Witch Fall(40)

Creators’ mercy, she had to find a way free before tonight. Chen reached behind his neck and undid the clasp that held his amber pendant. He tied it around her neck, the metal still warm from his body. The gold dragon flared against the red of her wedding robes.

One side of his mouth pulled up. “Yours isn’t finished yet. But you should wear the royal pendant on the day you join us.” He fingered the stone. “This one has been a part of Harshen for generations.”

Lilette wanted to rip it off and throw it against the opposite wall. Her eyes slipped closed as she took a deep breath. “That’s very kind of you.” And it was. He was making it hard to hate him. But she was a very determined person.

He kissed her again before motioning to the eunuchs waiting at the door. They surrounded her on all sides, reminding her that she was a prisoner here. Lilette paused at Ko’s threshold, searching for the familiar warmth on her face, but there was only fear and dread.

Her heart wrenching in her chest, Lilette turned away and walked down the stone-lined path, her shin and side aching dully. The emperor’s concubines came out to kowtow, then sat on their heels and watch the procession, some of them whispering behind their painted silk fans.

Lilette kept her head erect, her eyes straight ahead. As she approached the harem’s gates, they swung open. What lay beyond made her stutter to a stop.

The elephant was surrounded by elite soldiers in their finery. Even more overwhelming was the presence of the empress, one of Chen’s many stepmothers. Chen went before her, bowing. She bowed back.

Memory overwhelmed Lilette. She was on her island again, the day Chen had come for her. She was surrounded by soldiers, unable to choose for herself as her villagers had died.

Her breaths came faster as she realized how much the two days resembled each other. She had fought back, her villagers had fought back. And they had lost. She had to find a way for this day to be different.

One of the eunuchs at her side bent low. “Princess?”

Remembering herself with a start, Lilette approached the empress. The eunuchs slid to the side, bending seamlessly in their kowtows.

A half second late, Lilette joined them. When she was finished, the empress motioned for her to rise. “I am Empress Yuwen. You will bring honor to our family.”

Lilette bowed again, but her throat dried up and she couldn’t speak.

The empress motioned for Lilette to join her. “I have already seen to your apartments and ordered the finest silk for you to choose from. We will review your wardrobe tomorrow.” She continued on with the dishes to be served at the feast, but Lilette had stopped listening.

She stepped up next to the elephant, which had been painted with gold patterns. Black silk draped it from front to back, tassels hanging from every point. Tentatively, Lilette reached out and laid a palm on the creature’s side. It was rough and warm, with a thin bristling of hair. The animal turned to look at her, long lashes covering intelligent eyes set in a mottled pink-and-brown face.

She felt a sudden kinship with the elephant. So strong, so powerful, and yet draped in finery and forced to submit to the will of those much smaller and less worthy than herself.

Chen slapped the elephant’s shoulder and cried, “Lift leg!” over and over until she complied. He pulled back his robes, stepped onto the elephant’s raised leg, and swung up. Three steps later, he was settled in the howdah.

A eunuch gestured to a palanquin. “If the princess will stand here.”

She stepped onto it and gripped the bars on either side. Smooth as the wind through her fingers, eunuchs gripped the poles and lifted her above their heads.

She was now level with the sedan chair. Chen pushed aside the curtains and held out his hand. Though it grated her, she took it and stepped onto the elephant’s back. She could feel the animal’s warmth radiating through the thin trappings. In awe, she sat on the silk-lined wooden chair.

Chen’s wife had ridden this same elephant on Lilette’s first day in the city. And before that day had ended, she was dead. If that pattern followed through, Lilette would be dead by Chen’s hand tonight. She cringed.

The boy sitting on the elephant’s neck kicked the backs of its ears and ordered, “Go! Go!” The elephant lumbered forward, its wide gait making Lilette sway from side to side and sending the tassels swinging. A thrill raced through her. Before her loomed the palace gates. Standing in front of them was a contingent of elite six rows wide and thirty deep.

The gates swung open moments before Chen and Lilette reached them. The elite surrounded them. Calling out commands, the boy directed the elephant into the city, his foot kicking the elephant’s ear when he wanted the creature to turn.