Leaf only pushed himself to his feet, his face slightly flushed. “If that’s all you have to offer, Eminence, I’ll take your refusal back to Nisong.”

Lin rose. “Tell her what I’ve offered. See if that gives her even a moment’s hesitation.”

He gave her a stiff bow and practically fled the room, leaving both the tea and the refreshments untouched. The guards followed him out.

Lin sagged in her seat once he’d gone, picking up a plate of fish and handing it to Mephi and Thrana. “He’s a construct and so is his master. The Shardless Few in the south; the construct army to the north-east. And around us, the islands sink.”

I shouldn’t feel sorry for her. I couldn’t. “Are you… complaining about being Emperor?”

She shot me a dark look. Ah. Too far in the other direction. I’d overcompensated. But then she let out a rueful laugh. “When you say it like that, it does seem foolish.” She smoothed the front of her jacket. “We leave for Hualin Or tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll have better luck there.”

“Hualin Or won’t be enough.” Were these the words of comfort I’d been thinking of offering? But I could feel the truth of it. Nephilanu had taken the side of the Shardless Few. Riya had taken the side of the constructs. Even if Hualin Or joined Lin’s cause, her army was still small and untrained.

“It has to be,” she said. She swept from the room, Thrana following in her wake.

When I’d let slip what I’d thought of her, had I also said she was more stubborn than five thousand mules?

Mephi butted his head against my thigh. “Long day. Tomorrow we sail again!”

“Yes.” I smiled, scratching the top of his head. At least one of us had few worries. I wasn’t sure what to tell Mephi and what not to. I didn’t need to drag him into my problems.

I couldn’t sleep that night, my mind filled with thoughts of the constructs, the Shardless Few, and that infernal Ragan. I tossed and turned so much that Mephi grumbled and leapt to the floor. Frustrated, I slid from bed and grabbed my cloak. A walk might clear my head. Or at least tire me out enough so I could sleep.

Mephi stirred a little as I left the room but didn’t wake up.

A light rain pattered against the cobblestones, gathering in small puddles where the stones were uneven. The courtyard was quiet at night, though I saw a light still lit in the Hall of Earthly Wisdom. Ragan, no doubt doing something that would irritate me. I turned away and instead walked the perimeter of the palace.