Witch Fall (28 page)

Sometimes things are broken so badly they can never be put to rights again. ~Jolin

“That bit with the pollen and wind was brilliant. If any question your appointment by the Sun Dragon, they won’t any longer.”

Han and Lilette broke apart. Merlay was standing on the bridge, one hip resting on the railing. Lilette blushed as she lifted a hand to hide her tender lips.

Merlay laughed at her expression. “And the kiss at the end.” She shook her head. “Breathtaking showmanship and a knack for politics.” She stepped into the library and began looking through a sideboard. “I’m lucky you’re going off to Harshen. Between that public display of your song and your prowess with the crowd, you’d have my job within a month of graduating to a keeper.”

Feeling uncomfortable, Lilette took a step back from Han. “So you’re displeased with how I handled things?”

Merlay spun around, a bottle in her hands. “On the contrary, I’m just glad not to have the competition.” Her smile softened her words a bit, but the tension in Lilette’s chest didn’t ease.

Merlay gave a slight nod to Han. “We appreciate your willingness to serve your country.”

“It’s easy when you offered me what I wanted all along.”

Merlay poured the liquid into two cups. “Yes, well, ruling in your brother’s place won’t be easy after the mess he’s made.”

Han stiffened, and Lilette wanted to slap Merlay.

Strains of music came from below as Merlay handed them cups of dark wine. Motioning for them to follow her, she started down the stairs.

Waiting for them at the bottom were Doranna and Harberd. Merlay gestured to them. “I have a wastrel and a guardian assigned to you from now on. These two volunteered.”

Lilette blinked. “Why?”

“To see to your needs and your protection, of course.”

Lilette studied Doranna’s face. “Are you sure? You’d be leaving Bethel.”

“This is what Bethel wants.”

Merlay smiled. “Everything’s arranged then. Tomorrow, we begin preparing you to rule Harshen. Now I have a very handsome man I have to bring down a few notches.”

Lilette watched Merlay depart, and she felt the future she’d planned for herself in Grove City crumble to ash. But when she glanced at Han, the loss didn’t sting as much.

She motioned to Harberd and Doranna. “You may both have the evening off.”

Doranna stepped forward to take both of their wine glasses and dump the liquid outside.

Harberd watched Lilette, his brow drawn. “I’m sorry, empress, but outside your tree, my orders are to keep you within sight.”

She sighed. “Does Merlay think me in danger even here?”

“I don’t take my orders from Merlay,” Harberd responded.

Lilette grunted, and gratitude warmed her. Bethel she trusted. Han crossed his arms behind his back. “Don’t worry—I’m sure Harberd is excellent at his job. You won’t even know he’s there.” He shot the guardian a significant look.

The man gave a curt nod and melted out the doorway.

“I don’t—” Lilette began.

“Merlay’s right on this,” Han interjected. “He’ll do a good job at being unobtrusive. Besides, another pair of eyes would lessen the pressure on me.”

Just as Lilette felt herself giving in, Jolin appeared in the doorway, her breath short. “Did you see? I held them completely captivated.”

Lilette lifted a single eyebrow. From what she’d heard, Jolin had been completely condescending. “You could have been a little more respectful.”

Jolin waved her comment away. “I’m sure they didn’t even notice.”

“There’s a reason you don’t have many friends, Jolin.” Not the least of which was her propensity for betrayal.

“Oh, please. The mindless masses are only here for the food and the drink.” Jolin must have finally noticed their disapproving looks. “Nothing like you two, of course.” She glanced between Lilette and Han. “Is it true? Are you really going to become an empress and marry?”

Lilette felt Han moving close, as if drawn to her. “It’s true,” he said, his voice oddly husky. He cleared his throat and said louder, “The amber you used in your demonstration?” His fingertips came to rest at the hollow of Lilette’s throat.

Guilt shot through her for letting something precious to Han be used this way.

“Ah.” Jolin pulled it from her pocket.

Han studied the two pieces, sadness in his gaze. “I’d like it back. It has been in my family for a very long time”

Jolin hesitated. “Six hundred years, if you believe the historians, which I personally never do. Historians are like hired portraitists. They always skew the depiction to please the subject.” She set the pieces in Han’s open palm.

Lilette cocked an eyebrow. “And you would do differently?”

Jolin grunted. “I would write it exactly as it happened. No glossing it over or shifting of facts.”

Lilette made a noncommittal noise in her throat.

Han was still staring at the broken pieces in his hands. “Lilette, would you excuse me. I’ve something I need to attend to.”

She studied him, trying to read all the thoughts and emotions that went on beneath his hard exterior. “Will I see you later?”

He gave a small nod. “I’ll find you.” He stepped closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I promised I always would, remember?” He strode from the room without looking back.

In the silence, Jolin suddenly clapped her hands. “I’m going with you.”

Lilette started. “You’re what?”

“Going with you. You’re going to need me.”

“But you’re the Head of Plants, and your research—”

“Can be done there just as easily as here. Well, almost. I’ll have to practically empty the library, but Merlay wouldn’t dare refuse me that. Not with everything she has planned for this new technique.”

Lilette dropped her gaze. “Jolin, I don’t think I can ever trust you again.”

Jolin paled. “I was part of that circle—I felt the destruction. I still believe helping Merlay was the right thing to do, but if I can help Harshen rebuild—help them become something better—I will. Besides, you need me.”

Lilette took a deep breath to steel herself. “I don’t want you there.”

A sound of pain slipped from Jolin’s throat. She turned away. “I don’t expect you to understand. You make friends as easily as breathing, but I don’t. I’m cocky and have no tolerance for stupidity. And I’m lonely.”

Lilette knew how hard it was for Jolin to admit this, but it wasn’t enough. Not after what she’d done.

“Merlay is the only friend besides you that I’ve ever had,” Jolin went on. “She’s been there for me when no one else has. When she asked for my help, I gave it.” Jolin turned to face her, and Lilette was shocked by the sight of tears on her cheeks. “I will do the same for you, whether you ask me to or not.”

Lilette was silent for a long time, debating, but then her shoulders sagged. “I’ll try.” It was the most she could promise. “Do you think I can do this? Rule an entire country? I grew up in a fishing village.”

“But that’s not your heritage.” Jolin scrubbed her cheeks. “You were born to rule the world. A small country will be no problem.” A grin broke across her face. “Plus, as empress, you’ll have unlimited access to Harshen’s amber deposits.”

Lilette chuckled.

“See? I can be funny on purpose.”

When Lilette didn’t respond, Jolin nudged her with her elbow. “Stop worrying! You’ve just become an empress—again. This is cause for celebration.”

Lilette shook her head. “I don’t really feel like celebrating.” And she wasn’t ready to spend time with Jolin again. She begged off and went back to Merlay’s balcony. Grove City was filled with golden light, warmth, and music. The night beyond was filled with liquid darkness.

So why did Lilette feel the opposite was true, that everything around her was false—like
gold leafing over rotted wood?

I wanted everything, and the want blinded me to what I stood to lose. ~Jolin

This was the third time Lilette had seen Rinnish destroyed. Her heart ached at the sight. Parts of the city had been burned black, and most buildings had collapsed completely. Much of the ramparts around the palace had crumbled, only part of the north ramparts remained. Miraculously, the palace itself appeared to still be standing.

The city was hushed, as if hunched under the angry clouds and waiting for a blow. Lilette shook her head. Merlay had said the clouds and lightning would ensure the people cowed before her. But Lilette didn’t want them cowing. She wanted them to look at her and see hope.

And she didn’t completely trust Merlay. Lilette would do this her own way. Standing at the bow, she sang, forcing the clouds back until the air glittered with sunshine. Finished, she looked down at the beautiful horses they had brought for her. Tears pricked her eyes when she remembered her elephant—how proud she had stood and how hard she had fallen.

She stepped forward, Han on one side, Doranna on the other. Both of them had hands on their weapons.

Jolin edged up behind her. “You don’t all really expect me to ride one of those, do you?”

Lilette smiled. “I do, in fact.”

Jolin groaned. Beside her, Galon gave a mischievous grin as he helped her mount. Lilette noticed his hands lingered on her outer thigh, and Jolin gave him a secretive grin.

Han rode beside Lilette, for this was more than just an empress riding through the streets—it was also her and Han’s wedding procession. They wound up the city’s streets, from the mostly gutted slums by the docks to the affluent houses with inner courtyards.

Over fifty witches and a small army of guardians surrounded them—and that didn’t count the two hundred gray-clad wastrels, all of whom had eagerly followed Lilette after that bit with the pollen.

Lilette couldn’t help but see this for what it was—an invasion. But she’d come prepared for that too. More than once, Harshens suddenly attacked—a few of them wearing the uniform of an imperial guard or an elite. The guardians beat them back almost effortlessly.

Finally, they passed the ruined palace gates. Inside, the courtyard was filled with the rubble from the three fallen walls, though the dead seemed to have been cleared away. The harem was practically gone, crushed beneath the falling north ramparts.

Lilette wasn’t sure how, but the palace still stood, looking vulnerable with only the east ramparts to safeguard it. Even the stone dragons remained.

Lilette leaned toward Han. “Where are the eunuchs—the concubines? Surely some of them survived.”

Han’s gaze was fixed on the harem. “The guardians already swept the palace grounds. They were abandoned.”

“Where would they go?” Lilette asked.

Han made a sound low in his throat. “My guess is they’re either hiding in the city or dead. I’ll put out feelers with some of my friends and see if I can’t hear anything.”

She hesitated. “And Chen?”

Han let out a deep breath. “They haven’t found a body.”

“What if he’s still alive?”

Han studied her for a long time. “I’ve considered it.”

“And?”

One side of his mouth crooked up. “It won’t change anything, little dragon.”

A sad smile curved the corners of her mouth. She reached out and took Han’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you.”

She dismounted and turned to face the two hundred wastrels and the few Harshen-born women she had managed to round up. “You may see to it now.”

The women started toward the palace or the outer edges of the palatial compound. Lilette had promised them a life in Harshen if they stayed with her. She’d been surprised how many of them had eagerly agreed.

“Where are they going?” Merlay asked in disbelief.

Lilette hid her smile. The wastrels answered to her now. “To prepare the wedding feast.” And also to clean up the palace, but that didn’t sound as grand. She flashed a smile at Han. “Let’s announce my presence to the city.”

He took her arm to help her over the rubble-strewn courtyard to the stairs that crisscrossed the east walls. At the top, she gazed out over the city. She didn’t see a single Harshen, but she knew they were watching.

A crier announced her as the empress and brought out the empress’s crown with six bobins. He spoke the words that would bind her to Han.

A new emperor was supposed to hand out sweet things to bless the people—oranges or sweet rolls, perhaps. Lilette didn’t have that—she had something better. She wasn’t sure how the Harshens would react to her song. She just hoped they didn’t storm the palace, because the guardians and the witches would put them down.

Lilette had planned to ask the witches to gather in a circle and sing. But the familiar stirring was in her breast. She didn’t need them.

She sang out for the wind. From all around the compound, wastrels threw seeds into the air. The wind caught them and carried them out over the city. Taking a deep breath, Lilette sang again, but this time it was a song of growing.

All over the city, thousands of seeds took root between cobblestones and courtyards. In the muddy slums by the docks, stalks of rice shot to the sky. In the courtyards and open green, mango and pear trees took root, their bows filling the air with fragrance before bowing heavily with fruit. Vegetables grew in the marketplace. Wheat sprouted up between the cobblestones.

By the time Lilette had finished her song, the city had grown a fat harvest. Lilette sang.

Eat and be filled,

For tonight I wed your prince.

The people didn’t cheer. They didn’t call out. But a few ventured into the sunlight. They gathered the armfuls of food before disappearing again.

Satisfied she’d done all she could, Lilette started back down the stairs. Her eyes scanned the guardians, passing over a familiar face and a telltale cowlick before her gaze whipped back. But he was gone.

“What’s wrong?” Han asked.

Lilette breathed out. It had to have been someone that just looked like Pescal. He couldn’t be here. Shaking it off, she smiled at Han. “Nothing. It was nothing.”

Inside the palace, she’d had the wastrels arrange a feast, nothing as extravagant as her wedding feast with Chen, but it was the best she could do.

They sat down to fruits and vegetables in a room that had been picked clean of even the low tables. Lilette grieved for all the lost silk screens and intricate statues. The only ones still remaining were the great stone dragons before the palace—and those only because they were too heavy to lift.

They sat on the wooden floor, eating off leaf plates and drinking out of tin cups in a room that smelled of smoke and death. And yet Lilette was happy. Against all odds, she had finally married the man she loved.

As evening fell, Han helped her to her feet and they bid everyone goodnight. He led her up the stairs to the fourth story. “This entire floor is yours now.”

It had once been opulent—evidence of that was everywhere. Now, it had been looted to the bare walls. The wastrels had rolled out a couple reed mats. That was it.

Lilette walked to the windows, looking out over the city as sadness and guilt assaulted her, for she’d been part of this destruction—unwilling or not.

Han rested a calloused hand on her shoulder. “Not everything was ruined. Come with me.” He turned and led the way to a silk screen.

She stood before it, but he only stared at her as if she wasn’t real, as if at any moment a puff of wind would take her away. Self-conscious, she wrapped her arms around herself. “Well, are you going to open it or not?”

He grinned—something she’d never seen before. It pulled at his scar tissue, tugging his eye down and twisting his face. He was not beautiful, and she was glad. She didn’t trust beautiful things.

He pushed open the screen, and Lilette was suddenly overcome with the scent of growing things. She breathed in a gasp. It was a potted garden, and despite the drought in the city, this had obviously been well-tended. A few plants had been tipped over, but there was nothing here of value to the looters, so they’d left it mostly untouched.

She took a few steps inside and stopped to smell a gardenia, its sweet fragrance making her eyes slip closed in pleasure. She turned slowly toward Han. He held out his hand and opened his fist. Something fell out, swinging from a chain. As she took a step closer, her mouth came open in surprise. It was the crescent of amber from the pendant Bethel had split. Now it was attached to a silver backing instead of gold, and instead of the sun . . . “It’s the moon!”

He clasped it around Lilette’s neck, the long chain allowing the pendant to dangle between her breasts. “It’s the token of the emperor,” he explained. “That’s why I told you to keep it. As long as you had this, you had a claim to the empire.”

Han lifted up his piece—the larger one—from underneath his shirt. “I told you I would follow you anywhere. Now I can.”

She took a step toward him and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss quickly went from soft to something more, something deeper, and Lilette had no intentions of stopping.