“Strictly speaking.”
Ko stepped back into the room, and Lilette could only hope she hadn’t heard Jolin. Ko knelt down and wiped her face. “He has loved me faithfully and at great risk to himself for nearly two decades. You could only hope to find such love someday.”
Jolin flushed bright red. “I apologize for what I said.”
The sudden silence was uncomfortable. Ko sat back on her heels. “You need to understand what happens if you’re caught,” she said softly. “Before the palace steps, with the emperor and the heir watching, they will behead you. Your body will be given to the peasants, who will display you in pieces before selling the remains for curses.”
Lilette shuddered. “How many times has this happened?”
Ko turned away, refusing to meet Lilette’s gaze. “Once in my lifetime. No one has tried it since.”
From the pain in Ko’s voice, Lilette knew that whoever had died had been close to her. “Who was it?”
“My sister.” Ko sniffed. “We were twins—the daughters of King Mu’Fa of Jinji. Our father valued a trade agreement with Harshen more than my sister’s marriage to a merchant’s son. Lang followed us here. He managed to sneak into the harem. He and my sister tried to talk me into escaping with them, but I was already pregnant.”
Tears rolled freely down Ko’s face. “Carrying a child wouldn’t have stopped the emperor from killing me. I couldn’t risk it.”
Lilette rested her hand on Ko’s shoulder. “He caught them, didn’t he?”
Ko nodded. “Emperor Nis could have killed Lang too. Instead, he made him watch. When my sister was . . .” —a sob caught in Ko’s throat— “Lang begged for death. Instead, the emperor made him a eunuch and locked him in the harem.”
She took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks. “At first, Lang simply looked after me because he blamed himself for my sister’s death.” Ko shrugged. “How could I not fall in love with him? That kind of honor and determination . . .” She gave a watery smile. “And I made sure to teach my son that same honor.”
Lilette thought of Han’s small acts of kindness and selflessness. He may look like his father, but he’d learned his goodness from his mother.
Jolin suddenly jumped to her feet. “Someone’s coming!”
Lilette could hear singing, so far away she couldn’t make out the words. There was something dark and sinister about it—it was almost more of a chant. Something wrenched inside her, a feeling of terror like a silent scream.
“My keepers are fighting,” Jolin cried. She started toward the outer door, but it opened before she was halfway there. A handful of eunuchs were on the other side, the chief eunuch among them.
Had the eunuchs overheard their talk of escape? Were they coming to take them to their execution? Lilette pushed herself to her feet—to do what, she didn’t know.
Two of the larger eunuchs came in, quarterstaffs in hand. Ko cried out and backed to the other side of the room. The eunuchs advanced on Jolin. “You will come with us, keeper.”
Backing away, she snatched a heavy pot and held it like a club. “Why? What’s going on?”
The eunuch’s quarterstaffs shot out. One connected with Jolin’s side, and the other smacked her hand. With a gasp of pain, she doubled over as the pot went flying.
“Stop this!” Ko cried.
The eunuchs seized Jolin and dragged her toward the door. Lilette started after them. “Leave her alone!” One of them stepped in front of her. She bounced off his chest and fell hard. Curse her weak body!
“Remember what you promised, Lilette,” Jolin pled. “It’s more imperative now. Find a way!”
Lilette pushed herself up and moved to follow Jolin, but one of the eunuchs grasped her. She fought and struggled against him, but she was as weak as a child. “Jolin!”
The chief eunuch shot her a look of disgust. “See that she stays here.” The eunuch dragged Lilette deeper into the room. Trembling and gasping for breath, she tried to dig her heels in, but only succeeded in losing her slippers.
Ko came to stand beside her. “I will deal with her. Release her.”
“When she’s calm,” the eunuch responded.
Ko shot Lilette a pleading look. “Fight the battles you can win. Retreat from the ones you cannot.”
Now Lilette knew where Han had learned the phrase. Knowing the older woman was right, she complied. The eunuch held her a moment more before letting go. Arms crossed over his chest, he stepped back and blocked the doorway.
With shaking hands, Lilette pulled her hair away from her face. A bit of color on the floor caught her eye. She reached down to pick up Jolin’s spectacles—she must have lost them in the scuffle. They were bent, but the glass was still intact. Lilette slipped them into her robe.