Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [206]
"She must have been very wise and gracious to inspire such loyalty," Snow Tiger commented. "This foreign queen you served."
I laughed. "No. No, she was capricious, vain, and fickle. But she could be kind and generous, too. And when she was in a sweet temper, it was as though the sun shone and all the birds in the sky sang at once."
"I see."
There were thoughts and memories unfurling in her mind, doubts and questions. Musings on what might have been had she been raised differently, had her own mother survived. But she did not voice them, and I held my tongue and kept my knowledge to myself, breathing quietly while the dragon drifted and dreamed.
In a little while, Snow Tiger dismissed me.
At least this time, I did not think she was glad to be rid of me.
* * *
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Lord Jiang refused. "He claims it is a trick." The Emperor paced in his council chamber, as restless as his daughter in anger. Dozens of councilors huddled on their knees, their heads bowed. I knelt behind Master Lo, keeping my eyes lowered. "A trick! As though I would resort to such subterfuge." He fetched up before my mentor. "Can you prove it otherwise, old friend?"
"Not beyond a shadow of doubt, Celestial Majesty." Master Lo's voice was heavy. "The way the incense smoke coiled around the Noble Princess indicates the dragon's presence. But I cannot prove its existence."
Bao nudged me.
"I can try, Master," I offered. "Your teaching has made me stronger. I can summon the twilight and show them the dragon in the mirror."
"Smoke and mirrors." Emperor Zhu waved a dismissive hand. "No, no. They will not believe it. Especially not when foreign sorcery is involved."
Master Lo inclined his head. "Then we must find a way to convey the Noble Princess to White Jade Mountain ourselves."
The Emperor stiffened. "And provoke a civil war?"
"It is coming whether you provoke it or not, old friend," Master Lo Feng said softly. "Forgive me, but my son has ensured that it is so, and I believe he has done so with Jiang Quan's knowledge and consent. If you hesitate, you lose what advantage is left to you."
"No." Emperor Zhu shook his head. Beads of gemstones dangling from his flat yellow crown swung and rattled. There were harsh lines of sorrow and grief etched in his face. "No, no, no. I will not do this thing. I will not plunge the Celestial Empire into war." He took a deep breath, his chest rising and swelling. "If I have lost the Mandate of Heaven, if I must surrender the throne, I will."
No!
"Peace," I whispered to the distant dragon.
It settled reluctantly.
"And the Noble Princess?" Master Lo murmured.
The Emperor looked away. "I grieve, old friend. I have grieved from the moment it happened. But I do not have the right to further offend Heaven on my daughter's behalf." He spared a glance in my direction. "Your jade-eyed witch soothes the dragon. Let her continue to do so."
I waited for someone else to implore the Emperor to take action, to convince him that he had not lost the Mandate of Heaven.
No one spoke.
They had not heard the dragon's thoughts, they had not seen its endless pearl-bright coils reflected in the mirror. Only Master Lo Feng's foreign witch and the possessed princess claimed to have done so. But they had seen the nuptial bedchamber drenched in blood, the dismembered corpse of Lord Jiang's son—or if they'd not seen it with their own eyes, they'd heard it described in horror a thousand times over.
Not a man among them would challenge the Emperor.
The decision was made.
Once dismissed, we backed out of the Imperial presence and returned to our quarters in silence. I thought of my promise to Snow Tiger and wondered how in the name of all the gods to broach the topic.
Bao did it for me. "So." He fetched a jar of rice wine from our humble kitchen and brought it into the courtyard. Master Lo glanced at him in surprise. "There is a time to drink strong spirits, Master," he said, pouring three cups.