“Ambhans do,” said Nahira. She gave an exaggerated shrug. “What does it matter, what I believe? I can only tell you this, child: A good choice for you would be a man who doesn’t enjoy wielding power over his people.”

A man who would give her a long leash.

She thought of her father. He was the only man she had ever truly known. No brothers, no uncles, no cousins. Her father had kept her well concealed for her own safety. Her world was so small. Her heart faltered.

“Are there any men like that?” Mehr asked.

Nahira patted her cheek firmly.

“Don’t be foolish,” she said. But she said it kindly. “Now, go and help your sister clean up. Try not to scold her if you can.”

“I was never very fond of my kohl anyway,” Mehr said.

She had barely gotten to her feet when she heard another crash. This time it wasn’t the sound of Arwa wreaking chaos, but the reverberation of the doors being slammed open by a guard. The guardswoman was breathing heavily, weighed down by her ceremonial attire. Beneath her golden helm her eyes were afraid.

“Lady Mehr,” she said. “You need to come with me immediately. Your father has summoned you to the Lotus Hall.”

Despite the guardswoman’s urgency, Mehr refused to leave immediately. She dragged Nahira back into her bedroom and left the guardswoman pacing between the floor cushions like a caged tiger. Arwa watched quietly, wide-eyed, as Mehr undressed and Nahira rummaged through her clothes, cursing under her breath. Mehr was too tense to muster up a single word.

The Lotus Hall was the political heart of the Governor’s residence. It was in the Lotus Hall that the greats of the Emperor’s court were welcomed and lavished with Irinah’s treasures. It was in the Lotus Hall that all the political games of the Empire took place.

The politics of the Lotus Hall were the politics of the Empire, and thus it belonged to the realm of men. Married women often attended and watched events unfold, seated veiled in a screened area behind the Governor’s dais. The women shared their husbands’ duties and burdens, and therefore had good reason to observe politics at work. As an unmarried woman, and an illegitimate one at that, Mehr had only been to the Lotus Hall very rarely.

Why her father wanted her there now, Mehr couldn’t fathom. But she wouldn’t go unprepared.

The guardswoman had her ceremonial golden garb, symbolic of the wealth of the Empire and Irinah’s illustrious place within it. Mehr needed armor of her own.

With Nahira’s help, she put on an underskirt of pale rose and a long, layered robe of gossamer white silk. She had no time to apply cosmetics, but she was sure her veil would hide the tiredness in her eyes.