Now I was beginning to wonder: had something happened to him? All the anger turned very quickly to worry. I hadn’t solidified my rule yet, and the constructs were doing their best to end that rule. No doubt whoever was sending them would count hurting Jovis as hurting me. To be fair, I’d thought about hurting him myself, more than once, but the thought of him lying somewhere, bleeding out from an assassin’s blade, made my throat clench. I couldn’t wish that fate on him, even if he did have an eminently punchable face.

We followed Ranami to the dining hall. She was wearing a green dress, bright against her skin. She hadn’t bound her hair up as was the style, but wore it half loose, the shining waves falling past her shoulders. I was short and wiry; she was tall, rounded and graceful. I’d never before wished for that sort of beauty, but she did make it look very nice.

Phalue stood to greet us in the dining hall. I was relieved to find no surfeit of invited guests, no extra faces to decipher. Just me, the governor and her wife.

Thrana lay down next to my designated cushion and shot me a look that said “look at how well-mannered I can be”. Back at the palace, she would have been bounding out into the courtyard with Mephi, chasing butterflies after eating a hearty meal of freshly caught fish. I had to admit she’d been tolerant of this trip.

“Eminence, thank you again for joining us. I trust your stay has so far been comfortable?” Phalue said.

“Yes, thank you, Sai.” I sat, and Phalue and Ranami followed.

The servants brought the food as soon as we’d all seated ourselves. Two different curries, rice and a noodle soup. Again, we served from communal plates and bowls. Only a few islands, it seemed including Imperial, served separate plates.

Someone brought a plate laden with fish, which Thrana accepted graciously, eating with the same delicacy as Ranami.

We made small talk for a brief moment – remarking on the weather, the growth of wet season crops and the size of Thrana’s teeth. And then Phalue sat back, regarding me. “You’ll be wanting to know why the shipment of caro nuts has been delayed.”

“I appreciate your directness,” I said. And I did. If she were Iloh, we would have been dancing around the subject throughout dinner, and she’d only get to the heart of the matter when she was drunk in the courtyard. “And yes, I was wondering that. Imperial and the surrounding islands have always received a hefty shipment from Nephilanu, and apart from the regular tithe amount, has been well-compensated for it. We’re at the start of the wet season, and we both know the bog cough will be more prevalent. Has there been a problem with this year’s crop, Sai?”