Eona (23 page)

“My lady, please wait,” Ryko whispered.

He stepped up to the natural archway that defined the entrance to the third chamber. The first two caverns had been extravagantly lit by oil lamps set only an arm's width apart—but their glow paled in comparison to what came from the strategy chamber. It was almost like daylight.

“Lady Eona—Imperial
Naiso
and Mirror Dragoneye— approaches,” Ryko called.

For a moment, his formal announcement held me still. It belonged to the court, not here, in a cave. Ryko was pressing home my rank.

As I entered, five men turned from their examination of a scroll spread across a table—Yuso and Viktor among them— and dropped to their knees in low bows. The sixth man remained bent over the scroll: the emperor.

He had bathed and shaved, although he had left the dark stubble on his head. The long imperial queue had also been washed and re-clubbed, but without the jewels and gold thread strung through it. No doubt they would soon be our army's food and weapons. His only jewel now was the Imperial Pearl, framed by the open collar of his borrowed red tunic: a very visible symbol of his right to command.

His skin still held the pallor of the shadow world, and his body had the careful bearing of pain, but overall he had recovered well. Slowly, he looked up, and my breath locked in my chest. His dark eyes held no warmth, only wariness.

“Do you no longer bow to your emperor, Lady Eona?” he asked.

I dropped into my own obeisance, hiding my confusion. Had I done something wrong? I stared fiercely at the woven rug on the cave floor, willing back the sharp sting of tears. There could be only one reason for his coldness. My passion had disgusted him.

“Rise,” he said to us all.

I climbed to my feet, hoping the flush had faded from my face. The bank of oil lamps around the walls made the room airless, or perhaps it was my own shame that choked my breath. I pressed my hand against my chest, covering the pale skin above the deep blue cloth.

Ryko edged into the periphery of my vision—a silent reminder. I did not want to step forward, but I had promised.

“Your Majesty,” I said, trying to add some steel to my voice. “Ryko wishes to join a search party and be of use. May he have your leave to do so?”

I was not ready to meet the ice in Kygo's eyes again. I settled for watching his mouth. All of its tenderness had tightened into a hard line of command.

“No. I have use for him here.”

I bowed, Ryko dropping into his own obeisance beside me, only his clenched hands giving away his frustration.

“Lady Eona, come forward,” Kygo said.

Stiffly, I moved a step toward him.

“We are discussing the black folio,” he said. “Yuso says you claim that Dillon used its power to create the ring of water.”

I glanced around the circle of men. Every face held some recognition of the tension between the emperor and me. Yuso's eyes met mine, wary.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Dillon called on the folio's
Gan Hua.”

“How does he call it? He has as little training as you.”

“I don't know.”

“Can he do it again?”

I lowered my head at his clipped assault. “I don't think so.” I swallowed, trying to find some moisture in my parched mouth. “I think he would need my power again to use it, but I am not sure, Your Majesty. The black folio is a mystery to me, too.”

“So it was your power as well?”

“Dillon took it. I did not give it, Your Majesty.”

“And this black folio has the secret to the String of Pearls?”

“It is what Lord Ido told me.”

“Lord Ido.” Kygo's snort of suspicion sent a chill through me. “You are very keen to rescue him.”

I lifted my head, meeting his challenge. “You know why, Your Majesty.”

His dark eyes held no concession. “My priority has changed.

We must find the black folio before my uncle does. Lord Ido can wait.”

I stepped forward. “No, he cannot! He is barely hanging on to life.”

Kygo stiffened. “What did you say?”

Panic had pushed me too far. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. It is true we must find the black folio,” I said, recovering some control. “But getting Lord Ido away from your uncle is, in my humble opinion, more important. Dillon is not in his right mind and, even if we find him, he will not be of any help with the monsoon rains and floods. He has no control over his power or his actions. As you have already seen, he is dangerous.” I glanced around the tense circle of men. “Ido helped me hold off Dillon and the black folio's power. We need him.”

Kygo leaned on the table. “Ido helped you? Why?”

“He was trying to save his own life as much as help me,” I said. “Dillon was trying to kill him.”

“How did he help you?”

“It is through the same kind of link I have with Ryko. The one made from healing. You saw it in the clearing when I could not control the energy.” Beside me, Ryko flinched as if I had touched him with a whip.

“Did Ido come to you, or did you make him?” There was something strange in Kygo's tone—anticipation. But reluctance, too.

I stared at him, puzzled. “He just came into my head.” I paused, realizing I did not truly know how it happened. “Maybe I called him,” I added. “I don't know; it was all too fast. I don't know enough about the way it all works. It is why I need Lord Ido to train me.”

Kygo turned his back. “I wish to speak to Lady Eona.” He did not raise his voice, but I could feel the threat. “Ryko, Yuso, stay. The rest of you, leave us. Leave the cave.”

The other men could not bow and back away fast enough. As the sounds of their exit receded into the distance, I looked across at Ryko, but the islander was staring at the ground, his body tense. Yuso stood stolidly at the table, his attention fixed on his emperor.

“Tell me, Ryko,” Kygo finally said, his back still to us, “did you feel Lady Eona's link with Ido as they fought the black folio?”

Ryko shifted. “Yes.” He looked away from my shock. “The link held no sway over my will, but I felt it. As I said before, Your Majesty.”

“Yuso, draw your sword,” Kygo said.

The hiss of steel sent a creeping shiver across my back as if it had been drawn against my skin. “Kygo, what is wrong?” I asked.

He finally turned to me, his face set. “Take Ryko's will.”

I heard the islander suck in a breath. For a moment I could not form any sound.

“Why?” I finally managed.

“Because it is my command.”

“You saw what happened last time. I could not control it.”

“Do as I say. Now!”

“Kygo, it is too dangerous.”

He slammed his hand on the table. “I said, take it!”

“I promised I would not. Please, I don't want to hurt Ryko.”

At the corner of my eye I saw Yuso flex his hand around the sword's hilt.

“Take it!” Kygo repeated.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Obey me!”

“No. It is wrong!”

My shout echoed over and over in the small cavern—a rolling chorus of defiance.

Kygo gripped the edge of the table. “So stubborn. Why won't you just do as you're told?” He nodded at Yuso. “Break Ryko's shoulder.”

“What?” I stepped back, as if the command had been a blow to my own body.

“Take Ryko's will, or Yuso will break his shoulder.”

With a deft twist of his sword, Yuso lowered the blade and shifted his grip, changing the heavy hilt into a bludgeon. Ryko stiffened.

“Yuso, no!” I said.

“I serve His Majesty,” Yuso warned.

He walked toward us. Ryko's eyes fixed on Yuso, but there was no plea in them. Just a hard, endless stare.

I spun around to Kygo. “He is your man. He is loyal to you.”

Kygo shook his head. “He is your man, Eona. Take his will.”

“Why?”

He looked across at Yuso. “Do it,” he ordered.

The captain pulled back the hilt, lining up the blow. Beside me, Ryko braced, his breathing quick and hard through clenched teeth.

“Stop!” I pushed in between them.

The islander stumbled backward. “My lady, please. No.”

“I'm sorry, Ryko.” I reached out with my energy, seeking the pathways of his life force. “Forgive me.”

Beneath the pounding of my heartbeat, I found the frantic rhythm of his fear and fury, and pulled it into my
Hua
. The sudden brutal link flared through his eyes. He gasped as his will melded to mine, the merciless connection driving him to his knees. I felt the rush of his energy building within me. All of his massive strength was at my command.

A brutal grip on my arm wrenched me around.

Kygo.

I staggered, still caught in the torrent of power. The emperor hauled me upright again and grabbed my jaw, holding me still.

“Did you heal me?” he demanded. He was so close, I could barely focus.
“Did you heal me?”

The dark fear in his eyes penetrated the rush of power.

“No!”
My connection with Ryko snapped. The brutal release dropped the islander to the floor as I sagged, suddenly drained of energy. “No. I didn't heal you. I didn't!”

Kygo caught me and pulled me against his chest. I felt his heart pounding beneath my cheek, the glow of the Imperial Pearl only a finger's length away from my eyes. I stared at its pale beauty, the shock of the broken link too strong for the small stirring of desire to touch it.

Kygo stroked the nape of my neck. “It's all right,” he murmured against my hair. He looked around at Yuso. “See, she had no hold on me. And I did not feel her control of Ryko,” he said. “Are you satisfied?”

Yuso sheathed his sword. “As much as I can be, given our lack of knowledge about her power.”

“Then get out,” Kygo said. “Take Ryko with you. Have the physician attend him.”

I lifted my head, the sense of Kygo's words finally penetrating my daze.

“You did that to see if I healed you?” Another kind of energy burned through me—rage. And it was all my own. I slammed my fist against his chest. “Let me go!”

He tightened his hold, stopping my escape. “I had to be certain.”

“You could have asked me!” I punched him again, wanting to hurt him in some way. As he had hurt me. He caught my wrist. This time his touch held no tenderness.

“Yuso,” he said through his teeth. “Get out. Now!”

The captain hauled Ryko up onto his feet and steered him out of the cavern. Kygo forced my hand down.

“Do not hit me again,” he warned. “I am your emperor.”

“I am your
Naiso,”
I said. “Or does that mean nothing?”

“I had to prove that you did not heal me.”

“How could I have healed you?” I demanded. “I would have destroyed the whole crater, like the fisher village.”

“I did not witness that, Eona. And all who did are your people,” he said. “I had to prove that my will is still my own.”

“Why didn't you just trust me? I would have told you the truth.”

“It would not have been enough,” he said flatly. “I had to prove it to Yuso.”

“Why? What is so important about Yuso?”

“It is his duty to protect me. To protect the throne. He had to make sure I was not compromised.” The somber appeal in his eyes held me still. “This was not just between you and me, Eona. Everything I do has an effect on the empire. It has been so all my life. And now everything you do affects it, too.” He hesitated, then cupped my cheek, the full tenderness of his mouth so near my own. “I know you are new to your power and rank, but you must understand that the empire is more important than a man and a woman. Whatever we may feel or wish.”

I pulled my face away, gathering my resentment before me like a shield. “That does not excuse cruelty and dishonor,” I said.

He flinched, and something savage within me rejoiced.

“You think that was cruel?” He released my wrist and stepped back. “This war with my uncle has just begun, Eona. What I just did was
honorable
compared to what is coming.”

“Is that the moral gauge you are going to use for all your actions?” I asked. “It will no doubt bend to your every purpose as easily as green bamboo.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “Is that my
Naiso
speaking? Or is it just a woman's pique sharpening your tongue?”

“It is obvious that you do not trust me. Perhaps I should not be your
Naiso.”
My voice cracked. We both knew I was not only speaking of that exalted position.

“Perhaps you are right,” he said.

It was my turn to flinch. He walked slowly back to the desk. I watched the unyielding line of his shoulders and back. I had been a fool to let myself believe he valued me.

“On your honor, promise that you will never heal me,” he finally said.

“I will do better than my honor, since you hold it in so little regard,” I answered, unable to keep back the acid of my hurt. “I swear it on my life.”

His hand found the Imperial Pearl at his throat.

“Eona, I have been trained from birth not to truly trust anyone.” The words were so soft they were barely audible across the distance between us. Perhaps they held the note of apology, but I was not willing to hear it.

“I do not trust easily, either,” I said. “Especially when I am betrayed.”

I saw the word bite deep. For a long moment, he did not move.

“It is a good thing, then, that obedience does not require trust,” he finally said. He leaned over the map, his clenched fist pressed against the parchment. “Tell Viktor and his men to return.”

I bowed and backed away, holding tight to my anger to stop the tears that stung my eyes.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I STOOD FOR
a few moments just inside the entrance of the cave, the soft sleeve of my dress pressed against my wet face, and listened for any sign of pursuit. There was none, of course—an emperor would never follow anyone, let alone a woman. All I could hear was the conversation of the men outside, waiting to be summoned again. I did not want to step out among them, but there was no choice. I straightened my tunic, wiped the blur from my eyes with my forefinger, then strode out into the new daylight.