'Because Lord Ido and High Lord Sethon despise what I am.'
'And because the Emperor is the Heavenly Master,' Ryko admonished.
We both looked at him.
'No,' Lady Dela said softly 'Because the Heavenly Master now has the most powerful Dragoneye on his side.'
CHAPTER 8
'Welcome, Lord Eon,' the Emperor's whispery voice said above me.
He was seated at the top of a tiered dais and I could see his foot, swollen and bandaged, resting on a small stool under the banquet table. Beside it, a matching stool had been placed in front of an empty chair; a ghost setting for the Empress, dead almost a year.
'The Harmony Robe suits you well,' His Majesty said. 'You may rise.'
I lifted my knee and painfully slid my foot forwards, rocking up into the crouching stand that Lady Dela had shown me. I chanced a quick look at the Heavenly Master. His shoulders were hunched in pale blue silk, and the sallow loose skin of his face left the impression that he had recently been a much bigger, more vigorous man. The huge Imperial Pearl, easily the size of a duck egg, filled the hollow at the base of his throat. Unlike Lady Dela's black pearl strung on a piercing rod, this pearl was held in a gold setting and sewn into the Emperor's skin. It was a symbol of his wisdom and sovereignty — his descent from the ancient dragons and would only be removed on his death to be sewn into the throat of his heir. I could see that the Emperor's skin had grown over the gold base, melding man and gem together.
My eyes flicked up to his face and, for a frozen moment, the Heavenly Master's gaze met mine. I looked away as required, but not before I saw his eyes cut to Lord Ido at the table below. His Majesty had also caught the Dragoneye's tension at the sight of my robe.
One of the eunuchs in charge of banquet etiquette appeared at my elbow.
'This way, my lord,' he murmured through the rise of whispers behind me. I bowed, preparing to retreat.
'Lord Eon.'
The voice was young and forceful.
I looked up and saw the Prince Heir leaning forwards in his seat on the lower level of the dais.
He had the same determined jaw and broad forehead as his father. His eyes, too, held the same watchful intelligence.
'My esteemed father has suggested you may wish to study statecraft to prepare for your new position as Co-Ascendant Dragoneye,' he said. 'I am tutored in the mornings by the most excellent Prahn. Would you care to join us tomorrow?'
I gripped the edges of the robe tightly and bowed again. 'It will be an honour, Your Highness.'
There was a brief glance between father and son. Lady Dela had predicted a very public manoeuvre to draw me quickly into the Imperial circle. It will not be a command from the Emperor, she had said. It will be an invitation from someone known to be his supporter — that way you will be seen to be declaring your colours.
But even she had not imagined it would be the Prince Heir.
The eunuch touched my shoulder and we backed up the length of the huge room, between the two lower tables full of courtiers and administrators. The richly dressed men and their women sat along the gold walls lined with bright oil lamps, and I felt them watch me as we made our slow progress. Some were just curious, some hostile, some afraid. Halfway along, I saw my master. Until I confirmed him as my proxy the next day, he could not sit with me. He nodded and smiled, but even that did not give me heart.
The eunuch led me along the right wall and up a step towards the high Dragoneye table, set beside the Imperial dais. The two chairs closest to the royal table were empty; the end one guarded by Ryko, the other alongside Dillon. Lady Dela had kept her promise: I would have a chance to talk to my friend. He sat in stiff-backed terror beside Lord Ido. All of the other apprentices stood behind their Dragoneye lords, ready to serve them. They bowed as I passed, eyes lowered. Their masters were not so polite. I sensed a wave of movement behind me as each Dragoneye turned in his seat to get a better look, and heard their soft words follow me down the row: too young, a danger, too late.
Lady Dela seemed to be the only one in the room at ease. She was standing by a large carved screen that was set at an angle across the corner of the room. In between the closely worked design, glimpses of dark hair, gold pins and shades of blue silk marked the positions of three ladies. The Imperial concubines currently in favour. Lady Dela was obviously bargaining with one of them for she made the sweeping hand gesture from forehead to heart that closed a deal.
She looked up as the eunuch seated me.
'Lord Eon,' she said, hurrying over, the black pearl swinging at her throat. 'How pleasant to see you again.' She dropped to one knee. 'The Prince was asking me about you just before seating, and now I see he has asked you to study with him. A most thoughtful invitation.' She flicked open her fan and, from behind its cover, showed me round eyes and raised brows. Her court smile was back in place as the fan snapped shut. 'And I believe you know Apprentice Dillon,' she continued smoothly, rising and nodding to the eunuch to pull out her chair. As she sat, Ryko
bowed and moved into his position at her shoulder, his face carefully blank.
Beside me, Dillon bent low over his clasped hands. 'Lord Eon.' I lis gaze was fixed on the floor.
'I'm glad we are sitting next to each other,' I said. 'We have a lot to talk about.'
He glanced up, a hesitant smile easing the tight fear on his face. I winked in my old way and his smile widened.
I looked past him to his master. 'Greetings, Lord Ido,' I said with a nod, pleased that my voice did not tremble.
'Lord Eon. You are very resplendent tonight,' he said smoothly 'I am honoured that His Majesty has given you the robe my family presented to him.'
I felt Lady Dela shift beside me in warning. We had rehearsed as many of Lord Ido's reactions as we could imagine before she was called to take her place at the table. I forced a smile as false as his own.
'I am doubly honoured,' I said. A robe with such a fortunate history can only bring luck to the wearer.'
He stared at me for a moment. 'As we Dragoneyes know, luck is a fragile force. It can easily turn bad in the wrong hands. Is it not so, Lord Eon?'
Murmuring my agreement, I arranged the robe to hide my shaking hands. Before me was a plate of translucent blue porcelain flanked by silver chopsticks and a soup spoon cast into the shape of a swan. A perfect frangipani floated in a matching blue fingerbowl. I focused on each piece, finding comfort in their beauty
' You are doing well,' Lady Dela said, touching my arm.
I looked over at the table of ranked courtiers opposite. 'Which one is High Lord Sethon?'
'He is not here,' Lady Dela said softly 'Gone to quell a border dispute in the east.' Her eyes flicked across to Lord Ido. 'But he will not he ignorant of tonight's events.'
A heavy thump brought sudden silence in the room. The Emperor's personal herald was pounding his staff in the middle of the floor, calling for attention.
'His Imperial Majesty will speak,' the man cried.
Immediately, we all bowed over our plates. The Heavenly Master released us with a wave of his hand.
'We are here to honour the changing of the year and with it the ascension of the Rat Dragoneye, Lord Ido, and his new apprentice, Dillon.' Everyone sat forwards to catch the thin threads of his voice. 'But it is also a celebration of a most momentous occasion. The return of the Mirror Dragon and the extraordinary ascension of a young man to Dragoneye status. Lord Eon and his Mirror Dragon are a sign to us that our rule is favoured by the gods.' He lifted a gold bowl. 'We give our thanks for such a gift.'
I stared at the silver bowl in my hand. The Emperor was making me into a sign from the gods.
A drowning man groping for a twig. And his dismissal of Lord Ido's ascension was not going to sit well with the Dragoneye.
'With thanks,' I said, blending my voice into the tail end of the reverence and wetting my lips with the wine.
