Isat with my back against the wall, watching Esumi sleep. Hours had passed since my conversation with Kon. I hadn’t left Esumi’s side since.
The priests had assured me his wounds would heal. There’d been no poison, only pain. Still, I couldn’t stop watching his chest rise and fall, finding peace in that steady rhythm.
Without thinking, I lifted his hand to my lips, then held it against my cheek. His breathing was all I needed to hear.
“Are you staring at me sleeping again? I’m going to take it personally if you keep that up.”
I startled but didn’t release his hand. His sarcasm told me more about his recovery than any healer’s words ever could.
“You look like a dragon’s asshole,” I said.
“Said the guy batting his eyes at me.”
“If you weren’t lame—”
His grin widened. “What? You’d try to kick my ass?”
“Again. I’d kick your assagain.” I stood, turned my neck until it cracked, and stretched muscles cramped from sitting for hours. “There’s never been a need to try.”
“So, youdowant my ass?”
I snorted. “Why do I love you? Please remind me.”
“Who can understand the ways of the heart?” The shimmer in his eyes was all medicine and menace. “It’s a mystery.”
We traded barbs like that for another few minutes before my mood sobered. I checked the door, ensuring we were alone, then sat beside him. He grabbed my hand, his thumb rubbing back and forth across my skin as I explained everything I’d learned:
Father had been murdered.
Kioshi, sent to negotiate, was now missing.
The Asami army was burning its way south.
Oh, and awakofleet was now blockading Bara, with sea monsters—actualmonsters of legends—dragging ships into the deep.
Kon had saved that last bit until I’d stopped talking of abdication or running from duty. He doubted the veracity of the tales, claiming drunken fishermen were rarely reliable sources of information, but still—
“Wait.” Esumi’s eyes widened. “If something happened to your brother, that means you—”
I nodded slowly.
“You?The Son of Heaven?” He let out a low whistle. “Dear gods, we’re so wrecked.”
“Hey! A little confidence would be appreciated.”
“Listen, Haru, I love you. You know I do. But Emperor? With war breaking out and creatures climbing from the depths of the sea? That would be impossible for anyone, but—”
“Even more so for an idiot like me, right?”
The argument that followed was familiar ground—duty versus desire, public obligation versus private truth. When I mentionedhow the pressure for me to produce heirs would intensify, Esumi asked the question I’d been dreading.
“Do you think they know? About us? I mean, do you think your family knows?”
I rolled my eyes.
In the midst of a global crisis that might soon rest on my shoulders, what my family knew or didn’t know about where I sheathed mykatanaseemed trivial, but I could hold nothing back from Esumi. “They all know. Of course, they do. My grandmother is old enough not to care about propriety.” I considered the others. “But Mother? She’s always been obsessed with appearances. I doubt we will enjoy returning home. In fact, I guarantee the iciest glare ever when you meet her gaze that first time. You may want to find a back gate to sneak through so you can avoid the whole family reunion.”
He said nothing.
