The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)(72)
I still did not understand until a cloaked girl marched stiffly into the room. Lord Kalen’s sword made a hard ringing sound as it slid out of its scabbard. Already he was halfway between us and the stranger.
“How did you sneak in here, Inessa?” The bone witch’s voice held grudging respect. The Deathseeker stopped in his tracks, astonished, as Lady Tea dispersed the magic surrounding the newcomer.
“Don’t you remember? For a very short time, I actually ruled this kingdom. You should know; you were there.” It was a soft voice, light and lilting. The princess tugged her hood down, and I found myself staring into a beautiful face with bright-blue eyes framed by reddish-brown curls. Her heartsglass gleamed cherry red.
“This is not the warm welcome I had hoped to receive,” said the First Daughter of Kion.
19
“Our dungeons?” Tansoong asked, staring. “But why?”
“We are the princess’s guard,” Shadi told him. “We must be kept abreast of any dangerous felons in the city, and that includes those in your dungeon.”
Khalad had stayed behind to examine the sleeping Daanorian princess. Princess Inessa and Likh were elsewhere for some court function. Kalen was off to measure the scope and extent of the wards in the palace, hoping to find the means to unravel them, leaving only Zoya, Shadi, Fox, and me.
Tansoong, the elder statesman, was solicitous but also very inquisitive, constantly peppering Zoya with questions. He seemed particularly interested in Dark asha, and more than once, I felt his curious eyes on me when he thought I wasn’t looking. The younger court official, Baoyi, was the complete opposite, not bothering to hide his dislike. Clearly, he was here only because his emperor had ordered him to be and maintained a sullen silence with us. He had a nervous-looking servant with him who appeared to be a secretary of sorts.
It was unfortunate that I couldn’t cast Scrying on either official; I wondered what kind of minds they had. Likh had asked them about the wards around the palace and received blank stares from both. Inessa had questioned the emperor and gotten the same reaction. Either the barriers were placed without their knowing or they were magnificent actors.
“We only have two prisoners at the moment,” Tansoong explained, “both servants caught stealing from the kitchens. They shall be transferred to the larger jails in the city, so her betrothed will have little reason to worry.”
Zoya studied the prisoners while I peeked into the other empty cells. With a sigh, I glanced down at the floor, where some bored prisoner or guard had piled a few stones in one corner. Dirt was strewn across the floor, and many of the cells had no locks. The prison cells were rarely maintained, Tansoong explained, because few people would dare to commit crimes so near to the emperor. It was wishful thinking to have hoped that the old Heartforger was here.
It was only after we left that Baoyi finally spoke. “Why do you ask to examine our princess?” he demanded.
“We have a noted healer with us,” Shadi explained. “He offered his services.”
“What do I know of this man’s qualifications? What assurances do I have that you will not poison her?”
“It is the emperor’s orders, milord.”
His secretary cleared his throat and murmured something in a soft, placating tone. Baoyi scowled, then barked an order to some of the soldiers.
“He wants the guards increased at Princess Yansheo’s room,” Shadi murmured. “He is protective of the girl.”
The girl herself, Jade of the House of Weixu, lay sleeping on a golden bier, surrounded by flowers. A glass case separated her from the rest of the world, like she was a character from an old fairy tale. Zoya told me the glass was removed every three hours for the attending servants to bathe her hair and anoint her body with the choicest perfumes, which Zoya learned had been on Baoyi’s orders. To spread rumors that the princess was dead was a jailable offense.
“They found her by the gardens outside the ballroom,” Khalad said quietly. Whatever wards were in place, his forging skills remained unaffected. “Her heartsglass is missing, but someone had drawn her Heartsrune. I can still feel the spell lingering around her.”
“None of the Daanorians are owning up to that,” Fox said. “Curious.”
Tansoong excused himself, glancing at me as he did. Baoyi stood over the princess and folded his arms, still glaring.
“He doesn’t believe that a young girl like you is capable of putting down a savul when their army has failed,” Shadi whispered. “It is the kingdoms of Tresea and Istera that hold the nearest daeva burial mounds, so Daanorians know little about the beasts. They always considered asha an ornamental profession, more to do with entertaining guests than slaying daeva.”
“It is a belief they should consider amending,” Zoya said shortly. “Daeva have not been sighted in this kingdom for more than five hundred years, but a creature’s habits are never constant. Times are changing and so must they. Once they pinpoint the current whereabouts of the savul, Tea, you should prove them wrong. Show them asha are more than concubines for princes.”
“‘Princes’? Did a prince say something to you, Zoya?”
“Not to me,” the asha growled.
Shadi squeezed Zoya’s hand. “Don’t be jealous. I declined their offers.”
“Still makes me want to kick each and every one of their satin-clothed behinds.”