The evening bled into night as Lanna watched the guards erect her tent. Much to her frustration, none of them would ever smile and greet her and loneliness raked its fingers over her gut. Did they think her unworthy? Or was this something to do with her rank? Could someone not just tell her? A quiet word to explain would be more than welcome. Instead, she stood there in silence and watched the men work while they ignored her presence.

Perhaps in the First City she would find others of her own rank to relate to. The idea still rankled, but Imperials took status seriously. Those below her couldn't be her friends.

The lush grass tickled the back of her legs, dewy tendrils still wet from yet another squall of rain that lifted the blanket of humidity for brief moments. The night air felt as thick as her ma's fish stew – and just as hard to swallow.

Lanna paused to look at the sky above. The nights of the south were stark and beautiful: just a spattering of stars and the orbs of the twin moons to illuminate the monochrome landscape. Here, just as the landscape was a riot of colour, so too was the sky. A myriad of stars competed with Franklin and Echo Charlie – scintillating blues, reds, yellows and even violet against the deep blue of the northern night sky. A song for the eyes.

Her hand lifted to touch the missing pendant at her neck but she forced it back to her side. She needed to concentrate on her new path. The echo of pain in her stomach reminded her why.

Chowa apparently had similar ideas. That evening Lanna found her normal lessons abandoned.

She entered the oppressive warmth of the tent, the luxurious but gloomy interior draining the wonder of the night from her, but frowned when she looked to the work table. Where were her knife and writing materials? Chowa knelt opposite and slipped her hands into her sleeves. Her sharp dark eyes raked over her assistant, ribbons of unpinned hair slipping over her shoulders.

'Kneel,' she ordered. 'Tonight, we talk.'

Lanna raised a brow but did as she was bid, ignoring the flutter of unease in her chest.

'You have made good progress,' Chowa said at last, voice measured and neutral. 'Yet you are naïve; the palace is not perfection. Those who serve the Emperor vie for his attention and the Emperor is young.' Chowa paused, as if choosing her words with care. 'He is a fair ruler, but he has much to learn and the circumstances behind his rise to power are... complex.'

'Complex?' Lanna echoed. She kept her tone even, though she itched with curiosity. Finally, some information on the place she would soon call home.

'You now understand more of your duty, and what you have endured proved your resilience. You will need this.' Chowa shifted on her knees and plucked at the black garment that shrouded her form.

Lanna dropped her gaze to her hands. Well, that was one way of looking at a useless forced termination. Typical Imperial mindset. Even a tragedy could be twisted into something that you gained strength from.

'The palace is the hub of our society. Our prosperity and cohesion as a nation depend upon strong leadership and consistency within that leadership. The Emperor is our leader and our light in an otherwise uncivilised world. He is all this, but he is also human. He can be swayed, as we can.' Chowa gave Lanna a pointed look, dark eyes severe. 'He bleeds as easily as we do and he has enemies within his own court.'

'You mean there's a risk of his assassination?' Lanna asked, her fingers gripping the edge of the table.

Chowa gave a bitter chuckle. 'That is a risk for every emperor. There are always those who feel they could gain more or run the country better if their own puppet were in charge.'

Lanna nodded but otherwise did not respond.

'Our current emperor is particularly vulnerable because he refuses to play politics with those he dislikes. He also gained the throne through a series of unfortunate deaths. Secessions are always messy,' Chowa muttered. 'With so many women as potential mothers, the choice of successor is not straightforward. The current emperor had twelve siblings above him. They were higher born, had greater strength or were intellectually brilliant. All had been ranked by the previous emperor into an order of succession. Our emperor was thirteenth in line.'

'They were all killed off?' Lanna asked, struggling to make herself sound disinterested. Sounded like Imperials weren't quite as civilised as she'd first thought.

'Not all,' Chowa said with a shrug. 'The third in line committed suicide when his siblings above him died. He left a note saying he would rather die by his own hand than a stranger's. Two were imprisoned for crimes they probably committed, but I didn't see the evidence against them. Two died of genuine weak health; I attended to one. Heart failure, due to a dependency on poppy juice.'

The casual way Chowa listed the deaths startled Lanna. So many young people dying in her clan would have been a huge blow and cause for a year of mourning.

'The remaining seven I am almost certain were removed by factions within the palace – two by the Imperial mother's own slaves. She ensured her son got on the throne, though I can't prove it.'

Chowa's face split into a grin, painted lips gleaming in the lamplight. 'She died of consumption last freeze. There was the appropriate period of lamentation, then the Emperor had her name removed from all records. History will forget her.'

Lanna felt her chest tighten. Had the Emperor resented his mother? Was he not part of her struggle for power? To be removed from the histories, to be deliberately forgotten... that was a harsh punishment.

Frez placed tea before Chowa and her attentive pupil and then seated himself to continue repairing the silk carpet Lanna had shredded the day he'd forced that potion down her throat. She felt a slight tightening in her stomach but ignored the accompanying sadness and latched on to Chowa's words. Just like her, he had to obey, so while she couldn't forgive, the rational part of her understood.

'So, now you know the climate you will be living in. You can learn all I demand of you, but if you are to aid me, you must become aware of what goes on within the palace walls. You will be an easy target for intrigue. I have the Emperor's ear on certain matters and he respects me. Some see my influence as troublesome or even dangerous to their interests.' Chowa sipped her tea, her manicured fingers gripping the rim of the cup so tight that her knuckles turned white.

'I am not important enough to be assassinated. Murder is very difficult to carry out without suspicion. To do so requires large sums of coin, and I am not worth the cost. While my life is not in danger, my standing with the Emperor can be damaged.'

She peered at Lanna over the rim of her cup. 'I have inherited my position as First Chemist, and I have freedoms that the palace concubines do not. I am envied and even feared by some.'

Chowa finished her tea and poured a fresh cup for herself without waiting for Frez to do it for her.

'You will not be spared the fangs of the snakes. You either have to develop a skin so thick they cannot puncture it, or become a viper too and strike back.'

The chemist offered Lanna some fruit from the bowl on the table between them: peaches, fuzzy and full of the scent of Eight-Nine-Two. Lanna politely refused. Enraptured by Chowa's words, she feared the flow of talk would stop if she chose to eat. That and she may also burst into tears if she let the fruit pass her lips.

'I can help you achieve a stable position. I do not wish for your early removal from the game.' Chowa's smirk broke into a genuine grin. 'Indeed, I believe you will become an important part of the game itself if you accept my direction.'

Lanna nodded; again she could think of nothing to say. This was all so much messier than she expected.

'So, to business,' Chowa declared. 'First, you need to know the main players within the palace...'

***

Several hours later, Lanna's head rang with warnings, schemes and the names of potential allies as she went to her bed. She tried to boil down everything to better understand as she lay under the canvas of her tent, listening to a light shower patter on the cloth in the darkness.

'Oh ancestors, where to start?'

She frowned and tried to view the situation as a clan girl. 'The Emperor has a lot of women he likes to shaft, but hasn't yet spawned. He's been running things for two years and doesn't lack for willing wombs.'

She pulled a face, imagining a greasy and overfed letch pawing at nubile young women. The light rain above her eased as she spoke on into the gloom. 'The Emperor has stopped himself spawning, but that information is only known to a few.'

Her brows raised. 'So why tell me?'

Chowa had shared sensitive information with her. Why? A puzzle for another time.

The situation had thrown the women's palace into chaos. Rumour had it that the Emperor was lacking fertility and would father few or even no children. Concubines were desperate and lower siblings to the Emperor plotted his removal. Next in line was Ashioto's half-brother – only twelve years old – yet old enough to take power. Still a child, he would be easy to manipulate by those that disliked Ashioto.

Lanna frowned in the dark and muttered on. 'The First Concubine used to be the Emperor's main companion before he even started knocking boots with his women. She was his daddy's favourite before he died, so that isn't at all strange.'

She pulled a face – that was far too close to incest for her liking. 'Now the Emperor seems to have drifted out onto the ice and rarely listens to his First. She's the wrong side of twenty-five, which many think may be the cause of her falling from favour. Others say there was an argument.' Lanna turned over and sighed. All well and good so far. However, the situation then got very complicated. Her head ached, and she closed her eyes.

'The Ninth Concubine is the current favourite: eighteen, beautiful and clever. People think she wishes to become an official, but concubines aren't allowed to be politicians. They serve the Emperor.' Lanna huffed, trying to ignore a rustling outside her tent. If there was danger, the kelen would alert them. Whatever creature it was meant no harm.

'The Emperor hasn't issued a single edict in his two years of rule and this is making the palace nervous.'

The women's palace was at boiling point with schemes and power games, because the Emperor wouldn't assert himself and act as expected. The country worked on regardless; times were good. But if there was a crisis, people would look to the Emperor for guidance, but as things stood, he may not even be aware of a looming calamity until it was too late.

Chowa's warning to Lanna still echoed in her mind. This situation couldn't go on. The weather changed in the north just as it did in the south, and shortages were on the horizon for a nation that hadn't experienced hunger in over a hundred years. Rebellion stirred, raids increased. Nations to the north were near collapse and crying for aid while the south froze over and immigration increased.

Head spinning, Lanna groaned and turned onto her other side.

That night she dreamt of Hemil and awoke angry.

She replaced her devotion to the Emperor that morning with the words, 'I have a new life, a new purpose. I must move forward.'

Her heart continued to disagree with her.