The palace stood in the center of an enormous courtyard, a pair of sun dragons flanking the wide front steps. Lilette’s gaze strayed to the green peeking out behind the palace—the gardens. She and Han had played there for many hours as children.
Behind the palace in the west corner was a smaller compound that jutted against the ramparts. Two shorter walls half the height of the ramparts enclosed the space.
The harem.
Pointedly turning her eyes away, Lilette watched as the veiled woman on the elephant raised a long, slender arm to greet the crowd, her ring flashing with green stones. The gates swung shut.
Lilette’s vision swam and she realized she’d been holding her breath. She sucked in a lungful of air.
Han’s gaze made one more sweep of the courtyard before he backed away from the roof ridge, only rising when they were completely obscured.
She followed him. “What were you looking for in the courtyard? Who is the woman on the elephant?”
He paused. “A very big problem.”
“Which one, the woman or the ele—” Lilette didn’t have a chance to finish. A tile cracked beneath her foot and slid out from under her. She plunged hard and fast for the edge. She twisted so she was belly down, her fingernails clawing at the tiles, but she couldn’t gain purchase. She was going to fall.
Suddenly, Han’s iron grip was around her wrist, and this time she gripped him back. His feet scraped as he slid down beside her. She was too busy trying to convince her body she was no longer falling to realize he hadn’t let go of her wrist. She opened her eyes to find him lying beside her, staring at her with something like sadness in his gaze. Abruptly, he released her and scrambled to the edge of the roof.
Scooting down on her bottom, she asked again, “Bad for whom?” By his set jaw, it was obvious he wasn’t going to tell her any more—Fa had often worn that same expression.
She peered down two stories to the street below and wet her lips. “How do we get down?”
Han crouched low, his hands on the roof line, and then swung down. His momentum carried him forward and he landed in a crouch on the veranda before turning back to her. “Drop down and I’ll pull you in.”
Her heart pounding, Lilette sat on the edge, her legs dangling. She hesitated.
Han leaned forward and looked up at her. “Don’t think about it. Sometimes you just have to move. I won’t let you fall.”
Taking a deep breath and holding it, she rolled onto her stomach and slowly pushed her legs back into open air. Leaning out over the banister, Han grabbed her ankles. As she lowered herself, his hands slid up to her knee, then her thighs. When she was hanging by her hands, he grabbed her waist and pulled her forward. She slid down his chest before he settled her gently on the floor. Slowly, he reached over and placed her hood back over her hair.
His friend, the servant, was grinning. Heat rose in her face.
Han stepped back as if her touch had burned him. He cleared his throat and said gruffly, “I didn’t want you to fall.”
Wordlessly, she nodded.
Helping himself to a rag, he ripped it in half and tied her hands again. He shot a glare at the servant before hauling her back the way they’d come.
Chapter 4
Harshen and its people took so much from Lilette, but she could never bring herself to hate them. They gave as much as they took. ~Jolin
Lilette’s body felt impossibly heavy as the palace’s massive gates loomed before them. Six elite wearing imperial-soldier uniforms watched them approach. They held wicked-looking half-moon spears before them. Lilette’s stomach seemed to shrink within her.
Han paid the guards no mind. At the last second, the palace gates opened and the elite parted to let Lilette and him pass.
They crossed the rectangular courtyard heading to the harem. “Keep your head down,” Han said under his breath. “You don’t know the danger you’re in.”
For whatever reason, she believed him. She stole glances at the palace. Each of the four stories was surrounded by a wide veranda complete with a turned-up corner roof. Potted plants grew thick and green everywhere. As they came closer, Lilette made out the intricate carvings on the beams, doors, and window frames. She remembered them suddenly—five-clawed dragons, some on land and some in the sea.
Before the palace was a staircase of perfectly symmetrical lines. In front of the steps, a group of elite guarded a large gathering of men and women. The men wore black armor, the women long, flowing garments in varying shades of green.
Han must have noticed her staring. “You must never so much as touch one of the steps. To do so is to be immediately killed.”
Sweat started under Lilette’s arms. “Because I’m a woman?”