She bit down on the words she wanted to say, crushing them between her teeth. “Thank you, Heir.” Her voice came out raspy and low.
Chen shook his head. “You must learn manners before I can ever take you to the palace. Learn them fast.” He waited again, an eyebrow raised.
Lilette reined in her temper by imagining her boning knife sticking out of his chest. “I will, Heir.”
He nodded, seeming somewhat mollified. He pulled back the curtain just enough to reveal a kneeling middle-aged woman who wore a blank expression. “Prepare her to enter the palatial compound,” Chen ordered. “She’s not ready for the niceties, so keep it simple.”
“Yes, Heir Chen.” The woman kowtowed, touching her forehead to the floor three times.
Chen swept away, not bothering to wait for the woman to finish.
Chapter 3
Somewhere along the way, Lilette learned only to fight the battles she could win. ~Jolin
The servant rose to her feet, her eyes downcast. Without a word, she began helping Lilette out of her bloodstained robes.
“What time of day is it?” Lilette asked.
“Midday.” The servant clucked disapprovingly at the jade comb in Lilette’s hair, tossing it to the floor.
“That’s mine,” she protested.
“Cheap jade,” the woman responded. “Not fit for the heir’s concubine.” As the woman turned to retrieve the bathwater that had been set outside the curtain, Lilette snatched the comb. One of the wings had chipped. Her mouth in a tight line, she unpinned her brooch.
She concealed both in the blanket on the hammock. She didn’t care so much for the brooch, but perhaps she could sell it when she escaped. As for the comb, it was the last thing Salfe had given her. She would not lose it.
The woman moved like she would help Lilette wash herself. Lilette held out a forestalling hand. “I will do it myself.”
The woman nodded, but watched critically as Lilette washed the dried blood from her chest. “You only kowtow to the emperor and his heir. The imperial lords and his other sons are your equals, so you simply bow in respect, a bow they will return. All others kowtow to you.”
Lilette planned to escape before then. “How will I know the emperor?”
The woman snorted. “Emperor Nis wears the pendant, same as his son.”
Lilette nodded. “And how will I distinguish between those who bow to me and those who kowtow?” she asked, nervousness making her fingers clumsy.
The woman nodded as if pleased that Lilette had asked a sensible question. “Only the members of the royal family can wear the image of the five-clawed dragon—the Sun Dragon. You wear a four-clawed dragon. Anyone below you must kowtow.”
The woman directed Lilette to lean over the basin of water for her hair to be washed. After the woman finished washing it, she wrung it out and let it hang down Lilette’s back while combing through it. When she was finished, the woman started making elegant rolls and fans.
Pan had combed Lilette’s hair only yesterday. She had to be alive. The alternative was too heart-wrenching.
After sliding a jewel-encrusted comb into Lilette’s hair, the maid pulled out new robes of red and gold. These garments put her previous clothing to shame. They were covered in hand-dyed panels depicting golden dragons, lotus flowers, and orchid-covered hills. Lilette hated them immediately.
A white powder was brushed on her face, and her eyes lined with kohl. Her lips were stained red, her cheeks pink. Then the woman stepped back and studied her handiwork. She nodded. “It will do.”
While she opened the curtain and spoke with someone on the other side, Lilette took her comb and brooch and slid them into the pocket of her robes.
Lilette waited, her insides squirming. A moment later, the curtain was swept aside for Chen. He’d traded his soldier’s clothing for red robes just as glorious as her own, the key difference being the swords belted at his waist—weapons she wished desperately for. The serving woman immediately dropped to the ground and began to kowtow.
Lilette hesitated. It grated her to demonstrate obeisance to the man who’d taken everything from her—twice. But if Chen thought her complacent, he wouldn’t watch her as closely.
Forcing her knees to bend, she touched her forehead to the floor three times. When she had finished, she sat on her heels, waiting.
He stared at her. “Truly, you were meant to be mine.”
“Thank you, Heir.” It took everything she had to keep her face expressionless. Patience, she reminded herself. Keep him complacent until you have a chance to escape.
Chen turned away, clearly expecting her to follow him. She forced herself to do as he expected, four steps behind as was proper. He led her up the ladder to the ship’s deck. And then she caught sight of Harshen’s capital city, Rinnish.