Eona - Alison Goodman [88]
“Soundproof,” Momo said, following my upward gaze. “Completely.” She smiled as she picked up a blue porcelain bowl and made a show of sipping the tea.
I took a hurried sip from my own bowl, remembering my fellow candidate’s lurid stories. Across the low table, Yuso shifted his weight, a crimp of pain between his eyebrows; kneeling did not agree with a leg wound.
“So you claim to be friends of Master Heron,” Momo said to him. “I know Ryko. But who are you?”
“I am Yuso, captain of His Majesty’s imperial guard.”
She shot a glance at Ryko, who nodded. She leaned forward. “And you say His Majesty is alive? Sethon proclaimed his death more than a week ago, and my normal channels have picked up only wind-whispers that he survived the coup.”
“We got him out in time. He is alive and preparing to fight for his throne,” Yuso said. “We left him this morning.”
“Preparing?” She frowned. “Today is the last day of Rightful Claim. Does he not make his move?”
Yuso shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I see.” Her shrewd gaze rested upon me. “And who are you, to be so carefully watched over by your comrades?”
Yuso bowed toward me. “This is Lady Eona, Mirror Dragoneye.”
“Lady Eona?” Momo sat back on her heels. “Ah, I see. Lord Eon.” She bowed. “It is a good disguise, my lord.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I really am Lady Eona. The Mirror Dragon is female, as am I.”
She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Truly?” Her fierce face folded into deep carved laughter lines. “How wonderful, a female Dragoneye. That would have put the wind up those Dragoneye Lords.” She sobered. “Of course, they are all dead now, may they walk in the garden of heaven.” She turned to Ryko. “You do realize how dangerous it is to bring Lady Eona into the city? I didn’t raise a fool, did I?”
We all froze, staring at Ryko. He looked around the table, his glare finally resting on Momo. “Lady Eona is integral to our plan,” he said flatly.
“Are you Ryko’s mother?” Dela asked Momo, her own fierceness softening into a small, surprised smile.
Momo snorted. “Of course not. I took him in when he was eight.” She glanced across at the islander. “Trouble from day one.”
Ryko’s glare intensified.
Ignoring him, Momo turned to Yuso. “What is this plan that is so important that you would risk a Dragoneye? Do you try to assassinate Sethon? You will die before you get near him.”
“We have to get Lord Ido out of the palace,” Yuso said.
She took a sip of tea, eyeing us. “That’s almost as difficult. He is in the cells.”
“You’re sure he’s still alive?” I asked urgently.
“He was this morning,” Momo said. “The soldiers take my girls to look at him like some kind of freak show: the great Dragoneye Lord bowed and bloody. My girls have seen a lot in their lives, and even they are shocked by what Sethon has done. From all accounts, if you try to move him, you’ll kill him.”
“That is why I am here,” I said. “I can heal him.”
It was one of the biggest risks in our plan. I had to heal Ido fast enough for him to gather his strength and hold off the ten bereft dragons before they tore me apart with power. Again, I touched Kygo’s ring: not only for luck, but for comfort, too.
“You can heal?” Momo shook her head in wonder.
“You say the soldiers take your girls to look at him,” Dela said. “That could work to our advantage.”
Momo tilted her head. “You’re eastern,” she said.
“I am Lady Dela. I was—”
“The Contraire?” Momo sat up straight.
Dela nodded, smoothing back her greasy hair with a selfconscious hand.
The old woman pressed her thin lips together. “We may have a problem. I have an eastern girl here, from the Haya Ro, and if she recognizes you . . .”
“She may,” Dela said. “I am the only twin soul among the Highland Tribes, and well known.”
Momo crooked a finger at Stoll. “Tell Hina she can take those two days off to see her son. As long as she goes now.”
Stoll bowed and left to deliver the good news. As the sliding door closed behind him, I glimpsed one of the Trang Dein man on