The Girl King (The Girl King #1)(51)

Her cousin did not seem to register the glow in his aunt’s voice. “It will hardly matter what I announce,” he snapped, “if my claim to the throne is still in question.”

“Once you and Min are married that will not be an issue,” the empress said, dismissively, the barest hint of a characteristic frown line appearing between her eyes. “And once the mourning period is finally over, we can order a real ceremony before the whole court. No one would question your claim after that.”

“We need to find her,” Set continued stridently, ignoring his aunt’s words. “As long as Lu is free, as long as she is out there in the world, she will try to depose me.”

“Let her try,” Min’s mother scoffed. “What is she now? Nothing. A criminal. She will be apprehended in time—you have enough men searching for her.”

“You know how she is!” Set snapped. There was a wild, preoccupied gleam in his eyes. “She’s—unnatural. Crazy. And now she has nothing to lose! She would use her dying breath to take me down—”

“Focus on rallying support from your court and presenting your decree tomorrow,” interrupted the empress coldly. “It’s certainly bold enough to command their attention for the time being—”

“Easy enough for you to say!” her cousin barked. “But you can’t just wish Lu away like that.”

The room was hot with tension; Min felt faint. Stop yelling, her heart pleaded. This is my wedding.

“What is the decree?” she blurted aloud.

Set seemed to notice her for the first time. His face rearranged itself with some effort and he smiled indulgently down at her. “The decree,” he told her, “will rid our land of the foreign scourge. The Ellandaise will have ten days to vacate their sector and our ports.”

“All foreigners? The Westermen, too?” Min said in surprise.

Set waved a hand. “Yes, though we plan to be more lenient with their kind, unless they deal in poppy tears or other degenerate cargo.”

“The days of foreign influence in imperial lands is over,” said a voice from behind them. Min gave a start, but her cousin and mother parted slightly to allow Brother to join the circle. She hadn’t seen him enter.

“Emperor Set’s reign will be remembered as a turning point in our history,” the monk continued.

Something in his low, languid voice felt as though it were walking cold feet right up the notches of Min’s spine. “Your husband will be exalted as a great hero, half a god. He will accomplish feats the likes of which no one has seen before.” He smiled, showing a mouthful of small white teeth.

He took her hand in one of his. Min looked down. Her skin was soft and pale. His was paler still, though rough and cold beneath her fingers.

“Are you ready to serve your husband, Small Princess?” he asked.

Their eyes met. Brother clutched her hand tighter, pulling her close to examine her eyes. “I think you are ready,” he mused, sounding slightly surprised. “Though perhaps you don’t know it yet.”

There was nothing in her breeding that had prepared her to respond to this. Think, she scolded herself. Lu would’ve had an answer.

“Don’t scare the girl,” her cousin interrupted, his impatience almost comforting. “Come on then, Brother. Let’s get this ceremony done with. It’s been a long day.”

Min tried not to sigh in relief when the monk released her hand. Her mother guided her down to her knees across from her cousin. Set’s eyes were a plush, stormy gray. Troubled.

How do I serve you if you can’t even see me? she wondered. How do I reach you?

He smiled dutifully at her, then took her hands in his own as the monk began to recite their vows. His hands were warm and strong, steadying the tremble right out of her own. And when the ceremony was finished, he beamed at her.

“We are now man and wife. Emperor and empress,” he told her. She smiled back at him, nodding perhaps a touch over-eagerly. He looked so radiant, so tall.

“I’m very ha—” Min began, but he had already turned away to speak with Brother. The words died on her lips.

A warm pressure at her back distracted her. Min found her mother hovering over her, her face conflicted between pride and—what was that exactly? Fear? Nervousness?

“You’ll be fine,” the empress said, but it sounded more like she was trying to assure herself. And why? Min felt a twinge of annoyance. Did her mother really trust her so little? She vowed she would show her—show them all. She would be the most constant, demure, supportive empress Set could ever wish for. They would see.

“And now,” Brother’s voice rose behind them. “I’d like a moment alone with the newlyweds. To bless their union.”

The empress’s jaw clenched just slightly. “I don’t believe that is customary,” she said.

“Perhaps not,” Brother said affably. “But with a couple so young, it is sometimes easier to discuss . . . ah, intimate matters alone. Auspicious dates for conception—that sort of thing.”

Min felt herself redden from the tips of her ears down to her collarbone.

“Aunt Rinyi, it’s fine,” Set was telling her mother, guiding her toward the door. “I told you, Minyi won’t ever be out of my sight.”

“You promised.” Her mother’s voice was a hushed, hurried whisper, even as she was hustled out the door. “Remember, Set, you promised me.”