“Not without you,” she wept into my shirt.
I drew back, pushing her to arm’s length. “Go back to Mother. Tell her I will be the son she raised.”
The message hit. We were both the weapons our mother had raised instead of children. Eonaî wiped at her face, her tears drying as she paced back and forth. “Do you know enough of the language of court?”
“I wasatyour lessons,” I said, crossing my arms sulkily.
“And were you paying attention, or were you thinking about the weapons you could talk Mother into commissioning?” she countered. “Your best bet will be to play ignorance. Claim that Lord Fuyii was worthless as a teacher.”
“Hewasworthless,” I muttered.
“He was able to instruct the students who paid attention,” Eonaî said primly.
“Meaning you.” I pinched her cheek. “Always with the ‘yes, master’ and ‘no, master.’”
She grabbed my wrist, staring at my eyes. “Youwillbe careful? You will try to survive?”
I knew what she meant. To anyone else, it might just sound like a reference to the cutthroat nature of the court. To me, it was a desperate hope, the one we’d secretly shared even though we knew better. One didn’t survive killing an emperor and thrusting the Imperium into the chaos that would follow.
“I will do my best,” I said.
“Iwillsee her!” a voice bellowed out in the hall, and I recognized the anger and the petulance in it.
Whatever was said back evidently wasn’t satisfactory. I grimaced a smile at Eonaî. “Still think he was a good teacher? Or simply using you because he thought you were his pass back into the Imperial Capital? No one would say no to one so close to the empress.”
Eonaî rolled her eyes in amusement. She crossed the large receiving room and opened the door. Sagam stood on the other side, his arms crossed as he braced against the full fury of Lord Fuyii’s impotence. Nohe fluttered nearby, her expression pained.
“There!” Fuyii tried to move around Sagam, but the guard grabbed at his jacket, dragging him off his feet.
“It’s alright,” Eonaî said. “He should be allowed to say goodbye.”
Fuyii’s eyes went wide, and his face twisted in rage. “You ungratefulbrat. Now that you’re atop the throne, you think you don’t need me? You’ll always?—”
“Let him in,” Eonaî said, stepping back, her hand lingering on the doorframe.
“Are you sure?” Sagam asked. He released Fuyii, and the man stumbled back, righting himself and tugging at his jacket before pushing past Sagam.
Eonaî looked at me before turning back to Sagam. “We’ll be fine.”
She shut the door, and Fuyii strode in, his gaze taking in the room before turning to Eonaî. “You don’t even know how he’s shunning you! Putting you in guest quarters when you should be in the family palace! Making you stay in Turtle House only asserts that you arenothis intended. That he has no intention of welcoming you into the family.”
“Hehasno intention of marrying me,” Eonaî said, passing Fuyii and settling onto one of the pillows around the center table. “He made that clear.”
“He what?” Lord Fuyii looked at me, and I nodded. “No. He must at least follow the terms of the bargain. There is a way out of this. Did you suggest becoming his consort bride instead of his empress? The position has fewer benefits, but you would still be in the palace.”
“He did mention becoming consort,” I said. “What do you mean there are differences?”
“This is why you need me.” Fuyii turned to Eonaî. “Both are considered the emperor’s wife, however, a consort is the mistress of her own household but stillwithinthe emperor’s household. The empress is mistress of the emperor’s household, but a consort has her own. It’s independence, but the cost is power, although not much, as the consort still has the emperor’s ear and his affection. She also has her own duties. In the past, emperors have given consorts minister-level positions, sometimes to the detriment of the empire.”
“So it sounds like they’re powerful people,” I said, considering the silky way Emperor Tallu had saidmy consort. What position was he planning for me?
“It would also fulfill the requirements of the agreement between the Imperium and the Northern Kingdom.” Lord Fuyii sniffed. “Which seems to be all your mother cares about.”
“Yes,” I said, looking at him. “Lord Fuyii, why were you banished? You were Minister of the Treasury before you left. That’s a powerful position, otherwise Mother never would have taken you on as Eonaî’s teacher.”
“Bothof your teacher,” he said sharply. “Not thatyoutook in any of your lessons.”
“Why were you banished?” I asked.
