Satyendra was glad of all the distractions. He didn’t know if he was coming or going. When the lanterns shattered it had felt like someone were placing hot metal under his fingernails, but when Yadavendra’s armour had broken … When they’d met eyes and he’d tasted the depths of the other man’s despair, there had come a high he had not known possible. It was if all the other times he’d indulged the hunger had merely been sniffing at pain rather than tasting it. Yadavendra’s final emotions were a rich broth he’d drunk down, and now his body thrummed with power, his mind working so fast everyone else seemed to be moving in slow motion. The only shame of it all was that Yadavendra had thrown away his life too quickly, leaving only the briefest taste of perfection.

It had been so pure, so potent, it tingled in his bones, making him aware of them in a way he’d never been before. It was as if they longed to stretch. To grow. To change. A thread of fear came with that thought and what it might do to him if they did, but it was hard to hear against the roar of joy and blood in his ears.

The two Tanzanites had left, the guards dismissed, the great doors closed behind them. Only the Sapphire Deathless and he remained. Lady Yadva hauled Lord Vasin onto his feet. She was trying to appear sombre but he could see the delight in her. Surely the others see it too.

‘This is a sad day for House Sapphire,’ she said, ‘but we have to move forward.’

‘Can we not even catch our breath?’ asked Lord Umed. Though his face was composed, Satyendra sensed he was profoundly troubled by what he’d seen, and quietly despairing over Lady Yadva’s obvious greed for power. Umed’s emotions were softer and more controlled that Yadavendra’s had been, but there was a sorrow there, aged like a fine wine, that Satyendra longed to savour. He couldn’t help but move closer to him.

Lady Yadva pointed towards the doors. ‘The Tanzanites are inside our walls. They have seen …’ She scowled in distaste, then flicked a hand towards the broken window, ‘That. We cannot let this be the last image in their minds. House Sapphire needs direction.’ She looked at Lord Vasin, expectant, but he did not meet her gaze because he was looking at Satyendra.