The Courtesy of Kings | ☑ Queenkiller, Kingmaker #2

08.2

'Will you get in trouble for this?' Tam Mai's voice piped up from behind her. 'We don't have to go through with it. I don't want to cause any problems for you.'

Ah ... good girl. They could make a dissembler out of her, yet.

The general's face softened. 'For taking a request to visit a guest in his employ? Such harmless applications are made on his behalf all the time. Provided, of course, that they do prove harmless.'

Well. It was a clever try. Isla squeezed her sister's hand. That was all she needed to do; convince this truth-weaver that they meant the Emperor and his kingdom no harm. There would be no lie in that.

The double doors opened. A portly man stood on the other side, flanked by two guards. 'General Eunkoji, you are expected. This way, please.'

The general motioned for Isla and Tam Mai to walk before him. They followed the gatekeeper, guards moving now to escort them. Or to keep us from running.

The hallway into which they entered cut through their sleeping quarters, doors wide open even in the small hours. Tam Mai buried her face into Isla's shoulder at the sight of them. Whoever Taeichi was, he had as many soldiers as a rajini.

No matter how strong Taeichi's theurgy, using hers against him was not an option. 

Isla had two ways of applying her theurgy. A direct force—obtrusive, momentary; or her preferred subtle manipulations—slipping into a subject's mind and whispering into it ideas; undetected and enduring. But the former would betray her true power, and the latter would only work if her target was already susceptible to such ideas as were to be planted in his mind to begin with. Isla doubted the Emperor's truth-weaver could be subtly manipulated into lying on her behalf.

They walked through a series of entranceways and passages, weaving left and right until they exited into the inner courtyard. A giant tree swayed in its centre, encircled by the flat stone path. Bamboo groves veiled all four wings of the residence, sprouting between pockets of chrysanthemum and forest grass.

They turned for the northern wing, this the only section with guards lining its entire deck. Paper lanterns hung on the extended eaves, weighed with stone so as to keep them from swaying. There was only one door into the residence, lit between four lanterns and half a dozen guards. The gatekeeper announced General Eunkoji's arrival before sliding it open.

It was a square room meant for their shoes. A hallway branched off over a set of shallow steps, silent and serene once the front door closed behind them. The place smelled of cedar wood and orange, coming from the candles that burned along the hall. General Eunkoji took them left, where the man named Taeichi sat waiting behind the first door they passed.

He was beautiful, with hair down to his chin and framing his long eyes, but he was also angry. Isla could not fault him. It was a little before four-bells, and the Emperor's truth-weaver surely had a long day ahead of him.

'You are here at last.' His voice surprisingly deep for someone so fair. Taeichi motioned to the legless chairs surrounding his table.

'Thank you for receiving us.' The general sat farthest from the door, which remained open. Nobody else was in the building, as far as Isla could tell. She scanned the empty hallway before following her sister inside.

Taeichi poured them tea as they sat, then drank from his own little cup. He looked pale from so close, his skin the colour of ripening noni fruit, as though he did not spend much time outside. His face was delicate, unblemished by sunspots or even age.

'Who have you brought me on this occasion, General?' He spoke in Kapuluan to accommodate his guests. Clearly he had already been briefed.

'Damesae Lilja Shapor and Tam Mai Prijanskar from the Kingdom of Surikhand; I present to you Seunghwan Taeichi Jinsei, official truth-weaver for Emperor Gyoseong of the Divine Gyok.'