❖ QUEENKILLER, KINGMAKER Book 2 ❖
A year has passed since Isla rescued Tam Mai from the dungeons, but her sister's mind is still trapped and broken. There is only one person Isla knows can help her.
Meanwhile across the sea, a prince seeks justice f...
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All of Momuji came to celebrate the heart of autumn. Those who could not visit the temple came to the markets, where music played from the district square. A row of men beat large, hourglass drums, their hollow beats accompanying the rippling vibrations of a four-stringed kokyū. Its sound drifted even to the Hancheon Gate.
Banners hung from the upper tiers of the tunnel. Warding charms, Yui explained, designed to attract spirits of ill fortune. At the end of the day, the banners would be burned and its ashes scattered to sea.
Tam Mai counted them as they walked. It kept her mind off the tunnel and the chain of soldiers guarding its walls. She used to tremble whenever they passed through the Hancheon Gate; the first time she even collapsed half way through. Luckily General Eunkoji had been with them at the time, and was able to quickly carry her to the elevators.
'There he is!' Yui nudged Tam Mai.
The general waited by the mouth of an elevator, already filled with an assortment of visitors. Grandparents with grandchildren in hand, girls dressed in fancy qi-sang, blushing couples in matching clothes, young families with babes cradled on their backs ...
'Morning greetings, General.' Yui bowed deep as they approached. 'Thank you for the temple pass. I never imagined I'd ever be able to celebrate the mid-autumn festival at the castle!'
'It is my pleasure.' His smile was warm. He ushered them into the cage, people squeezing in to allow room for four more.
Isla watched her sister. The cage-elevator was the worst part of the tunnel for her; once more she was contained within iron bars, chains clattering all around them. Tam Mai used to fill the tunnel with her cries, shake the entire cage with her feverish throes. The first time they rode it, she had even struck another passenger in her rage. The guard would have thrown them off were General Eunkoji not there to stop him.
Now the only sign of her discomfort was her death grip on Isla's arm and the constant mumbling under her breath as she listed off the colours and clothes surrounding them.
'I'm glad to see her improvement,' said the general, quiet enough that only Isla would hear. 'Especially in under two turns of the month.'
'This is one of her better days, but indeed, Eshe's work has been invaluable. The Emperor is fortunate to have her.'
'Her results are slow but steady. Sometimes it is difficult for the Emperor to see that.'
Isla understood, to an extent. There were days it seemed nothing had changed; days it seemed Tam Mai's condition only took a nosedive for the worse. It was difficult to see all the progress she made when one bad day clouded months of improvement.
'Tam Mai is at least lucky to have many people around her who care. Not all people are so blessed.'
Like the Emperor's children? Whom Eshe sees more in a week than their parents do in a year?
