They’d left my hair long and loose, except for the front, which they’d swept back with a comb, gold and studded with topaz sunbursts. As for my face, the attendants had decided to keep the cosmetics simple, darkening only my eyelids and lashes, and coloring my lips a deep red. My scar showed, highlighted with my hair pulled back, but I didn’t mind; looking in the mirror wasn’t a shock anymore.

At my entrance, the others turned and stared. Aaru’s breath caught as he stepped forward, then stopped. Still, his expression was soft and admiring, making my heart flutter with warmth. I’d liked his surprise before—in Anahera, when we’d left for the ball—but the way he looked at me now was different. His gaze said that he thought I was beautiful, and his step closer said I was approachable: a Mira he knew and loved and trusted.

“You look amazing.” Ilina smiled. “Ready to meet an empress.”

I flushed. “You too.” They were all dressed for dinner, looking finer than I’d ever seen them. But there was no time to pay more compliments; Alusha scowled and gestured for me to go with her, and with Nine’s warnings in mind, I followed.

Just as I was about to step out of the suite, tapping drew my attention. Aaru. The quiet code. He said, ::Careful what you say. They have listening magic.::

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

AARU’S WARNING HAUNTED ME THROUGH THE GREAT halls of the imperial palace, but even with the knowledge that none of our conversations would be secret, I couldn’t help but admire the glorious archways, the detailed murals, and the masterfully cut statues we passed. It was almost enough to make me lose track of my numbers, but even here, in a faraway land with strange magic, my mind counted away.

As we walked, Alusha gave more and more instructions—how to stand, where to look, how often to breathe—and I put it all in my head, the same way I memorized speeches or Mother’s directions before an event. Occasionally, other people traversing the halls would look over, but if anyone realized I was from the Fallen Isles, they didn’t show it. Or maybe they simply didn’t care. What were we to them but a mere curiosity?

At last, we paused in front of huge, gold-embossed doors, waiting as the pair of guards hauled them open.

I felt it before I saw it, like a fire in my chest, and a rushing in my ears, and a knowing in my soul.

Power.

Recognition.

My heart thundered as I lifted my eyes into the chamber beyond the doors. At first, all I saw was gold and white marble: columns and banners and fourteen statues of the Upper Gods; I noted Suna and Theofania and Zabel, among others, and wondered if they called the Upper Gods by the same names we did, and if they acknowledged the Fallen Gods at all, and who—if anyone—they really worshiped.