Page 289 of The Priory of the Orange Tree

“Then there may be hope.” Loth loosed a breath. “You will have to excuse me, Thim. If this is to work, I must do my part and pray for it.”

When she was a child, Tané had imagined many possible futures for herself. In her dreams, she had thrown down the fire-breathing demons on the back of her dragon. She had become the greatest rider in Seiiki, greater even than Princess Dumai, and children had prayed that they would be like her one day. Her image had been painted on the walls of great houses, and her name had been enshrined in history.

In all that time, she had never dreamed that she would one day walk with the Unceasing Emperor of the Twelve Lakes in the City of the Thousand Flowers.

The Unceasing Emperor wore a cloak lined with fur. As they followed the paths, which had been cleared of snow, his bodyguards shadowed them. When they reached a pavilion beside a pond, the Unceasing Emperor motioned to one of the chairs.

“Please,” he said. Tané sat, and so did he. “I thought that you could join me while I break my fast.”

“This humble one is honored, Majesty.”

“Do you know what kind of bird that is?”

Tané looked in the direction he was indicating. Close by, a swan was tending to its nest.

“Yes, of course,” she said. “A swan.”

“Ah, not just any swan. In Lacustrine, these ones are calledsilentswans. It was said that the Nameless One burned their voices from their throats, and they will only sing again when a ruler is born who will see the end of that fiend once and for all. They say the night I came into this world, they sang for the first time in centuries.” He smiled. “And people wonder why we sovereigns form such a high opinion of ourselves. They try to make us think that even birds care what we do.”

Tané smiled a little in return.

“I find your story intriguing. I understand that you were once a promising sea guardian, but a misunderstanding in Ginura led to your exile to Feather Island.”

“Yes, Majesty,” Tané said.

“I have a great love for stories. Will you humor me and tell me all that has happened to you?”

Her palms were sweating.

“A great deal has happened to me,” she finally said. “It may take some of Your Majesty’s morning.”

“Ah, I have nothing to do but watch my councillors wring their hands over Lord Arteloth’s proposal.”

Servants came to pour them tea and offer platters of food: dates soaked in red mountain-honey, sun pears, plum-leaved apples, steamed nuts, mounds of black rice. Each dish was covered with a square of silk embroidered with stars. She had sworn never to speak of her past, but his easy smile put her at ease. While he ate, she told him about how she had broken seclusion and witnessed the arrival of Sulyard, and how Susa had paid for her reckless attempt to conceal it, and everything that had occurred since.

Everything but the jewel stitched into her side.

“So you defied your banishment to free your dragon, with little hope of success,” the Unceasing Emperor murmured. “For that, I commend you. And it seems you also found the lost island.” He dabbed his mouth. “Tell me, now—did you happen to come across a mulberry tree on Komoridu?”

Tané looked up and met his bright gaze.

“There was a dead tree,” she said. “Dead and twisted, covered in writing. I did not have time to read it.”

“They say the spirit of Neporo is in the tree. Anyone who eats of its fruit absorbs her immortality.”

“The tree bore no fruit, Majesty.”

A flicker of some nameless emotion crossed his face.

“No matter,” he said, and held out his cup for more tea. A servant refilled it. “Now I know your past, I am curious about your future. What do you intend to do next?”

Tané interlocked her fingers in her lap.

“First,” she said, “I wish to play a part in destroying the Nameless One. After that, I wish to return to Seiiki.” She hesitated. “If Your Imperial Majesty could help me do that, I would be grateful.”

“How might I help you?”

“By writing to the all-honored Warlord on my behalf. If you tell him that I retrieved Nayimathun, a subject of the shining Imperial Dragon, he may hear my case and allow me to return.”

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