“I thought maybe—” My breath caught. The eyelids of the statue moved, as though the carving were alive. Slowly, as I watched, they opened, sightless white orbs looking into mine. I forced myself to keep a hold of it instead of hurling the thing across the room. I turned the carving toward Jovis. “The mural in the entrance hall of the palace is from the Alanga era. After you used your magic, all the eyes in the mural opened. The artifacts are awakening because Alanga are near and using their magic. It’s not just a sign the Alanga are awakening; it’s a warning system.”

Jovis pondered this. “Artifacts have been awakening on other islands; ones we’ve not been to. And I didn’t use my magic on Nephilanu. Did you?”

“I didn’t. Which means two things: there’s at least one Alanga on Nephilanu that isn’t one of us. And there are more on other islands. We don’t know who the others are, if they know what they are, or what they want. We need to start figuring that out. I’ll get in touch with my envoys at the islands where artifacts have awoken, see if they’ve noticed any other unusual activity.”

Jovis looked to Mephi and Thrana. “People will find out eventually. Once more of us start appearing, they’ll notice everyone else has a creature like Mephi. They’ll put the pieces together. We can’t control this.”

I tried to force back the panic rising in my throat. I’d worked too hard for too long to become Emperor. At the same time, I couldn’t give up Thrana. I didn’t even know if that was possible. She felt like a part of me now, inextricable from the rest. “We hide for now. I’ll do what I can to counteract my father’s propaganda. If we reveal that you are an Alanga first, people will be more likely to accept this change. But if I reveal that I am… I know my position is precarious. It would be just one more thing the governors could use to pressure me into abdication.” It wasn’t fair that Jovis should have the love and adoration of the Empire’s people, and I had to fight for even a modicum of respect. No one knew – or could know – what I’d done to end my father’s reign and why. So they saw me as his protégé, his rightful heir, an extension of him. Bayan was dead. Numeen was dead. His family… dead. All I had were my title and my position.

The statue’s face was cold in my hand, its eyes slowly closing.

“Someday, your secret will get out. Why not get ahead of it?”