The village was west of the temple, east of the forest and to the north of both, a small settlement at the southern edge of Snakeweed Creek. The creek was an inlet of the Nahari, a great river that flowed northeast all the way to the coastlineâand the only way to reach the Convent of the Sun that didn't take you through the desert. A loquacious Kameko informed Sam the creek got its name from the yellow-flowering bushes growing along the creekbank. Though they could see creek from afar, they didn't come too close for their horses' sakes. Apparently snakeweed was to horses what catnip was to catsâmostly harmless but when eaten in large quantities a potent laxative. From her cousin's expression, Sam got the sense Kameko had witnessed its effects firsthand.
They rode their horses into the village, a fenced-off enclave barely large enough to deserve the name, with out-of-town visitors outnumbering the permanent residents. Many Rheans made an annual pilgrimage to the Convent of the Sun, and so the village's inns never wanted for guests or the coin they brought with them.
After dismounting and tethering their horses to the stakes of the fence, Sam and Kameko continued on through the village on foot. The recent storm had left its mark, leaving behind unavoidable puddles that sloshed and squelched under their feet. Though the sun had returned, as had the oppressing heat, no one was outside to greet them. Most of the villagers were employed by the sisters and were away working at the temple.
"I told you, there isn't much worth seeing," said Kameko with a bored sigh. "People come to the convent to see the temples, not the village."
Sam hated to admit her cousin was right. The flag flying from the tall flagpole at the village center bore the Mother's sigil, a golden starburst on a white background, declaring loyalty to the sisters over the emperor. Sam would find no allies here. She was well and truly on her own, may the Gods help her.
The only thing of any interest was the strange, roofless structure just south of Snakewood Creek, boasting far more elaborate architecture than the rest of the village. Built from the same smooth white stone as the temple, it was walled off on three sides by a succession of two-tiered arches. The fourth side opened on to a rectangular courtyard, paved in a tiled mosaic of a sunburst. At the back of the courtyard was a towering statue of Emese, Her stone expression fierce. A balanced scale hung suspended from the statue's right hand, and a dagger was clenched in Her left.
"What is this place?" Sam asked, staring up at the massive statue. She took a single step onto the tiled marble floor of the courtyard, but Kameko shoved her back, hard enough to make her stumble.
"You can't go in there," Kameko said sharply. "The Court of Atonement is not open to visitors."
"I thought you said I was allowed anywhere on the convent grounds."
"Not here. The sanctum is for the Arbiter alone, and those who have asked for the Mother's justice. A trial before the Mother isn't meant for spectators."
Sam frowned. "Why wasn't Braeden's trial held here?"
"We could not risk bringing him into the village, not so close to the emperor's arrival. Besides, the Court is a holy place blessed by Emese. The Arbiter did not want the aliah to sully it."
Sam was still stuck on what Kameko had said first. "The emperor's arrival? He is coming here?"
Kameko shrugged, unimpressed by the prospect of the most powerful man in Rhea at her doorstep. "The Sun Sisters do not bow to any man. The emperor is a man like any other."
Sam stared at her cousin. In Thule, such brazen words about the king would be viewed as treason and blasphemy both. If you believed the scripture, the king of Thule was Cathair's lieutenant on earth, a direct descendent of Hartwin the Brave. Did the Rhean emperor not enjoy the same unimpeachable legitimacy? She shook her head, bemused. "Have you met him?"
"Don't look so shocked, cousin. He comes once a year to visit his sister."
Zahra. Sam's mind flashed to the last time she saw the princess-turned-servant in the bowels of the sisters' underground dungeons. She hadn't seen the woman since that hellish day, nor, to her shame, had she thought of her. Now Sam remembered Zahra was the only surviving witness to Braeden's deadly escape. The Arbiter had interrogated her. What had Zahra told her? What did she know? Sam cursed herself for a fool for forgetting to seek her out. "When is the emperor expected?"
"He was supposed to arrive a few days ago. The storm must have delayed him."
"Will he stay at the temple?"
"No, thank Emese. Men may visit the main sanctuaries, but the sisters' sleeping quarters is forbidden to them. He'll stay here in the village, as will most of his retinue."
Sam tried to imagine her father in a humble village inn and failed. And he was only a duke, not a bloody emperor.
"He'll probably bring half his court this time," Kameko grumbled. "His courtiers think the novices are their servants, never mind that we have actual servants. The emperor's last visit was utter chaos."
"Chaos?" Sam echoed, hiding a burgeoning smile.
She could work with chaos.
***
Emperor Kazan Malakhan III was not what Sam expected.
He came to the convent in a grand vessel with a convoy of smaller turtle-shaped ships, all flying the imperial colors of red and gold. The ships' drafts were too deep to traverse Snakeweed Creek, so they dropped anchor where the inlet met the Nahari and paddled the rest of the way on impractically elegant canoes. The novices stood by the bank to help pull the boats ashore, while the sisters remained at the temple.
Sam went with the novices, itching to see what chaos the emperor brought with him. He brought, if not with half his court, a goodly number of them. His escort included his imperial guard, favored attendants, musicians and dozens of overdressed hangers-on with no apparent purpose.
Sam did not spot the emperor immediately, and would not have recognized him if not for the bejeweled monstrosity atop his head. It was not that he was ordinary lookingânor could he be, with that ridiculous, ill-fitting crownâand in fact, he possessed an ethereal sort of beauty. His black hair was woven into a long gleaming braid down his back, his skin a burnished gold under the sunlight. His face was a perfect oval, set off by large, golden eyes a shade deeper than his skin, a wide mouth and decidedly stubborn jaw without a trace of stubble.
He was also small and slight, no taller than Sam, and likely five years younger.
"Close your mouth," Kameko murmured, nudging Sam with a light jab of her elbow.
Sam hadn't realized she'd been staring. "You said the emperor was a man," she hissed, just loud enough for Kameko to hear her. "He's a boy."
Kameko spared her an amused glance from behind her balaclava. "He's my age. Old enough to rule, under Rhean law. He inherited the throne when his parents died seven years ago and has ruled without a regent for two."
"Who served as his regent before he came of age?"
Kameko let out an audible whoosh of air. "His sister."
"Zahra?" Sam exclaimed.
"Your mouth is open again, cousin. You look like a drowning fish."
Sam obeyed, but had too many questions to swallow them all. "Nasrin said Zahra betrayed the emperor. What did she do that was so awful?"
Kameko jabbed her again with her elbow. "Keep your voice down. It is not a subject discussed lightly, especially in this company." Lowering her voice to a whisper, she said, "The last emperor--Emperor Kazan's father--believed it was his Gods-given duty to conquer the world. He annexed several small independent nations early in his reign and spent the rest warring with rebels in the conquered territories. He drained half the treasury before the generalâour grandfatherâurged him to make peace. He offered his daughter's hand to the self-appointed khan of the rebellion if the khan agreed to lay down his arms and serve as his loyal governor. The khan agreed, and the emperor sent Zahra to live with him in Balam, the largest of the rebel territories. She stayed in Balam for twenty years before she was summoned back to serve as her brother's Regent. A brother who was born a decade after she left."
"You sound almost sorry for her."
Kameko tugged at her mask, adjusting the opening more out of habit than need. "Zahra was thirteen when her father sent her away. Hardly a woman, except in the eyes of the law. It was only to be expected that she'd develop divided loyalties." She sighed heavily. "The rebellion never died; it waited. Zahra was caught sending money and weapons to Balam. She chose to betray her brother over her husband."
Sam could not help but think of her mother, who was not much older than Zahra had been when she'd married a Thulian duke, leaving behind everything she knew in Rhea. Sam knew without a doubt that if it came to a choice between her family in Thule and her family in Rhea, her mother would choose the family she'd made over the one she was born intoâa family that had in many ways abandoned her. In her own way, Nasrin had done the same, choosing her sisters-in-arms over her blood sister's only daughter. Faith in blood was not equal to faith in the heart.
"You're woolgathering," Kameko said on a lighter note.
"Guilty as charged," Sam admitted, and the cousins shared a real smile.
Maybe blood did count for something.
A/N: A relatively quick update for me! Now I'm onto the fun stuff (for me anyway). Too much telling not showing here, do you think? As always look forward to your thoughts.