incense used for the sick. I rolled onto my back and felt soft silk brush my skin.
'Lord Eon?'
I raised my head and saw the silhouette of a woman sitting on a stool. The white blur of her face was topped by a coronet of coiled hair pinned with gold ornaments. A court lady.
Standing behind her was a heavyset Shadow Man, dark-skinned with his head shaved clean and his hands resting on the hilts of two sheathed swords. Then my eye was drawn to a flicker of light in 1 he corner of the room. A paper prayer lantern swinging from the hand of a black-robed Beseecher — the source of the chanting. Beside him was a servant half hidden in the gloom.
'Lord Eon? Can you speak?' The lady's voice was deep and resonant.
I pulled myself up onto an elbow. My head pounded with an echo of the red dragon's power and every part of me felt bruised. I was lying on a bed; a real bed, not just a roll. It was as wide as three pallets with raised sides made of black lacquered wood. A heavy yellow silk sheet covered me. It slipped a little as I moved, my neck and shoulder goosing in the cool air.
I looked down: no red tunic. Just a loose sleeveless night smock that was too big. I twitched the sheet over my bare skin. Had this woman undressed me? Had she seen me?
'Do you need your body servant?' The lady snapped her fingers. The figure in the shadows stepped forwards.
Rilla.
My servant?
'You should have some water,' the lady said. She waved Rilla over to a long bureau beneath the shuttered window. A reddish glow from a small brazier outlined the familiar shape of a water jug.
This wasn't my master's house. Where was I?
Rilla bowed and passed me a small drinking bowl. It was gold, engraved with a peony. Why was she giving me a noble's cup? Did she want to get me punished? I tried to push it back into her hands then saw the raw skin of burns and blisters on her fingers.
'What happ-?'
She gave a slight shake of her head and pushed the bowl back to me.
'Thank you.' My voice was raspy from disuse. How long had I been senseless? I took a sip of the water then gulped at the cool wet relief.
'That is enough for now,' the court lady chided gently. 'The physicians say you must take water slowly or your body will reject it.'
Rilla bowed again and took the empty bowl back to the bureau. The court lady signalled to the Beseecher, stopping his low chant, then rose gracefully from her seat. She kneeled on one knee and bowed, her long hands folded against one hip.
'Lord Eon,' she said, 'now that you are refreshed, you must be wondering where you are. This is the Peony guest apartment of the Imperial Palace. I am Lady Dela. It is my honour to welcome you to the palace and instruct you on the protocols of the court.'
Lord Eon? The palace?
'What…' I cleared my throat. 'What am I doing here?'
She straightened and I saw her face in the glow from the covered oil lamp between us. Rough skin painted with heavy white make-up. Square jaw, cheekbones high and sharp. Dark, deep-set eyes ringed with kohl and set under thinned arches. A curved nose spoke of ancestors from the Eastern Tribes and her mouth was generous, an upward curve hinting at humour. It was a strong face with more hawk-like majesty than beauty But what drew my eye was a large black pearl hanging from a gold pin threaded horizontally through the skin of her throat. It straddled the round of her windpipe, covering a noticeable knob that lumped when she swallowed.
'Do you remember the ceremony, my lord?' she asked, the pearl trembling as she spoke.
I fell a Hash of remembered heat and pain, a sudden image of my hands clawed across the pearl and the dragon curved over me.
'I remember the dragon coming to me across the sand.'
She nodded. 'The lost dragon. You are the new Mirror Dragoneye. The first in five hundred years. His Imperial Majesty has proclaimed the dragon's return as a most auspicious sign.'
'Mirror Dragoneye?' I repeated. 'But I'm just a candidate.'
'Yes, there was some resistance in the Dragoneye Council due to your youth and inexperience, but after much debate they have recognised your position.' She paused, the wide mouth quirking up lor a second. 'You are now Co-Ascendant Dragoneye with Lord ldo.'
I stared at her.
'Co Ascendant Dragoneye? But I'm just a candidate, I can't be a Dragoneye.' I pushed back against the pillow, coming up hard against the lacquered headboard.
'My lord, you have been chosen by the Mirror Dragon. There is no incumbent Dragoneye to apprentice you, therefore you are the Dragoneye.' Again, the slight smile. 'The Council used Lord Ido's own precedent of early status to come to a decision.'
I looked around the room. 'Where is my master?'
'Heuris Brannon is in conference with His Imperial Majesty and the Dragoneye Council,'
Lady Dela said slowly 'My lord, I know this is a Jot to take in, but you must now realise that Heuris Brannon is no longer your master. You are Lord Eon. Co-Ascendant Dragoneye. The highest rank in the land except for the Imperial family. Do you understand?'
'No,' I said, feeling all the air leave my body. 'No. I want my master.' I felt my throat close, my eyes hazing with red panic.
Lady Dela was beside me in a moment, snatching up my hand. 'Lord Eon, take a deep breath.
Breathe. Just breathe.' Her soft hand cupped my cheek as I struggled to force air past the rigid block in my chest. 'You over there,' she called. 'Help me.'
I heard a voice yelp in protest. The pad of running feet. Then Rilla holding something over my nose and mouth. The Beseecher's paper lantern. It smelled of the discarded wax candle. I gulped like a stranded fish and felt air force its way into my lungs.
'He will be here soon,' Rilla whispered in my ear. 'It will be all right.'
I took a deep, shaking breath and she pulled the paper lantern away.
Lady Dela patted my hand. 'That's right, take deep breaths.' Her shoulders lifted in a deep inhale, showing me the way. 'And out again.' She nodded as I exhaled. 'You are doing very well, my lord.'
She looked around the room. 'You, Ryko,' she said sharply, flicking her fingers at the Shadow Man, 'don't just stand there like a man mountain. Go and get the physician.'
'I am sorry, my lady,' the Shadow Man said, his voice unexpectedly soft and light, 'I cannot leave you unguarded.'
She glared at him. 'I'm hardly going to be attacked here.'
'No, because I am guarding you,' he said patiently
'I'm all right,' I said hoarsely.
Are you sure?' She peered at my face. 'I know how it is to rise from humble beginnings. Such sudden elevation can be…disorientating.' She gave my hand one last pat then let it rest on the silk cover. 'But I'm afraid you will not have much time to adjust to your new position. Now that you have recovered, His Imperial Majesty will expect you to attend this evening's banquet. It will be in your honour. You must bathe and dress. And then I will instruct you on proper court etiquette.'
A banquet with the Emperor? I felt my breath harden again.
Lady Dela looked over at Rilla. 'You seem able,' she said. 'I will send my girl over to assist you with your master's preparations. She'll help you bathe and dress him for court. His Majesty has given Lord Eon permission to draw what he needs from the Imperial stores.'
I pulled the cover up further. Bathed and dressed? I had to find a way to refuse the lady's offer.
Rilla turned to me, wincing as she folded her hands together and bowed.
'My lord, may I speak of your requirements?' she asked me solemnly.
My requirements? I stared at her deferential pose, then realised she was waiting for me to give permission.
