

  Inessa looked to Zoya, who nodded slightly. “His name is Narel.”

  Baoyi looked astonished, his mouth falling open. Tansoong burst into a flurry of protests, but the younger man intervened again. They argued for several seconds before the elder withdrew, not looking happy.

  “That’s a surprise,” Zoya said. “The other man insists that we be given every assistance to look for him.”

  “He’s Master’s friend,” Khalad said. “I’m sure of it now.”

  The official continued to speak. Zoya listened closely, and understanding dawned on her face.

  “The emperor agrees but not tomorrow—only after the immediate danger is over.”

  “What immediate danger?”

  “I am beginning to realize why the Daanorians and their emperor are so quick to push forward with this betrothal, Your Highness.”

  “Oh, great. What is it this time? Should I be offering him more concubines? Will Kalen suffice instead?”

  “This is serious, Princess. Daeva almost never make an appearance in Daanoris, but he says there have been sightings of a gigantic frog-like creature with webbed talons and yellow eyes.”

  “The savul,” Fox said bleakly, his hands balling into fists.

  “They do not have the means of defeating it,” Zoya explained. “They are very eager to see the Dark asha in action as soon as they can figure out where it is.”

  I spent another restless night; the army no longer posed an immediate threat, but I knew they would not give up so easily. Not with the power the Dark asha displayed, the lengths she had proven she would go.

  She had risen earlier than I had again that morning, though it was clear she had less sleep than me. She sat on the throne, one leg slung over the armrest, displaying the long scar on her thigh. She had been writing again; the thick bundle of papers before her was testament to that. Lord Kalen and the Heartforger were nowhere to be found, and I surmised that the latter, at least, had finally gotten some much-
needed rest.

  To my surprise, she handed me some of the sheaves of paper.

  “If yesterday was any indication, I will have many busy days ahead of me,” she said. “The rest of my story lies within these pages. Perhaps you can find a song there.”

  “What else are you writing?”

  “A letter—for my brother to read.” She laughed. “You look shocked.”

  “I assumed that you were not on cordial terms.”

  “That’s never mattered before.” She looked down at her papers. There is a strange scar marking her right palm, silvery from age. “If I do not survive this,” she said with less mirth this time, “then neither will he. But in the event that I succeed in my quest, he will live regardless of how I die. And I owe him an explanation. Mykaela too.”

  “But how?”

  “Some secrets I intend to keep a little longer. Do your best not to get caught in the crossfire, Bard. We are only just beginning, and I cannot foresee the future beyond my own, however much I plan.”

  “They are quiet today,” Lord Kalen noted, entering the room. “But I suspect they are growing desperate.”

  “Let them come. I defy any of them to get past my daeva.” The bone witch stopped. Her eyes widened. “But it looks like someone already has.” She rose to her feet. “Stop.”

  I looked around but saw no one.

  She sighed. “And here we have another complication. Come to me, Princess.”

  I still did not understand until a cloaked girl marched stiffly into the room. Lord Kalen’s sword made a hard ringing sound as it slid out of its scabbard. Already he was halfway between us and the stranger.

  “How did you sneak in here, Inessa?” The bone witch’s voice held grudging respect. The Deathseeker stopped in his tracks, astonished, as Lady Tea dispersed the magic surrounding the newcomer.

  “Don’t you remember? For a very short time, I actually ruled this kingdom. You should know; you were there.” It was a soft voice, light and lilting. The princess tugged her hood down, and I found myself staring into a beautiful face with bright-blue eyes framed by reddish-brown curls. Her heartsglass gleamed cherry red.

  “This is not the warm welcome I had hoped to receive,” said the First Daughter of Kion.

  19

  “Our dungeons?” Tansoong asked, staring. “But why?”

  “We are the princess’s guard,” Shadi told him. “We must be kept abreast of any dangerous felons in the city, and that includes those in your dungeon.”

  Khalad had stayed behind to examine the sleeping Daanorian princess. Princess Inessa and Likh were elsewhere for some court function. Kalen was off to measure the scope and extent of the wards in the palace, hoping to find the means to unravel them, leaving only Zoya, Shadi, Fox, and me.

  Tansoong, the elder statesman, was solicitous but also very inquisitive, constantly peppering Zoya with questions. He seemed particularly interested in Dark asha, and more than once, I felt his curious eyes on me when he thought I wasn’t looking. The younger court official, Baoyi, was the complete opposite, not bothering to hide his dislike. Clearly, he was here only because his emperor had ordered him to be and maintained a sullen silence with us. He had a nervous-looking servant with him who appeared to be a secretary of sorts.

  It was unfortunate that I couldn’t cast Scrying on either official; I wondered what kind of minds they had. Likh had asked them about the wards around the palace and received blank stares from both. Inessa had questioned the emperor and gotten the same reaction. Either the barriers were placed without their knowing or they were magnificent actors.

  “We only have two prisoners at the moment,” Tansoong explained, “both servants caught stealing from the kitchens. They shall be transferred to the larger jails in the city, so her betrothed will have little reason to worry.”

  Zoya studied the prisoners while I peeked into the other empty cells. With a sigh, I glanced down at the floor, where some bored prisoner or guard had piled a few stones in one corner. Dirt was strewn across the floor, and many of the cells had no locks. The prison cells were rarely maintained, Tansoong explained, because few people would dare to commit crimes so near to the emperor. It was wishful thinking to have hoped that the old Heartforger was here.

  It was only after we left that Baoyi finally spoke. “Why do you ask to examine our princess?” he demanded.

  “We have a noted healer with us,” Shadi explained. “He offered his services.”

  “What do I know of this man’s qualifications? What assurances do I have that you will not poison her?”

  “It is the emperor’s orders, milord.”

  His secretary cleared his throat and murmured something in a soft, placating tone. Baoyi scowled, then barked an order to some of the soldiers.

  “He wants the guards increased at Princess Yansheo’s room,” Shadi murmured. “He is protective of the girl.”

  The girl herself, Jade of the House of Weixu, lay sleeping on a golden bier, surrounded by flowers. A glass case separated her from the rest of the world, like she was a character from an old fairy tale. Zoya told me the glass was removed every three hours for the attending servants to bathe her hair and anoint her body with the choicest perfumes, which Zoya learned had been on Baoyi’s orders. To spread rumors that the princess was dead was a jailable offense.

  “They found her by the gardens outside the ballroom,” Khalad said quietly. Whatever wards were in place, his forging skills remained unaffected. “Her heartsglass is missing, but someone had drawn her Heartsrune. I can still feel the spell lingering around her.”

  “None of the Daanorians are owning up to that,” Fox said. “Curious.”

  Tansoong excused himself, glancing at me as he did. Baoyi stood over the princess and folded his arms, still glaring.

  “He doesn’t believe that a young girl like you is capable of putting down a savul when their army has failed,” Shadi whispered. “It is the kingdoms of Tresea and Istera that hold the nearest daeva burial mounds, so Daanorians know little about the beasts. They always considered asha an ornamental profession, more to do with entertaining guests than slaying daeva.”

  “It is a belief they should consider amending,” Zoya said shortly. “Daeva have not been sighted in this kingdom for more than five hundred years, but a creature’s habits are never constant. Times are changing and so must they. Once they pinpoint the current whereabouts of the savul, Tea, you should prove them wrong. Show them asha are more than concubines for princes.”

  “‘Princes’? Did a prince say something to you, Zoya?”

  “Not to me,” the asha growled.

  Shadi squeezed Zoya’s hand. “Don’t be jealous. I declined their offers.”

  “Still makes me want to kick each and every one of their satin-clothed behinds.”

  “You know I’m for you alone, Zoya. I thought I made that very clear last night.”

  “Shadi!”

  “I’m going to see how Khalad’s faring,” I said glibly, stepping away from the red-faced Zoya and her grinning lover. Fox followed me.

  The glass case was removed at the forger’s request, but Baoyi and the stern, harsh-looking soldiers surrounding the bier remained. Oblivious to their scrutiny, Khalad continued his examination, his gray eyes large behind his spectacles. “Did you find anything else?”

  Khalad sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “She was dancing at a ball held in honor of her fourteenth birthday when the sickness took her.”

  “This is nothing we haven’t heard of before,” Kalen said, coming up behind us.

  “I’d like to show you something.” Khalad’s hand hovered above the sleeping girl’s chest. I saw the swirl and eddy of colors and then a faint image from the princess’s point of view: a man bowing down to kiss her hand, the cut of his clothes more Odalian than Daanorian. There was no mistaking his face. The vision lasted only for a f
ew seconds before sputtering out of view.

  “Holsrath,” I gasped.

  “My vision is limited,” Khalad said. “I can pull out a stray memory or so but not for long. This was the last thing she saw before losing consciousness, that much I can ascertain.”

  Kalen frowned. “Considering my father was supposed to be in a jail cell during this time, it’s something of a surprise.”

  “But how did he get out without anyone knowing?” Fox demanded. “Short of King Telemaine himself setting him free, that’s impossible.”

  “Still not as many questions as I would like answered,” I confessed.

  “We need to discuss this in private,” Khalad said with a sidelong glance at Baoyi. “Let’s get Shadi and Zoya and return to my room. We may be the emperor’s guests, but that’s not a guarantee his hospitality will hold.”

  “Where are you going?” Baoyi wanted to know. “How will you cure the princess?”

  “It will take time, milord,” Khalad told him gently. “We will do everything in our power to help her. Is there anything else you can tell us about her sickness?”

  The court official nodded, the scowl momentarily slipping from his face. “There is very little to say beyond what is already known. She was found sleeping in the gardens with no evidence of foul play.”

  “Did you see anyone running away?”

  Baoyi thought. “There was one person—a young upstart by the name of Shaoyun. He was one of Princess Yansheo’s admirers, but she had shown little interest. A few people reported seeing him leave the gardens around the time she took sick.”

  Khalad cleared his throat. “Lord Baoyi. You might not remember me, but I am Narel’s assistant. He introduced me to you once.”

  Baoyi peered curiously at Khalad; then his expression changed, softening. “My apologies. Khalad, wasn’t it? I remember, we met at Kion once. I had no idea… Is Narel in trouble?”