Ko motioned for Lilette to follow her into Han’s room and shut the screen behind them. Lilette slumped down on the sleeping mat. “Han learned that phrase from you?” she whispered.
“Yes.” Ko must have seen the worry lining her brow, for she added, “Jolin will be all right. They’ve no reason to hurt her.”
How could she be so calm when Lilette felt she might burst apart at any moment? She could still hear the chanting, feel the occasional quake as the elements tore through her. “What’s happening?”
Ko’s careful fingers paused. “I warned you that the emperor was cunning.”
Lilette pushed herself up. “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps he saw what Lang did—that he could not win this war. And so he took the strength he needed.”
Lilette’s eyes went wide. “By using the witches as a weapon.”
Wasn’t this what her mother had shown her—the world filled with blood and death and chaos—all orchestrated by witch song? Not the least of which was Harshen sinking into the sea.
If Lilette didn’t find a way to save her sister and the others, that’s exactly what would happen.
Chapter 10
It has taken me decades to admit that Chen and the emperor saved our lives that night. It has taken me longer still to admit that our deaths would have been a relief to the keepers. ~Jolin
Lilette waited all that day, until full dark, long after the eunuchs had gone to sleep behind their screens. Ko passed her a wooden jar of kohl and the knife Lang had given her. “You sure you still want to go through with this?”
“I have to,” Lilette said.
“Why? You barely know Jolin. And you haven’t seen your sister in nearly a decade.”
“You would do the same for your sister. I know you would.” There was more at stake than Lilette’s sister, though. Her mother had warned her that if she didn’t free them, the whole world would descend into chaos.
“Use the kohl to darken your hair, and be careful.” Ko left, silently shutting the screen door behind her.
Lilette pulled her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head. Then she smeared kohl on the hair at her temples and the nape of her neck—areas that would not be covered by a eunuch’s hat.
Shoving her jade comb into her pocket, she hurried to the window. She pushed aside the silk screen. The tops of the outer walls were lit with hundreds of torches, their light blotting out the stars and illuminating the elite prowling behind the parapet.
Lilette pulled herself onto the sill and climbed out. She found the eunuch’s clothes right where Lang said they’d be. She took off her fine robes and hid them before pulling the cotton robes over her smallclothes. She donned the round hat and tucked the knife in the sash of her robe, then slipped into the moonless night.
When she reached the small lake, what she saw in the water made her halt in disbelief. She dragged her eyes from the shimmering reflection to the sky itself. A column of light and soft colors rose into the night. In the center, a woman floated higher than even the palace. Her hair twisted up like a flame as she slowly spun.
The whole scene was the most beautiful, terrible thing Lilette had ever seen. More of her memories broke free. Memories of lights and songs and women twirling toward the sky. But those memories were incomplete, as full of holes as a sea sponge.
At the sound of voices, Lilette froze. The chief eunuch. She ducked behind a pleasure boat moments before he appeared through a cluster of trees. He was speaking with another eunuch, a paper lantern in his hand.
“They have already sunk half the ships! The soldiers are fighting the Vorlayans in the city, but without reinforcements, they are falling back.”
Lilette was tempted to follow, to learn more if she could, but she could actually hear the witches’ words now—beautiful words twisted for a dark purpose.
She broke into a faltering run. Her tunic was drenched in sweat by the time she reached the harem wall. It sounded as if the witches were just on the other side. Keeping to the shadows, she searched the flat expanse. It was more than twice her height and too smooth to climb. The trees were cut back and therefore of no use in scaling the wall.
Well, I am a witch, aren’t I? she thought. It was time to use that to her advantage. She found a sturdy tree. Her gaze traveled up the latticework of branches. If she was well and had her full strength, it would have been an easy climb. After hiking her tunic up above her knees, she grasped a branch. It seemed to take hours, and she had to rest more and more often, but finally she’d gone as high as she dared. The barrier softly lit up the night and cast green and purple light on the airborne woman’s face. It was Sash. Lilette wanted to call out to her sister. It was unbearable to have her so close and yet completely unreachable.