So I allowed myself a smallest bit of smugness when our visit concluded, the papers for the development of Pulan’s witstone mine signed. I’d sent a copy to Ikanuy so she could handle the administration of resources. But Jovis followed me through these negotiations, always standing a step behind, his staff tapping gently against the floor.

Finally, once we were back aboard the ship, watching the workers undoing the docking lines, I rounded on him.

“Out with it. You’re not still troubled by my admonishment last night, are you? I understand now why you killed him, but I’d also had my head nearly caved in and I was in the middle of questioning him.”

He only frowned, his gaze on the Endless Sea. “I shouldn’t have called you foolish. You are the Emperor. I shouldn’t have forgotten.”

Why was he telling me this? “And how should I remind you?”

He looked to me, his expression solemn. “You already have. Eminence, Deerhead sank into the sea. Why? I’ve been thinking about it.”

“You believe the theory about the witstone mines.”

“I don’t know what to believe. But should we really be developing new mines when we don’t know why Deerhead sank? Which island is next?” Jovis said. “Which of us will drown? Unta? It’s not anything like Deerhead, but it also has extensive witstone mines.”

I couldn’t help but remember my father’s edict – that the mine on Imperial should never be reopened. Did he know something I did not?

“It’s the only lead we have,” Jovis said. “And you just agreed to help develop a mine on Pulan’s island. Will hers be next?”

I wanted to snatch that staff from his hands, to stop that infuriating tapping. “Do you think it’s so easy to be Emperor? Do you think I don’t consider these things? I have to gain the support of these governors, or my rule teeters on a knife’s edge. How can I deal with the larger problems right now? How can I think about the sinking islands and the Alanga if I don’t have the power to do anything about them?”

He didn’t look away, meeting my gaze as though we were equals. “So you would sacrifice the lives of everyone living on Pulan’s island so you can accumulate power?”

Why did he insist on seeing me in the worst possible light? “You think this is about power? Alanga artifacts are awakening. The constructs are wreaking havoc. We need to have a united Empire. Am I intentionally sacrificing Pulan’s island? No. You don’t know that her island will sink, or even that it will happen anytime soon. We don’t even know if it’s the mines that are causing it.”