Witch Fall(39)

Chapter 14



Chen was an evil man with a thirst for blood and no hint of compassion. He was beyond redemption. ~Jolin



Lilette awoke when her eunuch opened the screen. There were more eunuchs behind him, dozens of them—so many they filled Ko’s home.

As she pushed herself up to a sitting position, Lilette winced at the twinge in her leg. Judging by the light, it had to be midmorning.

Her eunuch came inside, a tray of food in his hands. He eased to his knees and kowtowed. Moving as one, the rest followed. Lilette caught sight of Ko kneeling as well. Lilette frowned. From this day on, she would be a princess. There were only three people in the empire to whom she would kowtow.

Her eunuch rose and set the tray before her. She could smell breakfast—sausage, tea, and fried rice flour—and felt sick with hunger. She took a bite of fried sausage roll and closed her eyes in pleasure. She studied her servant’s hollow eyes and drawn face. “Have you tended to your wounds?” she asked softly.

He stiffened. “I have been bandaged, Princess.”

She flinched at the honorific, and her side protested the sudden movement. She wondered at the aspirations of eunuchs. Did they desire to bask in the leftovers of their madames’ glory? Her eunuch certainly seemed thrilled with the idea of moving to the palace with Lilette. “Have you taken anything for the hurt?”

He continued working. “Softening the hurt would also soften the punishment. It is not allowed.”

She tipped her head to the side. “I am the princess. I allow it.”

The eunuch was still for a moment. “Your wishes are mine, Princess.”

He left, presumably to do as she had requested. One of the few things she would miss when she escaped this place was his cooking. She wished she could take him with her. But he was accountable to the chief eunuch, and therefore the heir, so she couldn’t trust him.

Ko came in a moment later. “You dishonor him.” Lilette opened her mouth to protest. “As he bears the hurt, his honor is returned to him. You treat him as a weakling.”

Lilette made to go after him, but Ko’s hand on her arm halted her. “If you retract your order, you lose face.”

Lilette swallowed a groan. She had more important things to worry about than her eunuch’s feelings. Ko left without another word.

Knowing what lay ahead of her, Lilette forced herself to eat. As soon as she finished, the eunuchs removed the tray and proceeded to undress and bathe her. They were gentle with her bruises, though none commented on them. She was not allowed to help. Every time she tried, a look of shame came over the eunuch’s faces.

They rubbed rare oils into her skin, dusted her face with rice powder, lined her eyes and brows with kohl, and painted her lips lobster-shell red. She was draped in yards of red and gold silk—all of it painstakingly hand-dyed. They combed her hair into elaborate rolls and fans.

After they had finished, Lilette stared down at herself. She wore combs in her hair and brooches on her clothing—all of them priceless heirlooms. Her silk robe alone was worth more than Fa would have seen in a lifetime. And she had to admit that a part of her reveled in the beauty surrounding her.

The crowd of eunuchs left the room. As if he’d been waiting for them to finish, Chen stepped inside with six more eunuchs, four bearing elaborately carved trunks with ivory and jade inlays. The other two carried smaller chests.

At a signal from Chen, the eunuchs opened the trunks and bowed out of the room. Inside the larger trunks were silk robes in every hue. The smaller two chests held silk-lined trays, each filled with priceless jewels in a rainbow of bright colors. Unable to help herself, Lilette ran her fingertips across the glittering stones. There were ruby brooches, diamond and pearl hair combs, mother-of-pearl and sapphire bracelets, and cabochon ruby set at the end of a dagger of solid gold. Under cover of her billowing sleeve, Lilette grabbed the dagger and slipped it inside the folds of her sash.

“These have been in my family for generations.” Chen came up behind her and reached around her body to pick up a ruby brooch that dangled from a chain. He attached it under her sash. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t feel the dagger there.

She let out a breath when he moved back, observing the brooch as it dangled above her knee. “I remember my grandmother wearing this one—it was her favorite.” He smiled as if at a fond memory, and Lilette struggled to imagine him as an innocent child curled into his grandmother’s lap. “When you come into the palace, you shall do so in grand style.”

“The palace,” she echoed, her thoughts sticky and slow in her head.

He bent down and kissed her softly. “There will be a great feast in our honor, and you will move into my apartments.”