Eona - Alison Goodman [89]
“And who are you?” Momo asked Vida dryly. “The Sun Empress?”
Vida shook her head. “I am a resistance fighter,” she said, undaunted by the old woman’s sarcasm.
Dela circled her hands around her tea bowl. “Why would Sethon torture Ido?” she asked. “It doesn’t make sense. He needs Ido.”
“No doubt Sethon is trying to get information out of him,” Yuso said.
Momo grunted. “I don’t like Lord Ido. I never have. He is twenty-four now, but I’ve known him since he was sixteen, and right from the beginning he has had something within him that is”—she paused—“keyed differently. If Sethon wanted something out of him, he would have to push past what a normal man could endure.”
I knew what Ido was trying to keep from Sethon: how to use the black folio to control a Dragoneye and his power. Or her power.
“You think Sethon has just gone too far with him?” Dela asked.
“I have seen Sethon’s methods,” Yuso said grimly. “They do not err on the side of restraint.”
“It is even beyond that,” Momo said. “We get imperial orders to send girls to the palace for our new esteemed emperor. Sometimes they don’t come back.” She glanced around the table, her eyes hard with anger. “Three bodies in the canal so far; one of them a girl from my house. He enjoys having power over life and death. I’ve tried to stop supplying, as have the other houses, but he just sends his men to get them.”
We sat in silence.
“Why do you want Ido so badly?” Momo finally asked. “It’s going to be a hellish job to get him out, and I can see you are here to ask for my help.”
It seemed we had finally passed her scrutiny. Yuso looked across at me, questioning. I shrugged: Why not?
“Lady Eona needs training,” he said. “Without Ido, she will not be able to control her power. And His Majesty needs her power to win his throne.”
Momo leaned forward, pinning me with her bright gaze. “What makes you think Ido will do what you want? From gratitude?” Her thin body shook in a silent laugh. “Ido doesn’t know what the word means. I should know.”
“When Lady Eona heals someone, she can control their will,” Ryko said. “She has healed Ido once already.”
My skin heated at the edge in his voice. Momo heard it, too; her attention snapped to the islander.
She sat back and sucked on her teeth. “She’s healed you, too, hasn’t she, Ry?”
His nod was almost imperceptible, his eyes fixed on the table. For a moment, Momo’s face softened.
“Well, then, Lady Eona.” She turned to me, once again Queen of the Blossom World. “If you can control a will like Ryko’s, you might be able to control Lord Ido. What is your plan, Yuso?”
“We cannot go in by force, so we must go in by deception. Lady Eona and Vida will masquerade as Blossom Women for one of these gatherings.”
Momo stared at him. “That is a very dangerous proposition.”
“Not so dangerous if they go in as high-ranked girls,” Yuso said.
She crossed her arms and inspected me, then Vida. “Possible, with a bit of work,” she conceded. “Although the refined arts of an Orchid or Peony are not often requested by soldiers. They do not want music or dance. They are more your Jasmine or Cherry Blossom type of men.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “We can work around it, though.”
“We do not expect Lady Eona or Vida to actually have to perform,” Yuso said quickly. “And Ryko, Lady Dela, and I will go in as their protectors, or something along those lines.”
“Could you and Ryko be recognized, captain?” Momo asked.
“Not unless some of the imperial guard have survived and turned,” he said.
Momo shook her head. “Executed. Every one of them.”
Yuso and Ryko looked at one another—a moment of shared anger—then Yuso bowed his head. Ryko pressed his fist to his chest, his face tight.
After a moment’s respectful silence, Momo said, “If you go in as my men, you will be stopped and held back outside the rooms, but at least you will be inside the palace walls. How quickly do you want to move?”
“As soon as we can,” I said.
“There’s an officer’s party tonight. Is that soon enough?”
I took a deep breath and looked around at the others.