Naamah's Blessing - Jacqueline Carey [217]
The old pochteca glared at me. “I’d sooner a woman’s thighs gripped me, lady! I’ve a gentle enough hand with them.”
I smiled. “So I hear.”
Eyahue snorted.
“It puts me in mind of the first time Tortoise tried to ride a horse,” Bao said, eyeing him. “Remember, Moirin? Only Eyahue sits more like a bag of sticks than a sack of cabbages.”
“I remember.”
Our eyes met. We had so very many shared memories between us, Bao and I. Some were wondrous, and some were terrible.
Some were both.
“Poor Tortoise,” Bao said softly.
The remainder of the journey passed swiftly. After so long away, even returning to Tenochtitlan with its splendid, bloodstained temples and its mighty causeways felt like somewhat of a homecoming. I’d thought that the commander would wish us to lodge in the Aragonian stronghold, but it seemed that under the terms of his agreement, he was to escort us directly to Emperor Achcuatli.
Indeed, our approach had been noted, and a reception awaited us in the temple square beneath the rows and rows of hollow-eyed grinning skulls in the tzompantli. I could not help but steal a glance at them, and breathe a sigh of relief to find no fresh offerings among their ranks.
The Emperor himself was seated atop a gilded dais beneath a feather canopy, clad in the full regalia of his office, golden sandals and all. A faint smile touched his lips at the sight of me, and I felt myself flush.
At an order from one of the Emperor’s attendants, we dismounted and approached on foot, the Aragonians remaining behind.
Beneath his feathered canopy, Emperor Achcuatli inclined his head ever so slightly. “Prince of Terre d’Ange,” he said to Thierry. “I am pleased that the gods have spared you. I welcome you back to our city.”
Like Diego Ortiz y Ramos, Achcuatli had withheld information that would have benefited Thierry, but there was no hint of apology in his voice. Unlike the Aragonian commander, the Nahuatl Emperor could not be dismissed for creating a potential diplomatic incident with an ally nation of long standing.
And I daresay Thierry understood it, for he bowed deeply in reply. “Your majesty, I thank you for your hospitality and for your generous aid.” He gestured at Eyahue and Temilotzin. “Without your clever pochteca and your brave and loyal warrior, my countrymen would never have found us.”
“I am pleased.” The Emperor took stock of our meager baggage and our ragged, threadbare condition. “I fear your long journey met with little success. Have you aught left to trade?”
“No, your majesty,” Thierry said candidly. “We have a few goods with which to return to Terre d’Ange. But we have gained knowledge, and that is more valuable than gold. And we have… that is, most of us have… returned with our lives, on which no price can be set.”
“Your people place a great value on life,” Achcuatli observed.
“I do not value my life above any other man’s,” Thierry said. “But I have a duty. I would live to see it done. I owe it to my people.”
“That is spoken like a true ruler,” the Nahuatl Emperor said in approval. “For as long as you wish, you will be my guests. You will rest and refresh yourselves in the palace of Tenochtitlan.” He jerked his chin at Diego Ortiz y Ramos, hovering in the background. “When you are ready, the men of Aragonia may have the honor of escorting you on your journey to the city by the sea that they have built.”
Thierry bowed again. “Thank you, your majesty.”
Emperor Achcuatli rose and descended the steps of the dais, attendants sweeping the path before him with handheld brooms. His gold-plated sandals clanked with every step, but he managed the descent with practiced dignity. He paused before me, his obsidian eyes glinting. “It has been over a year since you departed,” he remarked. “And yet I found myself thinking of you and dreaming of flowers, thousands upon thousands of them. And so I ordered the offerings of flower and honey to Xochiquetzal, goddess of desire, to be continued in your name. I do believe they pleased her, for here you are.”
Again, I flushed. “You honor me, your majesty.”
Once more, he