Chapter 9
I saved her life. She never thanked me. ~Jolin
Jolin shot to her feet. “What?”
“Chen’s wife, Laosh, was the one who poisoned Lilette. She was a Vorlayan princess, and Chen killed her,” Ko explained. “There are over a hundred ships, all of them flying Vorlay’s colors.”
Struggling to make her weak body work properly, Lilette pushed herself to her feet. “That’s impossible. Laosh has only been dead four days! How could they have received word so soon? And Vorlay is over three weeks away with good winds.”
“Laosh had more spies than the emperor, and she was fond of her pigeons.” Ko turned back to face the main room, which the eunuchs were entering. “Light the lamps. Then wait at the gate and do not leave until the emperor sends word.”
“But madame, the harem will be the last to receive word,” said Ko’s eunuch, his head bowed.
“I said go.” Ko looked pointedly between Lilette and her personal eunuch.
“Go with him,” she said to the eunuch. “Hurry.”
The two men exchanged glances and donned their outer robes. Before they left the house, each lit his lamp, a bowl of oil with a bobbing cork and wick in the center.
Lilette began to dress as quickly as her slow fingers would allow. Jolin helped her finish, and they shuffled into the main room. In the dim lamplight, Lilette glanced around. The house was much like the first one—a long rectangle with rooms on both ends of a main living area. The eunuchs slept in the room where food was stored. There was the room Lilette and Jolin had just left, and a fourth room that shared a wall with it. Ko came out of the room and set a lamp in the window.
“They’ll be gone for a while.” She knelt before the brazier and lit it with the cork from another lamp. “Sit down, both of you,” she said. “You’re making me nervous.”
Lilette hesitated before moving to obey. “What do we do now?” Jolin asked.
Ko disappeared into the kitchen and came out with bowls of rice and vegetables. “The only thing any woman can ever do—wait.” She motioned to the bowls. “And while we wait, we can make breakfast.”
As Lilette helped Ko cook, she realized the room where she and Jolin had been sleeping was Han’s. He’d changed so much since he was a boy. His gentle smile used to come easily as he followed Lilette everywhere. What had turned him into such a hard man?
After eating, the three women cleaned up the dishes in silence. Light gradually touched the sky. Soon, the light overshadowed the lamps. When Ko blew them out, the cork plugs bobbed in the oil. Just as Lilette was about to demand they go find out what they could themselves, the outer door slid silently open and a eunuch she’d never seen before slipped inside.
Most of the eunuchs were a little plump, their bodies strangely hairless, but this one was on the thin side. There was something harder about him—not just his body, but the way he carried himself. Nothing like the soft hands and manners of most of the eunuchs. He looked different from the other Harshens as well. It was something in the shape of his eyes and the length of his face. With a start, Lilette realized he was the same race as Ko. The eunuch’s gaze took in Lilette and Jolin, and his expression closed off.
Ko pushed herself to her feet. “Lang, what’s going on?”
His gaze flicked warily to Lilette and Jolin. “You trust them?” he asked in disbelief. “They’re witches.”
Ko took a deep breath. “They’re not like the others.”
He grunted. “I very much doubt that.”
“What—” Jolin began.
“Is Vorlay’s armada really out there?” Ko interrupted.
Lang’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, they’re surrounding the island now. The emperor has sent out his ships, raised the harbor chain, called up all his troops, and armed the citizens.”
“Will it be enough?” Lilette asked.
His frank gaze met hers. “No. Vorlay is a beast compared to us. Chen was a fool for killing their princess.”
Lilette slapped her leg in frustration. “Then why did he do it?”
“Because the same poison was used to kill his mother about a year ago.”
Lilette’s mouth fell open. “Then Laosh . . .”
“Killed at least four people,” Lang finished. “Most of them were murdered as part of her political maneuverings.”
After several seconds of silence, Ko said, “You’re underestimating Emperor Nis.”
“Nis has relied too long on our distance from other nations to keep us safe.” Lang’s voice was tight with anger. “Harshen has a third less ships—few of them war ships. The city doesn’t have ramparts to speak of. The defensive line will be spread out and ineffective. The palace compound is well fortified, so it will endure for a little while after the city proper falls. But walls cannot stand forever, not against battering rams and arrows and soldiers with hooks and rope. Fighting back will buy us some time, nothing more.”