“He never betrayed his country.” She tried to think past the shock of Merlay’s proposal. “If I agree, Harshen would be free of the keepers?”
“If they stay in line, yes.”
“What do you mean, stay in line? Harshen will never be a puppet nation. They are too scattered and too stubborn.”
Merlay lifted her brows. “As long as they pose no threat to Kalari and pay Vorlay for the loss of their armada, they’ll be free.”
From what Merlay was telling her, in the end Lilette would have everything she’d ever wanted. “I’ll do it.”
Merlay pushed up from her chair and headed toward the door. “Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to do before we announce this at the chesli harvest. Why don’t you take one of the guest rooms downstairs? It’ll be easier if you’re close, and you look like you’ve had less sleep than I have.”
Lilette followed her into the hall. Jolin and Han were nowhere to be seen. “No. I’ll stay at my sister’s home. Besides, I won’t be able to sleep.”
Merlay went into her room, which was filled with tasteful furnishings and muted colors. She opened a side drawer beside her bed and took out a bottle with familiar-looking sprigs of herbs inside.
Lilette met the other woman’s gaze. “A sleeping tincture?”
Merlay nodded and Lilette took the bottle wordlessly. Her head was pounding, and it took every remaining bit of her strength to keep her emotions at bay. She descended the stairs just as the wastrel went up with a tray of tea and scones. Her face fell when she saw Lilette.
“I’m sorry it took so long. Would you like breakfast with your tea?”
Lilette mouth watered, but she now believed Bethel and would never eat anything she hadn’t seen prepared. “No. Thank you.”
Jolin was waiting for her in the receiving room, her expression pensive. “Lilette, I’m sorry.”
Lilette couldn’t respond at first. “I’ll see you tonight.” She left the tree, shutting the door behind her. Once outside, she glanced around to make sure no one was watching and tossed the tincture into the foliage.
Chapter 31
Did she ever forgive me? ~Jolin
Lilette smoothed her silk robe. It was gorgeous, with images of the sinuous, five-clawed dragon in black and gold. Doranna set a headdress inlaid with gems and turquoise on her head, strands of clinking pearls dangling past her ears.
She already wore the ruby brooch and the dragon ring. Wearing a copy of Laosh’s ring made her cringe, but Merlay had insisted.
It had taken nearly every Harshen craftsman Merlay could scrounge up to create this ensemble. And they all had orders for more. Dozens of robes, a smaller headdress, slippers, even little things like pots of kohl and scrolls for Lilette’s mandates.
“You must look the part,” Merlay had said when she inspected Lilette earlier. “They have to feel you’re above them if they’re ever to follow you.”
Lilette hadn’t liked that, but she hadn’t bothered arguing.
Doranna touched her arm, startling Lilette. “You’re ready.” Doranna opened the door to Merlay’s library, and they stepped inside.
Outside, night had fallen. The chesli flowers on the balcony were open, and moths and other night insects flocked from one to the next. A trail of glowing pollen drifted from their wings and lent an otherworldly glow to the inner city.
Lilette slipped forward, keeping out of sight behind the chesli flowers. On the balcony on the opposite side of the woven-branch bridge was the listening tree. All four Heads were there—Jolin with them.
At the sight, Lilette’s stomach twisted in knots. “I don’t feel ready.” She wished Han was beside her, but no one had seen him all day. Merlay had dispatched dozens of guardians to search for him, but so far they hadn’t found him.
Lilette knew how capable Han was. How strong. But she still worried. Something wasn’t right—she knew it deep in her bones.
Her gaze shifted to take in her surroundings. From this vantage point, she could see everything from the Heads’ pavilion down to the city surrounded by an ethereal glow that ended at the liquid darkness of the ocean.
Despite the breathtaking view, Lilette’s eyes kept being drawn to the wastrels, cloths in their hands to gather the pollen. It didn’t seem fair that they had to work from the inner city to the outer until the flowers closed off at dawn, then snatch a few hours of sleep before being up to prepare the feasts.
There had to be a better way. A more fair way. An idea began to take shape in her mind. “Doranna, can you gather as many wastrels as possible under this balcony?”