Excerpt:
“My guards found this in your chambers.”
The emperor held up a single black feather. A hawk’s.
Edan’s.
My pulse roared in my ears, but curiously, I held my calm. It was unlike me: yesterday I would have stared at the ground, stammering a barely coherent response—begging for the emperor not to hurt Edan. Today, I simply clasped my hands and bowed my head. “The Lord Enchanter is known for taking the form of a hawk to facilitate his service to Your Majesty. If he visited my chambers, it was no doubt to ensure that I was working on my tasks for Lady Sarnai.”
“You’ve developed a courtier’s tongue while you were away, Tamarin,” said Emperor Khanujin. The praise rang hollow in my ears, as it was meant to. “You traveled with him for months. Why did he leave?”
That, I knew the answer to. Edan had left because I’d begged him to. Because I’d lied to him and told him I’d be fine without him. Because I had broken his oath to the emperor, and if he didn’t leave . . . gods knew what Khanujin would do to him.
But I couldn’t tell the emperor that.
I could lie, but no lie would keep Edan safe from Khanujin’s wrath forever. Unless . . .
I licked my lips, tasting the sweetness of a new possibility. I glanced at Emperor Khanujin’s throat, barely protected by the richly embroidered collar of his jacket.
Think how easy it would be, a dark voice bubbled within me. My voice.
If you want to protect Edan, this is what you must do. You have the strength. Khanujin is weak and alone.
Heat prickled my eyes, and my fingers twitched with temptation.
Yes. Do it. The voice resonated deeply, overthrowing my senses and my reason. Kill him.
No! I dug my nails into my palms. Go away.
The voice in my head chuckled. Little Maia. You know it’s only a matter of time. I grow stronger every minute. Soon my thoughts will be your thoughts. Our thoughts will be one. You won’t even notice it.
That was what I was afraid of. I gritted my teeth. LEAVE ME.
When the laughter floated away and finally faded, I uncurled my fingers and rubbed the bloody half-moons imprinted on my palms.
“Tamarin!” the emperor growled. “If you lie to me, I’ll have your father and brother brought here to be hanged.”
A flare of anger shot up to my chest, squeezing it so tight I could hardly breathe. I wanted to tell him I would kill him before that happened, that I’d give in to the darkness in me and shatter his bones one by one before I let him touch my family.
But I did not. The anger was gone as quickly as it came. I touched my head to the ground in a deep bow.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I do not know. I pray the Lord Enchanter and Lady Sarnai will both be found.” I paused, waiting for the sharp sting of regret rising in my chest to dull. I wished I had never searched Lady Sarnai’s room, had never helped the emperor gather clues to find her.
I bowed again, and finally, Khanujin flicked his hand in dismissal.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” My voice was ice once more, gravid with lies. “May you live ten thousand years.”