—from the introduction ofThe Great History of Sayon
Jaya crept through the darkened wings of the palace as the sun, sinking from its zenith, transformed into a cold silver light that bisected the hall with the vehemence of a sword. When she passed through it, Jaya felt it cut into her flesh. Her hand sweated around the metal lotus. She forced herself to steady her breathing, to recall Akaros’s training, but her heart, that devious little creature, bounded ahead.
Jaya turned the corner and almost jumped at the sight of the two Tsuani guards down the hall. She dashed back, then faltered forward.Don’t look suspicious, she thought as she straightened herself.
She forced herself to look ahead, to measure her steps. She wore the emblem of the Ravani Phoenix on her breast to indicate herself as a servant of the queen, and when she neared the guards, she gave them a slight smile. Instead of returning it, a guard frowned.
“What are you doing down here?” he asked.
“I’m on my way to the courtyard,” Jaya said, trying to push confidence into her voice. Behind her back, she gripped the lotus.
“What for?”
“I need—I must—check the grounds before tonight’s celebration for—” She thought quickly. Why would a servant of the queen be sent to investigate a courtyard? To see if the lilies were to her liking? That the musicians played her favorite song? It all sounded so vain. But wasn’t that in keeping with the royals?
“Hello?” The guard peered down at her. “Did you understand what I said?”
“Of course I did,” Jaya snapped, then paused, recognizing her mistake. She plastered on her most appeasing smile. “Your Hind is accented, that’s all.”
“First we’re forced to host you lot, then speak your tongue,” the other guard grumbled. “Better if we all spoke Tsun. Better if Tsun was the language of the continent.”
“Yes, well, can’t change history in a day,” Jaya said lightly, but the guard’s frown only deepened.
“Your queen just showed us that you can,” he said as his eyes fell to the emblem on her chest. “Why did she send you here?”
“Uh, her—her entrance!” Jaya exclaimed as the idea popped into her head. The guard arched a brow, and the other did not look convinced. “She wants to make a grand entrance. Very official. Songs and flowers and all. She did just change history in a day, like you said. Needs all the pomp. So, I—I’ll just be on my way…”
She tried to sidle past the guards, but they did not move from her path.
“I hear all the liberated Sesharians on the killdoms were invited to join the celebration tonight. They’re under your queen’s charge. But if I see one of them trying to steal even a plant…” The guard trailed off, patting the charged wincer at his waist. If Jaya listened closely, she could hear its low, dangerous hum. She had only seen one in action once, when Maya had flung the projectile cuffs at an unlucky initiate during training. It had clamped down on his bicep, the other on his neck, and he had screamed like a shobu with its tail shorn off.
Jaya met the guard’s gaze, her smile cooling into something bitter and edged. “I wouldn’t pick the Sesharians for thieves. King Bormani wouldstage a heist for the jelly-filled mooncakes in your kitchen, and King Farin would take your ships, if he had the chance. The real thieves are at the top, boys. We’re just here struggling for the scraps.”
“Hmph.” The guard considered this, while the other scowled.
“If I see anyone stealing so much as a napkin, I’m taking my wincer and shoving it down their—”
“Yes, okay, ka, we get it.” The guard rolled his eyes. He nodded at Jaya. “On your way, then.”
She moved past them before he could reconsider, the other guard arguing that he wasn’t trigger-happy, he wasattentive, that they needed to be, with all these foreigners in their home…
Their voices faded as Jaya entered the courtyard. Palace workers dashed around her, setting tables, as the musicians plucked their strings and tuned their instruments and groaned that no, they didn’t know the folk dance of the Karvenese, no one did, their set list was long enough with all the other nations requesting their national songs. Foreign attendants flitted about, worrying over the dinner menu. She heard one complaining to a flustered Tsuani kitchen staffer that they needed to warm the Verani garlic soupexactlytwenty-three minutes before serving, or else Tsuana would disrespect Verani cuisine and their king. Complaints, demands, even sobs choked the air. Her head throbbed. Were they all like this? The rulers vain and selfish, their attendants hysterical and stressed? She had never seen Elena act in such a way, but then again, she had never seen the queen within the soft, luxurious abode of her palace. Power made everyone into a glutton. Ravenous, beseeching, always craving more.
In the center of the courtyard, the bronze seal of the council floated serenely. The emblems of the seven nations corded together, but Jaya was struck by how, even on the eve of victory, there was no sign of Seshar.
“You see it missing too, don’t you?”
Jaya stiffened as she heard Maya’s cool voice. The Arohassin strategist sidled up to her, dressed in Tsuani creams, the blue streak in her hair dyed black.
“I thought you and Akaros were going to wait outside the city,” she hissed.
“I was, but then Taran asked me to keep an eye on you,” Maya said, and Jaya’s skin prickled.
Did Taran not believe she could do the job? Would he cut off Div’s life support? Why did he send Maya over Akaros?
Maya, as if reading her mind, laughed. “Don’t stress, gamemaster. I come as your exit strategy.”
“What about Akaros?”
