By the Bones, she needed to smile, and with difficulty she managed it. “Coming, Ambassador,” she called cheerily.
Walking past Raed felt deeply wrong, but as they did so, Sorcha flicked her head to the left and caught his eye; she hoped he could see or sense how much it hurt to turn her back on him.
“Wait here,” she mouthed to him while her heart raced. Please don’t die before I can warn you.
He stayed where he was, and then she saw him no more. Sorcha barely heard the seneschal announce them or saw the Court itself. It was only feeling Merrick at her shoulder that kept her moving.
“It’ll be all right,” he murmured to her. “He’s here, but he’s alive. We have time.”
Sorcha took a breath, and it felt like the first. Her partner was correct. They were in foreign territory, and she had better take notice of the Court around them.
A subtle glance to her right told her that Merrick was already entranced. It was, she supposed, a feast for the eye. The people of Chioma, with their high cheekbones and gleaming dark skin, were even more impressive when dressed in Court attire. Servants stood in the corners, beating the air with fans of peacock feathers, while another played a curved flute, filling the room with a strangely melancholy tune. Upon the dais were a rank of beautiful woman—the most striking collection of slightly dressed women that Sorcha had ever seen.
The women of the Imperial Court were lovely too, but their charms were considerably more hidden. The Deacon suddenly made the connection; these exquisite women who peered down with somnolent assurance of their place in the world were members of the Prince’s harem.
It took a moment for her to notice the man buried in among them. Seated at the top of the dais was a throne carved from dark wood, and on it was the most extraordinary man she had ever seen—or not seen.
He was totally cloaked in the deepest blue, swathed so completely that she could not have said if he was tall or short, thin or fat. The real strangeness was that she could not make out a single feature of his face. The Prince of Chioma wore an odd headdress with a bar of silver across his forehead from which hung rows upon rows of tiny white glass beads. They gleamed and danced and were very pretty—but they also denied anyone any chance of seeing his face.
Sorcha shot a glance across at Merrick—and he gave the slightest of shrugs. Apparently this scholar of all things Chioma was just as baffled. The Prince was an enigmatic figure, he’d told her that, but obviously he hadn’t been expecting him to be this enigmatic.
Bandele was bending low in a bow that bordered on that which might be given to the Emperor. “Majesty, these are the Deacons from Vermillion who escorted us safely here. I present Deacons Faris and Chambers.”
“Welcome to Orinthal.” The voice that emerged from behind the beaded headdress was deep, smooth and remarkably young. “It has been a long time since any Deacon from the Mother Abbey has ventured this far south.”
Sorcha and Merrick sketched a bow, but it was the Sensitive who replied. “Your Majesty, it has long been my dream to visit Chioma.”
The Prince nodded, the only gesture that Sorcha could be sure of behind that strange mask. “I have long wished to see the Imperial City myself. But perhaps I can send my daughter in my stead.” It was the most polite and gentle probe, delivered in a perfectly level tone of voice. “What do you think, Deacon Faris—shall my daughter see Vermillion?” The Prince shifted, and the crystals swayed as his head turned in her direction.
Sorcha, used to her partner’s handling these subtle interactions, found herself caught unawares. “I . . . I truly cannot say, Your Majesty. I know he has received the suits of many ladies from all over the Empire.”
The gasp that ran through the crowd implied that might not have been the best choice of words. Sorcha felt increasingly frustrated and irritated. She had stood before Princes before, even the Emperor, and yet this one was so hard to judge with the royal face obscured.
Merrick could not step in; to do so would imply weakness in his partner. Sorcha did, however, feel him stiffen at her side.
When Onika, Prince of Chioma, laughed, the pressure valve was let off a little. “Very true—I can only be grateful not to have to choose from so many.” His voice was laced with amusement and irony—as it should be, considering the women of his harem stood not five feet from him.
While the Court tittered at their Prince’s little joke, a small brass door opened behind the throne. A group of five young women with one older and heavily pregnant entered. These newcomers were far more demurely dressed, and Sorcha knew immediately that the youthful ones were his daughters. They whispered among themselves and moved to the other side of the throne, well away from the women of the harem. Among them was a tall, striking girl with such a look of confidence that the eye was immediately drawn to her. It was not a great stretch to guess that this had to be the Princess Ezefia who was suing for the Emperor’s favor. Her eyes darted to the Ambassador, but seeing nothing, she quickly replaced the mask of boredom. So, she was an expert in the games of Court—she would have to be if she were to become the next Empress.
The older woman, swaying slightly with her swollen belly, still moved with the economy and grace that would put a dancer to shame. Her dark braid swung down her back, and she smiled beatifically at the Court—the smile of the truly happy. The Prince turned and held out his hand to her; however, it was impossible to tell if he smiled or not. Sorcha guessed that he did. He did not introduce the newcomer, but she slipped into a place just at the foot of his throne.
And then across the Bond Sorcha felt Merrick fall into a well of panic. It was so deep that she jerked around to look at her partner, wondering what in the Bones could be the cause. Nothing on his face could possibly have told her that he was close to bolting—his expression remained clear and calm.
Unaware of any change in the Deacons, the Prince fixed his gazut them once more. “I will have many questions for you, Deacons.” He paused. The Order stood apart from the usual machinations of the Princes: their rules, their squabbles. The only people whom Merrick and Sorcha had above them were the Priors and Abbots of the Order of the Eye and the Fist—and ultimately the Emperor.
Perhaps the Prince realized that he had pushed the line between Order and aristocracy a little too far, because his voice softened. “It would assist me, honored Deacons, if you could talk with me later about your Emperor. I would know his mind on some matters.”
Sorcha’s stomach clenched for two reasons: the way he said “your Emperor” as if he had no connection with the man and the idea that they were to be quizzed about politics. The Deacons could refuse, use the vaunted independence of the Order, but they were a long way from a Priory or Abbey—and even farther from the Mother Abbey itself.
However, it was the perfect chance to stay on in Chioma—the perfect chance to save Raed.
Sorcha reached out along the Bond, seeking Merrick’s opinion. However, there was nothing. Somewhere during the confusion, he had slammed down his shields. Sensitives were always better than Actives at such things, but she would never have expected it from Merrick—especially right now.
She used another bow, perhaps one too many, to hide her confusion. “It would be our pleasure to offer assistance, Your Majesty,” she said as graciously as possible.
They were swiftly dismissed by the Prince, but she made damn sure that they did not back out of his presence—there were some local customs she was determined not to adopt.
Outside, she scanned the petitioners, looking for Raed, but he was gone. When she turned for advice to Merrick, he held up his hand. “I really need to rest, Sorcha.” His tone was clipped, rough and distant. “We can talk about this later.”