She found a stool, pulled it to his side, and sat with him one last
time. His hand was stiff, but she wrapped her fingers around his. For a
long while, she said nothing. Then, softly so that just the two of them
could hear, she spoke.
"You did good work, brother. I can't think anyone would have done better."
She remained there breathing the scent of his rooms for the last time
until Danat and Eiah arrived, a small army of servants and utkhaiem and
councilmen at their backs. Idaan told Eiah what she needed to know in a
few short sentences, then left. The breakfast was gone, cleared away.
She went to find Cehmai and tell him the news.
Flowers do not return in the spring, rather they are replaced. It is in
this difference between returned and replaced that the price of renewal
is paid.
"No," ANA SAID. THE AMBASSADOR OF EYMOND LIFTED A FINGER, AS IF BEGging
leave to interrupt the Empress. He made a small noise at the back of his
throat. Ana shook her head. "I said no. I meant no, Lord Ambassador. And
if you raise your finger to me again like I was a schoolgirl talking out
of turn, I will have it cut off and set in a necklace for you."
The meeting room was as silent as a grave. Even the candle flames stood
still. The dark-stained wood of the floor and beautifully painted
abstract frescoes of the walls seemed out of place, too rich and
peaceful for the moment. A back room at a teahouse was the better venue
for this kind of negotiation. Ana enjoyed the contrast.
She knew when she first heard of Otah Machi's death that she was going
to have to be responsible for holding the Empire together until Danat
regained his balance. She hadn't yet lost a parent. Her husband and
lover now had neither of his. The lost expression in his eyes and the
bewildered tone in his voice made her heart ache. And so when their
partners and rivals in trade took the opportunity to renegotiate
treaties in hopes of winning some concession in the fog of grief, Ana
found herself taking it personally.
"Lady Empress," the ambassador said, "I don't mean disrespect, but you
must see that-"
Ana raised her finger, the mirror of the man's gesture. He went silent.
"A necklace," she said. "Ask around if you'd like. You'll find I have no
sense of proportion. None."
Very quietly, the ambassador took the scroll up from the table between
them and put it back in its satchel. Ana nodded and gestured to the
door. The man's spine could have been made of a single, unarticulated
iron bar as he left. Ana felt no sympathy for him.
The Master of Tides came in a moment later, her face amused and alarmed.
Ana took what she thought was the proper pose to express continuity. The
Khaiate system of poses was something that was best born into and
learned from infancy. She did her best, and no one had the audacity to
correct her, so Ana figured she was close enough.
"I believe that is all for the day, Most High," the Master of Tides said.
"Excellent. We got through those quickly, didn't we?"
"Very quickly," the woman agreed.
"Feel free to offer any other audiences the choice of meeting with me or