To Charlotte and Olivia, for being my greatest adventure. You are my joys, my wonders, and my loves.
CHAPTER ONE
The bottom of the lake tasted like mud, salt, and regret. The water was so thick it was agony keeping my eyes open, but thank the great gods I did. Otherwise, I would have missed the dragon.
He was smaller than I’d imagined one to be. About the size of a rowboat, with glittering ruby eyes and scales green as the purest jade. Not at all like the village-sized beasts the legends claimed dragons to be, large enough to swallow entire warships.
He swam nearer until his round red eyes were so close they reflected my own.
He was watching me drown.
Help, I pleaded. I was out of air, and I had barely a second of life left before my world folded into itself.
The dragon regarded me, lifting a feathery eyebrow. For an instant, I dared hope he might help. But his tail wrapped around my neck, squeezing out the last of my breath.
And all went dark.
* * *
In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have told my maids I was going to jump into the Sacred Lake. I only said it because the heat this morning was insufferable. Even the chrysanthemum bushes outside had wilted, and the kitebirds soaring above the citrus trees were too parched to sing. Not to mention, diving into the lake seemed like a perfectly sensible alternative to attending my betrothal ceremony—or as I liked to call it, the dismal end of my future.
Unfortunately, my maids believed me, and word traveled faster than demonfire to Father. Within minutes, he sent one of my brothers—along with a retinue of stern-faced guards—to fetch me.
So here I was, being shepherded through the palace’s catacomb of corridors, on the hottest day of the year. To the dismal end of my future.
As I followed my brother down yet another sun-soaked hall, I fidgeted with my sleeve, pretending to cover a yawn as I peeked inside.
“Stop yawning,” Hasho chided.
I dropped my arm and yawned again. “If I let them all out now, I won’t have to do it in front of Father.”
“Shiori…”
“You try being woken up at dawn to have your hair brushed a thousand times,” I countered. “You try walking in a god’s ransom of silk.” I lifted my arms, but my sleeves were so heavy I could barely keep them raised. “Look at all these layers. I could outfit a ship with enough sails to cross the sea!”
The trace of a smile touched Hasho’s mouth. “The gods are listening, dear sister. You keep complaining like that, and your betrothed will have a pockmark for each time you dishonor them.”
My betrothed. Any mention of him went in one ear and out the other, as my mind drifted to more pleasant thoughts, like cajoling the palace chef for his red bean paste recipe—or better yet, stowing away on a ship and voyaging across the Taijin Sea.
Being the emperor’s only daughter, I’d never been allowed to go anywhere, let alone journey outside of Gindara, the capital. In a year, I’d be too old for such an escapade. And too married.
The indignity of it all made me sigh aloud. “Then I’m doomed. He’ll be hideous.”
My brother chuckled and nudged me forward. “Come on, no more complaining. We’re nearly there.”
I rolled my eyes. Hasho was starting to sound like he was seventy, not seventeen. Of my six brothers, I liked him most—he was the only one with wits as quick as mine. But ever since he started taking being a prince so seriously and wasting those wits on chess games instead of mischief, there were certain things I couldn’t tell him anymore.
Like what I was keeping inside my sleeve.
A tickle crawled up my arm, and I scratched my elbow.
Just to be safe, I pinched the wide opening of my sleeve shut. If Hasho knew what I was hiding under its folds, I’d never hear the end of it.
From him, or from Father.
“Shiori,” Hasho whispered. “What’s the matter with your dress?”
“I thought I smudged the silk,” I lied, pretending to rub at a spot on my sleeve. “It’s so hot today.” I made a show of looking out at the mountains and the lake. “Don’t you wish we were outside swimming instead of going to some boring ceremony?”
Hasho eyed me suspiciously. “Shiori, don’t change the topic.”
I bowed my head, doing my best to look remorseful—and covertly adjusted my sleeve. “You’re right, Brother. It’s time I grew up. Thank you for…for…”
Another tickle brushed my arm, and I clapped my elbow to muffle the sound. My secret was growing restless, making the fabric of my robes ripple.
“For escorting me to meet my betrothed,” I finished quickly.
I hastened toward the audience chamber, but Hasho caught my sleeve, raised it high, and gave it a good shake.
Out darted a paper bird as small as a dragonfly, and just as fast. From afar, she looked like a little sparrow, with an inky red dot on her head, and she flitted from my arm to my brother’s head, wildly beating her slender wings as she hovered in front of his face.
Hasho’s jaw dropped, his eyes widening with shock.
“Kiki!” I whispered urgently, opening my sleeve. “Come back inside!”
Kiki didn’t obey. She perched on Hasho’s nose and stroked it with a wing to show affection. My shoulders relaxed; animals always liked Hasho, and I was certain she would charm him the way she’d charmed me.
Then my brother swooped his hands over his face to catch her.
“Don’t hurt her!” I cried.
Up Kiki flew, narrowly avoiding his clutches. She bounced against the wooden shutters on the windows, seeking one that was open as she darted farther and farther down the hall.
I started after her, but Hasho grabbed me, holding fast until my slippers skidded against the whispery wood.
“Let it go,” he said into my ear. “We’ll talk about this later.”
The guards flung open the doors, and one of Father’s ministers announced me: “Princess Shiori’anma, the youngest child, the only daughter of Emperor Hanriyu and the late empress—”
Inside, my father and his consort, my stepmother, sat at the head of the cavernous chamber. The air hummed with impatience, courtiers folding and refolding their damp handkerchiefs to wipe their perspiring temples. I saw the backs of Lord Bushian and his son—my betrothed—kneeling before the emperor. Only my stepmother noticed me, frozen at the threshold. She tilted her head, her pale eyes locking onto mine.