Vessel

“She should,” the emperor said without changing his expression. “I ordered her imprisonment with the intent of causing suffering to her clan.”

“But you intended to save them—and me,” Liyana said.

“Yes, I did,” he said. “Without their deities the clans would have welcomed an alliance with the empire. We could have worked together to survive the drought. It was a brilliant plan. You undid it.”

“I won’t apologize for that,” Liyana said.

A brief smile crossed his lips. “I do not expect you to, any more than I will apologize to you for trying to save my people.”

“You’re still trying,” she pointed out. “You haven’t left.”

“We are healing from the attack,” he said. “Our focus has not been on packing.”

“But you don’t intend to leave.”

“Once, there was a mosquito who—” the emperor began.

Liyana reached over and touched his hand. Inside her, Bayla crowed, Now! and flooded magic into her body. The magic filled her, but Liyana let her hand simply rest on his. “I am not here as an enemy, even if that is what you are,” she said. “You cannot enter the mountains, but I believe I can convince my people to supply rations to you so you and your army can return to your lands. We don’t want war.”

The emperor covered her hand with his. His hand was soft and warm. “It is too late for a simple peace. You saw the fear in the eyes of my people. If I do not find a way to defeat that fear, it will eat at us as surely as hunger.” His lips quirked into a smile. “When you walked into my tent that day, I never expected you held the power to destroy an empire.”

“I didn’t have a goddess in me then,” Liyana said.

“You don’t need one,” the emperor said. “You are powerful on your own.”

She looked into his eyes. He had sorrow inside, more sadness than he should have had to hold. “If our people fight again, more will die,” she said. “We have magic, but you have numbers. You don’t want more blood on your hands, either. I know that.”

“You presume to know me.”

“I do know you. We are alike.”

He was silent, staring into her eyes, and she found herself holding her breath. It was presumptuous of her. Not so long ago she would not have dreamed of uttering such a statement. But it felt true.

“Become my wife,” he said.

She stared as all words fled her mind. It felt as if the world slowed and faded away beyond the tent. She heard a roar of wind. You cannot, Bayla said.

He leaned forward and very gently kissed her. His lips felt like a butterfly on her lips. He drew back, and she touched her lips with her fingertips.

“We can save our people by uniting our people,” he said.

“We . . . my people . . .” It felt difficult to think, as if she had to swim through sand. “We value our freedom.”

“You would have it,” he said. “As empress you could ensure that your people retain the independence they need. You would be joining the empire as an equal nation, not a conquered one.”

Bayla roared inside her. Caught off guard, Liyana fell into darkness. The swirl of Bayla’s presence surrounded her, and Liyana fought her way back to feel her body. She blinked her eyes. She was lying on the blankets. The emperor bent over her, his face merely inches from hers. He clutched her shoulders. “Liyana? Liyana! Can you hear me?”

“You care,” she said, wonder filling her voice. The look in his eyes . . .

He loosened his grip and rocked back. Raising his head, he waved to the guards. “All is well. You may leave us. Tell the doctors to return to the wounded.” He bent back over Liyana. “Are you well? Was it her—Bayla?”

She nodded, and she felt tears spill out of her eyes onto her cheeks.

You cannot consider this! Bayla howled. It is a betrayal of all we are! To choose this stranger, this outsider—

He’s no outsider! He is human! Even more, he dreams of the lake! Liyana rubbed her forehead as if that would help the howls inside her head. “I . . . don’t want anyone else to die.” She let him help her sit up. He cradled her against his shoulder. For an instant she let him comfort her. His arms felt safe.

“No more bloodshed,” he said.

He wants to use you, Bayla hissed.

“And the lake?” Liyana asked. “You cannot enter the mountains. United or not, that must never happen. The sky serpents will attack.”

He took a deep breath. “If you can bring water to the desert, then summoning it to a once-fertile land . . . You could bring magic to the empire through what is inside you. We will not need the mountains or the lake.” Kneeling, he held both her hands in his. “Come to my empire, Liyana. Come save us.”

I will not feed you magic to save our enemy, Bayla said.

Why must they be our enemy? Liyana asked. They’re people too!

We are the turtle’s people, Bayla said. We are of the desert.

Liyana felt Bayla swirl faster and faster like a sandstorm. She heard the rush of wind inside of her. What are you afraid of?

I am a goddess! I fear nothing! But Liyana saw a glimpse of a thought, one that Bayla did not intend for her to see. An image of a raven.

This isn’t about the desert or our people, Liyana realized. This is about Korbyn!

Bayla swirled inside her. I love him! And I felt you care for him, as he cares for you. You cannot be contemplating this . . . this abomination! You cannot make me leave him! You promised me this body!

I cannot allow more people to die, not when I can prevent it, Liyana said. She had planned to sacrifice herself to save her people. This fate . . . He was intelligent, passionate, and handsome.

One day this body will be mine, Bayla said. One day you will lose control, and you will lose yourself as Raan did. And I will destroy this man and his empire, and I will return to my true love. All the deities will join me, and all the clans will rise up with me.

Liyana felt as if her breath had been stolen away. She felt the full force of her goddess’s anger rising inside her. It threatened to engulf her, but she clung to her body as if to a tree in a windstorm.

The emperor cupped her face in his hand. “Liyana?”

She took a breath and then another. “Your Imperial Majesty . . .”

“Jarlath,” he said. “My parents called me Jarlath. You may as well.”

She liked the name. “Jarlath, I cannot marry you.” He lowered his hand, and she caught it in hers. “She will not allow it.” But Bayla could not control all of her, despite her threats. Liyana leaned forward and kissed the emperor.

Chapter Thirty-One

Liyana lost herself in the emperor’s arms. She didn’t hear Bayla inside her as anything more than a distant storm. She was aware of every inch of her skin, the way his hands felt on her back and the way his lips tasted. It felt like magic, or the reverse of magic, the way every thought drifted away until she was only here and now, only herself with Jarlath.

And then the moment shattered. “Your Imperial Majesty!”

Releasing him, she shot up to her feet. He rose more gracefully, and his face stilled into his stonelike emperor expression. “Mulaf.” The name was a greeting, a reprimand, and a question all at once.

Mulaf laughed and clapped his hands like a toddler. “I did it! I have them!”