If I failed at this, if I could not win this man over, my already precarious rule tipped into unsustainable. Someone else would step into the power vacuum. Someone else would try to lead. I wouldn’t just be thrown out of the palace; I’d be hunted down and killed. I could do so much good with my power – if I could keep it.

I lifted the teapot to pour myself another cup, waiting until the conversation around me had roused once more. I needed to get control of myself. I needed to find a way to charm this den of bears. I could feel Jovis’s presence at my side, his shoulder warm against mine as he reached for a piece of roasted duck.

He had a disarming way about him – self-deprecating, affable. I couldn’t be like him. But I had other assets.

What were my strengths? I could read stories on people’s faces when I tried. I’d spent too much time talking, not enough time listening. Acting chastened and embarrassed, which was not that hard given the circumstances, I turned my focus to the faces in the room.

What I found there surprised me. They all liked Iloh. Not the way a sycophant does, but they genuinely liked him. They laughed at his jokes, vied for his attention, basked in it when it was received. And Iloh, for his part, was generous with his subjects. Had I misjudged him? If I had, why did he treat me so poorly?

And then I noticed something else. While he bestowed his favor on all, his gaze lingered on Pulan, the visiting governor. She did not seem ignorant of these looks. Her expression was hopeful yet sad, the way a pup might regard a meal she knows she will never get a piece of. I watched her swallow and avert her gaze, her fingers clasping tightly beneath the table.

“Are you married, Sai?” I leaned in to ask her.

Her gaze flicked to Iloh before she shook her head. “No, Eminence.”

I stayed silent, waiting.

Like most people would, she rushed to fill the silence. “I know, it’s odd for a woman my age, and a governor. I have no heirs.”

“You could adopt—”

Flashes of color marred her cheeks, and she met my gaze for the first time. “If that was what I wanted.” Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked away again. “Forgive me. It’s just something I’ve heard far too often.”

“It’s not your first choice,” I said, hoping to keep her talking.

She laughed, a little bitterly. “No. I wish he’d stop inviting me to these things.” And then she lifted her mug as if to stop her words and wouldn’t say anything further to me.

I caught Iloh watching us. He was unmarried as well. Pieces began to click together in my mind. There was something going on between them; I just wasn’t sure exactly what.