Page 15 of The Tenth Muse

I inhaled deeply. The forest would be there when I returned, I reminded myself. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. How many splendors had seen the inside of the Divine Palace?

The gossiping courtiers continued to carry us on their current. I didn’t try to listen to what they were saying or inspect them the way they seemed to be dissecting me.

Four guards were lined up outside the door, their pointed tridents glinting as they crisscrossed each other, parting only when my escorts drew near.

I straightened, mimicking the men facing me, as if metal rods had been attached to their spines. I missed climbing and swinging from branch to branch, or laying back and savoring plush figs. The palace was so much bigger than I’d anticipated and the wide open space between the doors beckoned us over its threshold.

I slowly entered its gaping maw, swallowed up by the large throne room.

There were four gilded columns with golden mermaids twirling up their spines, partially hidden between the waves. Scaled tails were carved in finite detail, some smooth and rounded, while others were jagged or feathered. At the top of each column, curled around the clouds was a gilded splendor, each one in a different pose, all of them with beautifully splayed wings.

Pinpricks drew up my empty shoulder blades. A phantom tingle for something that never existed. My ribs pinched.

There was so much to take in between the wall-length murals and lounge areas in each corner. I didn’t even see a throne.

The guard to my left cleared his throat and nodded ahead of us.

Large plumed fans were lined in two rows about forty paces before us, creating a narrow walkway obscuring my view of the front of the room.

Striding forward, I held my chin high, tail feathers dragging behind my bare feet on the satiny, chilled tiles. The last thing I wanted was to look like a fool in front of the Emperor. I had never met royalty before, for obvious reasons, but I did understand general manners from my many stories from the forest nymphs.

The fan-holders were dressed in nearly as little as I was, which wasn’t much considering I was bare. Splendors didn’t wear clothing, our feathers were the only shelter our bodies needed. Where mine curved along my hips and nestled over the space between my thighs, these servants had one long thin piece of sheer navy overtop strips of fabric that slinked up and over their hips and between their rears. Where my chest was covered in a thin layer of tufted feathers, theirs had only golden disks, held in place over the crests of their curves by some sorcery I hadn’t encountered before.

I swallowed thickly and tried not to stare.

One by one their fans brushed against us, rippling gracefully up toward the ceiling before circling toward the outer walls of the room. I could not take my eyes off of them, dragging my gaze from one to the next as they moved with hypnotic grace.

The last two opened their fans to reveal a set of thrones, one tall and the other shorter in stature. The first was empty, the second held a delicate woman with a flowing navy gown.

The Empress.

Her neckline was low, the top of it sheer enough to see she had the same golden disks on her breasts. A sapphire encrusted crown was perched atop seafoam green waves that cascaded down her shoulders at varying lengths, so beautiful I wanted to reach out and thumb over the strands. Thick liner rimmed her amber eyes, making the color stand out. They reminded me of the sandy shore we’d arrived upon not long ago.

“Empress, we have brought you the splendor.”

“Wondrous,” the Empress clapped. “Bring it closer.”

Chilling air slipped between my feathers and I shivered, cautiously taking a step forward past the last fan bearers.

Lining the edges of the throne, previously hidden from view, were clusters of courtiers chatting eagerly amongst themselves.

“Do you know why you’re here, Splendor?”

Lyric, I thought to myself.My name is Lyric.

No one had asked since I’d received my invitation. No one seemed to care. It was silly to think it mattered. These were royalty with much more important matters to fret over than the name of a visitor.

I cleared my throat, the words working in harmony with the murmurs on either side of me. “To cheer the Emperor?”

“To cheer the greatest Emperor this world has ever known. Master of the most powerful and rich empire for near a century,” the Empress scoffed, the crowd nodding along with her. “But before you visit with him, why not share a tune with us? We’ll decide if you’re as majestic as they claim.”

Her eyes roved over my wingless back, lips pressing into a line. Clearly, she was disappointed. But I wasn’t here for her, I was here at the request of the Emperor.

While I’d sang many times each day, I’d never had an audience other than the occasional stray wanderer. I’d never felt like I was performing, like I needed to earn something. My songshad always belonged to me, an aching ode to loneliness, a sacred prayer that one day I’d belong somewhere and be loved.

Treasured.

Maybe this was my chance?

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