Sayana woke at her usual time, tired and a little groggy but otherwise unharmed. She’d suffered from a bout of insomnia the previous night and Arken had needed to find her a sleeping pill. She continued lying in bed for a few minutes before calling for her servants. “My lady, one of the courtesan wing servants has been taken to the inquisitors.” Ardatha was quite agitated. 

“What? Why?” Sayana stared at her in shock. 

“We don’t know.” Ardatha shared a glance with her sisters, who all shook their heads. “We saw her being dragged off this morning by the Imperial guard and overheard Lord Arken telling the other servants that’s where she was going, and if any of them knew anything about her they should inform him immediately. We didn’t recognize her. We thought she’d been hired on new to serve but it turns out she’s possibly an assassin, or a spy.” 

“Well, that’s going to make everyone on edge and cranky.” Sayana rubbed her eyes. “I don’t need to deal with this right now.” 

“Are you all right, my lady?” Faviola was concerned.

“I didn’t sleep well.” Sayana smiled wearily at her servants. “Lord Arken had to give me something to help me get to sleep. I wasn’t wanting to wake up at my usual time, but I did.” 

“Would you like a shower this morning, my lady? That might help you wake up.” Vai regarded her closely.

“I would. Not my usual fragrance though please, Vai. Something that you think will still work with my body chemistry but might help me wake up a bit more.” Sayana knew the young woman would have ideas. Vai got her shower set and Sayana got up. 

She dressed and joined the other women in the common room. “My servants said one of the wing servants was taken away by the Imperial guards.” Zarina looked nervously at the other women. 

“Mine said the same thing.” Sayana yawned. 

“So did mine.” Ji-Hye glanced around the room at the other ubiquitous women waiting for Arken’s commands.

“I wonder what happened.” Renate seemed just as ill at ease as Zarina. 

Arken came out. “We had an assassin attempt to infiltrate the wing. If you were told about the Imperial guards hauling a servant off, that is what it was. I did not recognize her, and I know all the servants who serve in the wing. She could not tell me who sent her to work in the wing or present me with proper credentials. I had her taken to the inquisitors to find out who sent her here.” 

“They are still trying to kill us?” Renate was horrified. “Why?” 

“Because the emperor is planning on marrying one of us.” Marin shook her head. “They can’t allow that to happen so they’re going out of their way to eliminate us, hoping to get rid of the one the emperor plans to marry. It’s a game of chance. Eliminate one and hope it’s the right one. If it’s not, keep trying until you hit the right one.” 

Angharad groaned. “We’re in danger because of the emperor choosing one of us to marry.” 

“Do you think it would make it easier if we knew who he was planning to marry?” Renate looked at Arken.

“That would just focus all of the assassination attempts on that one woman.” Arken frowned. “And make them harder to catch. As long as they are casting about, trying to catch one of you instead of targeting someone specific, we have a better chance of catching them in the act.” 

“I don’t like being used as bait.” Angharad had a sour expression on her face. 

“Well, it’s not as if the emperor would marry you anyway, Angharad.” Zarina gave her a derisive look. “We can be sure the assassins would miss their target if they eliminated you.” 

“You don’t know that.” Angharad glared at her. 

“It would be like he married Lynet again.” Marin gave the woman a cold look. “Yes, we do know what it would be like and he’s not about to go through that mess a second time. You’re not the woman he’s going to marry, Angharad.” 

“I have to agree with them, Angharad.” Arken regarded them all solemnly. “While I do not know who it is, I can safely say it is not you.” Angharad flopped into her chair, glowering at all of them. The rest took their seats. “I have had the guards scan everything. They found one item that was poisoned, so we got rid of it and the cooks are sending up a replacement. I am waiting for it to arrive, and the guards to clear it, before I serve breakfast.” 

“Thank you for taking such good care of us, Lord Arken.” Marin smiled gratefully at the courtesan master.

“It is both my duty and my pleasure, Marin.” Arken returned her smile. “You ladies are remarkably easy to take care of, when you are not half distracted by pregnancy and new mother hormones to be fooled by anyone with a convincing story to spin you.” 

Marin grinned ruefully. “We really should have come to you with Lynet’s story.”

“It would still have left your sons at risk.” Arken knew the whole story as they all did. “From her if from no one else. Running was the best possible option for you. It allowed the emperor time to get rid of all the actively hostile agents at court. At least then. Now we have a new set, and we do not know exactly who they are.” 

“It’s the power brokers.” Sayana startled everyone with her pronouncement. “The ones who are jockeying for the privilege of having their daughters or sisters marry into the Imperial family. They’re the only ones with enough wealth to be a threat to us.” 

“Lord Rahul was one of the biggest threats to you ladies, and he is dead now.” Arken grew thoughtful. “It seems someone has stepped into his place. I will have a word with the head of the investigation bureau about insinuating agents into all of their households to keep an eye on them. That is, if the emperor has not already thought of this.” 

The servants began bringing out breakfast and the women ate. It was a nasty day outside so there was no trip to the garden to brighten their morning. Instead, most of the women played their game while Sayana and Zarina read. 

“Don’t you do anything but read?” Renate asked Sayana as there was a pause in the game. 

“I spent fifteen, almost sixteen years working every day with little time to read.” Sayana laughed. “I am making up for that time now. Besides, you know I prefer reading to playing games. I always have.” 

“She’s got a point, Renate.” Marin laughed with her. “Sayana is even more devoted to her studies than I am.” 

“She’s boring.” Angharad was whining again. “She doesn’t sing, she doesn’t play any instruments, she probably doesn’t even know how to dance or tell any tales.” 

“I do sing, Angharad.” Sayana set her pad aside for a moment and addressed the other woman. “Quite well, actually. I can play three instruments, though I’m out of practice now. I was a skilled dancer at one point, though again, I’m probably out of practice. I still remember all the tales I was forced to memorize back at the academy and can tell them in such a way that would make an ordinary man’s blood heat. Our emperor is not an ordinary man. Such things do not interest him. So I don’t pursue them.” 

“How come we’ve never heard you sing?” Angharad demanded. 

“Singing is a skill used to please patrons, not entertain other courtesans.” Sayana didn’t think she should have to explain this to her, but it seemed she had to. “The same is to be said of dance, playing an instrument, and telling tales. I do not perform them for you because you are not my patron.” 

“The only reason you heard any of the rest of us sing is because we were singing to our sons.” Ji-Hye was calmly logical. “You’ve never heard Marin sing either.” 

“You wouldn’t want to hear me sing.” Marin laughed. “That was the one talent I lacked. I’m passable enough but I am nowhere near as good as I should be. It’s why I was relieved when I heard the emperor preferred conversation to other forms of entertainment. I can talk reasonably well. My singing leaves much to be desired.” 

“I just think Sayana should make more of an effort to be a part of the group.” Angharad looked around at the others, as if seeking support.

“This coming from the woman who spends most of her day locked in her room.” Scorn dripped from every word Zarina spoke. “You avoid us unless you want to complain about something. Then you’re willing to stay out here and regale us with your whining.” 

“You’re all so awful to me.” Angharad’s whining began again and Sayana was as sick of it as the other women were. 

“Because you’re horrible to us.” Renate gave her an incredulous look. “Didn’t you learn from seeing what happened to Lynet?” 

“What do you mean?” Angharad was confused.

“We’re nice to those who are that way to us.” Ji-Hye laid it out for her. “We are not kind to those who are less than that.” 

“You’re rotten towards us.” Zarina was as blunt and as sharp-tongued as ever and it seemed she felt Angharad needed someone to explain it to her in more detail. “You’ve been that way ever since we returned from being in hiding. The more of us who came back, the worse you got. You’re unpleasant, rude, nasty, and horrible. All the same things your son is, I might add. No one wants to be around you. We didn’t treat Lynet well because of her attitude. Do you really think we’re going to treat you well with a similar attitude?” 

Angharad stared at Zarina, then looked around at the rest of the courtesans. When none of them spoke to counter what Zarina had said, Angharad’s lip quivered and she burst into tears, running for her rooms. Renate shook her head. “It had to be said.” 

“It did.” Zarina was completely unrepentant. “And I’m the one to say it because I don’t give a damn what she thinks of me. I never have.” 

“Zarina, you don’t care what anyone except the emperor thinks of you.” Ji-Hye seemed almost in awe of Zarina’s attitude. 

“I don’t even really care what he thinks of me, though of course I do try to make him happy.” Zarina shrugged. “I’m here for life and I have to try to make the best of it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sacrifice my personality for the sake of someone else’s.” 

“I think all of us are learning to make the best of being here for the rest of our lives.” Marin sighed. “It will be doubly hard when he chooses one of us as his wife next year. This will be a wife he cares about, so there will be no calling for the rest of us to spite her. We will be cast off with little to do.” 

Sayana felt sorry for Marin and the others. She’d gone through this when he married Lynet. She knew what it felt like to be cast off in favor of the wife, even if her experience had only been temporary. They would pass some long days in the courtesan wing unless she could convince Karis to change the law and let the courtesans return to their academies to retire. She knew that would be a hard one though, as it was one of the traditions dating back to the Founding, and as she’d been told before, those were often the hardest to change. 

“I don’t know what I’ll do when that happens.” Zarina looked around the room. “It will just be a waste to read if there’s no purpose behind it. But reading and playing games is all we can do.” 

“We’ll find something to keep ourselves amused.” Renate glanced down at her pad. “We did when he married Lynet.” 

“That’s true.” Marin looked pensive. “We’ll do it again when he marries whichever one of us he’s chosen.” 

“What if this is his way of stalling his court, and he isn’t really planning on marrying one of us?” Ji-Hye seemed unsure if the situation was really what it seemed.

“I don’t think he’s that kind of man, Ji-Hye.” Renate also seemed a little uncertain.

“He is not.” Arken reassured them all of the emperor’s sincerity. “He has not confided in me which of you ladies he is planning on marrying, but I know he is sincere in his desire to wed one of you. It will happen next year as he has said.” 

“Won’t we need time to plan the wedding?” Ji-Hye seemed concerned with the idea. 

“The emperor will take care of that, with his Minister of Public Affairs.” Arken looked at them all. “You ladies would not know what appeals to the court, or what traditions need to be upheld. The job of the bride will be to show up looking radiantly beautiful and happy, and the rest of you will be there to attend her as you did Lynet. With more grace and happiness for the lucky woman, I hope, than there was for Lynet.” 

Sayana nodded along with the other women. It did make sense. She had no idea what would be appropriate for a court wedding. It was better for Karis to arrange everything ahead of time and for her just to show up. She would probably have to lean on a stylist for her wedding dress as well. She was good at designing gowns and day dresses, but something that formal would require someone with more experience than her. 

Sayana resumed reading while the other women started playing the game again. Sayana enjoyed her book but kept half an eye on the others in the room. She watched the servants as they came and went. Her paranoia was high after what had happened that morning. 

She didn’t recognize any of the servants, but then again, she’d never paid any attention to the women who served in the wing. Arken knew them all so presumably he’d know if there was anyone there that shouldn’t be. She continued reading and watching. 

Lunch came and went, and the other women coaxed Sayana to leave her book aside and play with them that afternoon. She played and laughed, still paranoid but willing to unbend enough to have fun. After dinner, she read until bedtime. There was no vital gossip, so Sayana went to bed with her paranoia as her company. She drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning dawned fair and warm, and Arken was more than happy to send the ladies out into the garden again. Sayana retreated to the sunfire roses. She sat down and let the warmth of the summer sun flow over her. She breathed deep of the roses’ spicy scent and just existed in the moment, letting her mind empty of every thought.

“I should have known I would find you here,” he commented as he stepped from the shadows.

“Hello Karis.” Sayana smiled at him. “Avoiding your council this morning?”

“No, we had our meeting already. It was brief. We are all quite busy today. I need a moment of peace before I go check on the boys and get back to work, so I thought I would come visit you ladies. I knew with the weather being so fine you would all be in the garden.” Karis took her hand and kissed her fingers. “It seems the power brokers think if they inundate me with enough females of marriageable age, I will change my mind and break my promise to you. My audiences and evenings with the court are full of these would-be brides being paraded in front of me. I turn them all down as nicely as possible, but it does grow a bit wearying at times.”

“I feel sorry for those young ladies.” Sayana did feel some pity for them all. “They’re presented with the hope of gaining Imperial favor and they are turned down every time. I’m glad you’re going to keep your promise, but it must be very painful for them.”

“I am certain it is.” Karis looked at her thoughtfully. “And I feel sorry for them as well. However, I am not going to change my mind. I will marry you and my court is just going to have to accept that. It is one of the reasons I am glad we decided to wait a year.”

“Even if it means there are going to be numerous attempts on our lives.” Sayana sighed.

“I heard about the assassin that infiltrated the wing.” Karis was angry about that. “Arken knows everyone who works here because he handpicked them. He is very aware of who does not belong, so it is impossible to get an assassin in. Tremere and his other agents are also watching.”

“I had hoped with Lynet and the old council gone we would be safe.” Sayana’s voice broke. “Will we never be free from all of this?”

“My heart, I cannot even promise you safety as the empress.” Karis looked at her sadly. “Assassins are a daily part of court life. Do you want me to take another woman as my wife after all?”

“No.” Sayana quickly put her hand up and he took it. “That’s not what I’m saying. If I must learn to live with constant assassination attempts, so be it. I will.”

“It will get better when you are the empress, my heart.” Karis held her hand and she felt a little better. “They will not stop, but it will be even harder because you will be protected in a more direct fashion. Here I can only do so much without tipping the power brokers off.”

“I know.” Sayana glanced back towards the entrance, where the other women still sat. “I worry for the others as well. What if one of them is killed in the attempt to reach me? I would feel horrible.”

“I will not let that happen, Sayana.” Karis looked determined. “Every day I put more watchers in the field to protect you all. As I gain more intelligence, I tighten my grip. I will not let any of you be killed like poor Tekla.” He held her hand in both of his. “I swear to you that I will not lose any of you to these attempts.”

“Thank you, Karis.” Privately she wondered just how thin he was spreading his resources to protect them. She didn’t want him risking his own life to protect theirs.

He leaned down and kissed her gently. “I should go talk to the others. Do not lose heart, my Sayana. Everything will be fine.”

“Yes, Karis.” What else could she say? He needed her agreement as much as she needed his encouragement. He kissed her fingers once more before leaving her to go join the other ladies.

Sayana sat on her own, thinking hard about what the emperor had told her, until Marin came and got her for lunch. Angharad looked as if she’d been crying. The other women didn’t comment on it, so Sayana didn’t draw attention to it. Angharad ate and went to her room.

“She only has herself to blame.” Zarina sighed and shook her head.

“What happened?” Sayana asked.

“Angharad demanded to know who the emperor was going to marry. She said it was only right that we knew who he was favoring so we could prepare for her marriage.” Marin glanced at Angharad’s door. “The emperor told her she’d find out when he told the court. He’s already planning an event to reveal it to everyone, and he intends for us to be there when he does.”

“Angharad tried to be subtle about finding out if it was her.” Ji-Hye smirked. “She wasn’t subtle enough and he told her straight up that she would never be his wife because he wasn’t looking to have a second wife like Lynet on his hands.”

“It seems she didn’t take that too well.” Sayana remembered the tears on the other woman’s face.

“No, she didn’t.” Marin shook her head. “She then asked how Rhys could be crown prince if someone else was empress. The emperor asked her where she got the idea that Rhys was crown prince. He never had any intention of naming Rhys his heir and had already chosen another years ago, and Rhys’ current attitude only proved that he’d made the right choice.”

“Two blows in one day.” Sayana frowned. “No wonder Angharad looks so distressed.”

“She broke down into tears.” Renate glanced at Angharad’s door as well. “The emperor told her he was sorry to break her dreams, but she was neither going to be empress or the mother of the crown prince.”

“He spoke to the rest of us for a few minutes longer and then left to go check on the boys.” Zarina didn’t look too sympathetic. “Angharad cried for a good twenty minutes. None of us were overly sympathetic and that upset her even more. She really isn’t having a good day.”

Arken came out of his office. “Where is Angharad?”

“In her room, being miserable because the emperor told her some things she didn’t want to hear.” Marin outlined what the women had just been talking about.

Arken sighed. “It had to be said. She needed to hear that she was not special from someone she would listen to.”

“You’re assuming she’s going to listen to him.” Ji-Hye didn’t look convinced that Angharad was going to believe the emperor any more than she had the rest of them.

“She hasn’t listened to anyone over this.” Zarina shared Ji-Hye’s skepticism. “I know he’s told her that Rhys isn’t crown prince before. She might think the emperor lied to her in order to keep everything a secret. You never know with Angharad.”

“We will have to wait and see. Should you ladies be doing something other than gossiping?” He smiled at them.

“Gossiping is one of the few things we can do.” Zarina grinned. “It’s a way to pass the time.”

“Zarina.” Arken laughed.

The women laughed as well and headed over to the main room. “Who wants to play?” Ji-Hye asked.

“I will.” Marin set her pad aside and joined Ji-Hye at the game board. Zarina and Renate also joined them.

“I think I’ll play too.” Sayana startled them all by joining them.

“Not reading today?” Renate looked at her with some surprise.

“I’ll read later.” Sayana sighed. “I’m feeling anxious, and I know I won’t be able to focus.”

“I’ll set up the board then.” Ji-Hye got out the pieces. The women settled in and began to play.