Witch Fall(13)

Han shook his head. “Only people who’ve been granted permission by the emperor may touch his home. You have been given no such privilege.”

Actually, she had been, as a child. The privilege had apparently been revoked.

Just as Lilette drew even with the gathering, the doors swung open. A woman in a strange, billowing tunic trotted down the steps. The sight of her blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin sent a shock through Lilette. She couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Han picked up their pace, but Lilette resisted his efforts to hurry her, and he seemed unwilling to make a scene by dragging her.

Chen appeared behind the woman, his arm outstretched as if to stop her, and Lilette wondered briefly if this strangely dressed woman was his wife.

“As an ambassador, you are a guest of the imperial house and of Harshen. You will obey our laws,” Chen’s voice rang out.

Not his wife then. Or at least Lilette hoped not.

The woman whirled to face him. “You better remember who holds the power in this world, little heir, because it isn’t you.”

Lilette’s jaw dropped. It had been years since she’d heard a woman—besides herself—challenge a man like that. But that wasn’t what stopped her. Deep inside, her memories were stirring. She knew this woman.

Chen reared back as if he’d been slapped. His hands clenched into tight fists. The elite shifted to grasp their swords, and Lilette had a better view of the people they had surrounded. Over thirty women and at least twice that in soldiers. The women gripped hands, but not out of fear. Instead, their faces shone with power and confidence. Elite soldiers began converging from around the compound. The tension in the air felt like an ember about to burst into flames.

Lilette planted her feet to keep from taking that last step into obscurity. And then she realized what she should have seen all along. The women were witches—ambassadors from Kalari. She gasped, the sound cutting through the tension. The woman on the steps glanced in her direction. Lilette stared at her from beneath the hood, and their gazes locked. Lilette’s mouth fell open. It was like looking at her reflection in a pool of clear water.

The woman was her sister.

Han must have seen Lilette’s realization, for even as a scream for help built in her throat, he clapped his hand over her mouth and yanked her out of sight. She kicked and drove her elbows into him, desperately hoping Sash would somehow recognize her. But Lilette had been a child of eight when she’d gone missing, while Sash had been sixteen, nearly a woman.

Han dragged Lilette behind the palace. She didn’t stop fighting until he dumped her in front of the harem’s lower wall and small gate just inside the gardens. She collapsed, desperately trying to swallow the sobs that tore through her body. Sash had been more like a second mother than a sister. Always taking her to play, bringing her treats. As Lilette had grown older, Sash had accompanied her musical performances with her strings and her voice.

Han stood between Lilette and the sister she’d been longing for since childhood. “My whole life I’ve been trying to get back to her. And she’s here—my sister is here! Just let me go!”

Refusing to look at her, Han focused on the two guards who stood on either side of the gate. They made no move to let Lilette and him pass like the other guards had. Instead, one took a mallet and struck a glancing blow to a gong before settling back to statue-like stillness.

A dozen heartbeats later, the door opened and a strange person walked out. Lilette wasn’t sure if it was a man or woman, as the person wore a man’s robes but had a woman’s face. Lilette was even more confused when the person bowed to Han and said in a woman’s voice, “How may I serve you, elite general?”

“Madame Lilette is to be taken to the secluded compound.” Lilette staggered to her feet and backed away from Han and the guards. “Please.” It was only one word, but there was a tome of fear and dread behind it.

Han kept his gaze trained on her, his face unreadable. “I am sorry.”

He had been her friend once—her only friend in a foreign land. They’d had scaled every tree in the gardens behind the palace, searching for fruit. She could still taste the sweetness of oranges on her tongue, feel the dew-soaked grass on her bare feet as they ran in the shadows of the trees. And now he’d betrayed her.

The guards slid forward, flanking her. She studied the wall—twice the height of a man—before focusing all her loathing at Han. “May your flesh rot on your bones.”

His attention shifted to the man-woman. “Watch her. She’ll try to run.” And with that, Han simply turned and walked away.