Blood and Honey
Yuna's hand found the knife at her hip before her mind caught up to what she was seeing.
The Empress stood in the corridor like a painting come to life, her formal robes catching the lamplight in waves of crimson and gold. Six guards flanked her, their hands resting on sword hilts. Behind Yuna, she heard Kaelen's sharp intake of breath, felt Davos shift his weight to the balls of his feet.
Three minutes. Maybe less.
"Your Majesty." Yuna's voice came out steady. She let her hand fall away from the knife, clasped both hands in front of her in the formal bow reserved for imperial presence. "We were just—"
"Coming to find me, yes?" The Empress's smile was warm as summer honey. "How thoughtful. I've been looking for you as well, little viper."
The pet name landed like a blade between Yuna's ribs. She'd heard it a thousand times before, whispered in the dark of the Empress's private chambers while Yuna reported on assassinations and betrayals and all the small deaths that kept an empire running. She'd been twelve the first time. Fourteen when she stopped flinching at it.
Twenty-three when she'd decided to burn it all down.
"Mother." Kaelen stepped forward. His voice carried the imperial authority he so rarely used. "This isn't—"
"Necessary?" The Empress tilted her head. "Oh, but it is. You see, I've just had the most interesting conversation with Chief Eunuch Soran. He tells me there's been some confusion about loyalties. Some question about who serves whom in this palace." Her gaze slid to Yuna. "Would you like to clarify, dear one?"
Yuna's mind raced through possibilities like fingers through silk, searching for the thread that wouldn't unravel everything. The Chief Eunuch had talked. Of course he had. The question was how much, and how quickly, and whether she could spin a story that would—
"She's with me." Davos moved to Yuna's left, close enough that his shoulder brushed hers. "Whatever Soran told you, he's lying. We were investigating corruption in the supply lines when he attacked us."
The Empress's eyes brightened with something that might have been delight. "Davos Kael. The strategist who isn't. How lovely to finally meet you properly." She took three steps forward. The guards moved with her, a synchronized dance they'd performed a thousand times. "Tell me, do you know what happens to foreign agents who seduce imperial princes?"
"I didn't—" Kaelen started.
"Hush, darling." The Empress didn't look at her son. "The adults are talking."
Yuna felt the power shift like a change in air pressure before a storm. The Empress was playing with them, yes, but there was something else underneath. Something hungry. She'd seen this before, in the moments before the Empress ordered an execution. The careful setup. The gentle questions that were really traps.
"Your Majesty." Yuna kept her voice soft, submissive. The role she'd played for eleven years. "If I may—"
"You may not." The Empress's smile never wavered. "You see, I've been very patient with you, little viper. Very understanding. When you disappeared three months ago, I mourned. I lit incense at the temple. I wore white for seven days." She paused. "Imagine my surprise when Soran tells me you've been alive this entire time. Living in the lower city. Playing at being free."
The corridor felt smaller suddenly. Yuna counted exits—two behind the Empress, one window to her right that was too narrow for escape, the door to Kaelen's chambers at her back. None of them good options.
"I can explain," Yuna said.
"Can you?" The Empress clasped her hands together. "Please do. I'm fascinated to hear what story you've prepared."
This was it. The moment where she chose which lie to tell, which truth to bury. Yuna's fingers itched for the poison needles braided into her hair, but six guards were too many, and the Empress had always been faster than she looked.
"The Chief Eunuch tried to kill me." True. "I barely escaped." Also true. "I've been hiding, trying to gather evidence of his corruption before coming to you." A lie wrapped in enough truth to taste real.
The Empress studied her for a long moment. Then she laughed, bright and clear as temple bells. "Oh, darling. You've gotten so much better at this. I'm almost proud." She turned to the guards. "Take Prince Kaelen to his chambers. He's had a trying evening and needs rest."
"Mother, no—"
"Now, Kaelen."
Two guards moved forward. Kaelen looked at Yuna, and she saw the question in his eyes. Fight or surrender? Trust or run?
She gave the smallest shake of her head.
He let them take his arms, guide him back through the door to his chambers. The lock clicked with a finality that made Yuna's chest tight.
"As for you." The Empress's attention swung back to Davos. "You're going to come with me. We have much to discuss about your presence in my palace, yes?"
"I don't think so." Davos's hand moved to his belt, where Yuna knew he kept a small blade. Not enough to fight six guards, but enough to make a point.
The Empress sighed. "Must we do this the difficult way? I had hoped we could be civilized."
She raised one hand.
The guards drew their swords in perfect unison, the sound of steel on leather filling the corridor like a promise. Yuna's body moved before her mind finished the calculation—she stepped between Davos and the nearest guard, her own knife suddenly in her hand though she didn't remember drawing it.
"Don't." The word came out harder than she'd intended.
The Empress's eyebrows rose. "Interesting. You're protecting him. How unlike you, little viper. You've never cared about collateral damage before."
"He's useful." Yuna kept her knife steady, her eyes on the guards. "You taught me not to waste useful tools."
"I taught you many things." The Empress moved closer, until she was just outside striking range. "I taught you how to kill without leaving evidence. How to extract information from unwilling subjects. How to smile while sliding a blade between someone's ribs." Her voice dropped to something almost tender. "I taught you how to survive in a world that eats little girls alive. And this is how you repay me?"
Yuna's grip tightened on the knife. "You taught me how to be a weapon. I'm choosing to be something else."
"Are you?" The Empress tilted her head. "Because from where I'm standing, you look exactly like what I made you. A killer playing at having a conscience."
The words hit like physical blows. Yuna felt Davos tense behind her, felt the weight of his attention on her back. He didn't know. Not really. He knew she was a spy, an assassin, but he didn't know the details. Didn't know about the merchant she'd poisoned in his sleep, or the diplomat she'd pushed from a balcony, or the child she'd—
No. She wouldn't think about that now.
"Let him go." Yuna's voice came out steady despite the chaos in her chest. "This is between us."
"Everything is between us, darling. That's what you never understood." The Empress gestured, and the guards shifted formation, surrounding them in a loose circle. "You think you can just walk away from what you are? From what we built together?"
"We didn't build anything." Yuna's amber eyes caught the lamplight, turned gold. "You took a scared child and turned her into a monster."
"I took a scared child and gave her power." The Empress's smile sharpened. "There's a difference."
Behind Yuna, Davos spoke quietly. "What's she talking about?"
"Tell him," the Empress said. "Tell him about the night you killed Lord Feng. How you seduced him first, made him think you loved him. How you waited until he was asleep before you slit his throat."
Yuna's teeth ground together. "That was different."
"Was it? What about Lady Chen? Or Ambassador Kito? Or—"
"Enough." The word cracked through the corridor like a whip.
The Empress's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "You see, Davos Kael? This is who you've been protecting. This is who you've been—what was the word Soran used?—ah yes, 'developing feelings for.' A trained killer who's murdered more people than you've had hot meals."
Yuna felt Davos step back. Just one step, but it might as well have been a mile. The space between them opened like a wound.
"Yuna?" His voice was careful, controlled. "Is it true?"
She could lie. Should lie. But something in her chest had cracked open, and the truth spilled out before she could stop it. "Yes."
The silence that followed felt like drowning.
"Well." The Empress clapped her hands together once, delighted. "Now that we've cleared that up, let's discuss terms. You're going to come back to me, little viper. You're going to resume your duties. And in exchange, I won't have Prince Kaelen executed for treason or Davos Kael tortured for espionage."
"You wouldn't kill your own son."
"Wouldn't I?" The Empress's smile was serene. "I've done worse for less. You of all people should know that."
Yuna's mind raced. The Empress was right—she would do it. Had done it before, to other children who'd disappointed her. The empire came first. Always.
"What duties?" Yuna asked.
"The usual. There's a general in the southern provinces who's been making noise about reform. A merchant guild that's grown too powerful. A few loose ends that need tying up." The Empress waved one hand dismissively. "Nothing you haven't done before."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll have Davos taken to the Chief Eunuch's laboratory. Soran has been asking for new subjects for his experiments. Something about testing the limits of human endurance." The Empress's voice remained pleasant, conversational. "I understand the process takes several days. Very loud. Very messy."
Yuna felt something cold settle in her stomach. She'd seen the Chief Eunuch's laboratory once, years ago. Had heard the screaming through the walls. The Empress wasn't bluffing.
"You're a monster," Davos said quietly.
"I'm an empress." She turned to him. "There's a difference, though I don't expect you to understand it. You're from the Jade Provinces, yes? Where they still believe in honor and justice and all those pretty lies people tell themselves to sleep at night." She laughed. "The capital doesn't run on honor, boy. It runs on blood and fear and the willingness to do what's necessary."
"Necessary." Davos's voice was flat. "Is that what you call it?"
"I call it survival." The Empress's smile faded. "You think I wanted this? You think I enjoy sending children to kill for me? I do what I must to keep this empire from tearing itself apart. And if that means getting my hands dirty, so be it."
Yuna watched the Empress's face, searching for any sign of the woman who'd held her after nightmares, who'd taught her to braid her hair, who'd whispered that she was special, chosen, loved. But there was nothing there except cold calculation and the absolute certainty of someone who'd never questioned their own righteousness.
"You're insane," Yuna said.
"I'm practical." The Empress turned back to her. "Now. Are you going to come quietly, or do I need to have the guards persuade you?"
Yuna looked at the six guards, at their drawn swords and impassive faces. Looked at the Empress, at the woman who'd shaped her entire life. Looked at Davos, at the way he was watching her with something that might have been horror or pity or both.
She thought about Kaelen, locked in his chambers. About the Chief Eunuch's laboratory. About all the people she'd killed in the name of empire and duty and survival.
She thought about the girl she'd been at twelve, before the Empress had found her. Before the training and the missions and the slow erosion of everything that made her human.
"I need a minute," Yuna said.
"You have thirty seconds."
Yuna's hand moved to her hair, fingers finding the poison needles braided there. She had six needles. Six guards. If she was fast enough, if she was lucky enough, she could—
"Don't." Davos's voice was quiet. "Don't do this."
"Do what?" She didn't look at him.
"Whatever you're planning. Whatever desperate, stupid thing you think will fix this." He moved closer, until she could feel his breath on her neck. "There's always another option."
"Not this time."
"There is." His hand found hers, squeezed once. "Trust me."
The Empress watched them with interest. "How touching. But I'm afraid time's up, yes?" She nodded to the guards. "Take them both. We'll sort out the details in the morning."
The guards moved forward.
Yuna pulled the first needle from her hair.
And then the window exploded inward in a shower of glass and moonlight, and a figure in black dropped into the corridor like a falling star.
The Chief Eunuch landed in a crouch, his robes settling around him like wings. His eyes glowed that same unnatural amber, bright enough to cast shadows on the walls. Blood streaked his face—Kaelen's work, Yuna realized with a distant sort of pride—but he was smiling.
"Your Majesty." His voice was a purr. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
The Empress's composure cracked for the first time. "Soran. What are you doing?"
"Collecting my property." His gaze fixed on Yuna. "You didn't think I'd let you take her, did you? Not after all the work I've put into preparing her."
"She's mine." The Empress's voice hardened. "I found her. I trained her. You have no claim."
"Don't I?" The Chief Eunuch straightened, and the air around him seemed to shimmer. "Tell me, Your Majesty, do you know what she really is? What runs in her blood?"
Yuna's heart stopped.
No. He couldn't know. No one knew except—
"She's special, yes." The Chief Eunuch's smile widened. "Not just talented. Not just trained. Special in ways you never suspected. Ways that make her perfect for my purposes."
The Empress's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"Why should I? You had your chance to understand what you possessed. You wasted it, using her for petty assassinations and political games." He took a step forward. The guards moved to intercept, but he raised one hand and they froze mid-step, their bodies locked in place like statues. "I, on the other hand, know exactly what she's capable of. What she could become, with the right guidance."
Yuna felt Davos's hand tighten on hers. Felt the weight of questions he wasn't asking, the horror of understanding dawning in his silence.
"You're talking nonsense," the Empress said, but her voice wavered.
"Am I?" The Chief Eunuch's glowing eyes fixed on Yuna. "Tell her, little viper. Tell her what happened the night your village burned. Tell her why you were the only survivor."
The corridor tilted. Yuna's vision blurred at the edges, memories rising like flood water. The smell of smoke. The screaming. The way the flames had bent away from her, as if pushed by invisible hands. The way the raiders had fallen, one by one, their throats crushed by nothing she could see.
The way she'd stood in the center of it all, untouched, while everything around her died.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Yuna said, but the words felt hollow.
"Liar." The Chief Eunuch laughed. "You've always known. You've just been too afraid to admit it. Too afraid of what it means."
The Empress was watching Yuna now with new eyes, calculating. "What is he saying?"
"She's like me." The Chief Eunuch's voice dropped to something almost reverent. "Or she could be, with training. The power that flows through her veins is raw, untapped, but it's there. I felt it the moment I touched her. The potential for something magnificent."
"You're insane," Davos said.
"Am I? Watch." The Chief Eunuch gestured, and one of the frozen guards rose into the air, his body rigid, his eyes wide with terror. "This is what I can do with years of training and discipline. Imagine what she could do, with the right teacher."
The guard's neck began to twist.
"Stop." Yuna's voice came out strangled.
"Why? He's just a tool. Replaceable. Meaningless." The Chief Eunuch's smile was gentle. "You've killed dozens like him. What's one more?"
"I said stop."
Something in Yuna's chest cracked open. Something cracked open inside her, like a dam breaking, and suddenly the air around her was moving, pushing outward in a wave that sent the Chief Eunuch stumbling back. The guard dropped to the ground, gasping.
Silence.
The Empress stared at Yuna with something that might have been fear. The Chief Eunuch's smile widened into something triumphant. Davos's hand slipped from hers.
"There it is," the Chief Eunuch whispered. "There's my beautiful monster."
Yuna looked at her hands. They were shaking. The air around them still rippled with whatever she'd done, whatever she'd released.
"What am I?" The question came out small, broken.
"You're mine." The Chief Eunuch moved forward again, and this time the Empress didn't stop him. "You've always been mine. From the moment you were born with that gift in your blood, you were destined for my laboratory. For my experiments. For greatness."
"No." Yuna backed up, hit the wall. "No, I'm not—"
"You are." He was close now, close enough that she could see the madness in his glowing eyes. "And once I'm done with you, once I've unlocked everything you're capable of, you'll thank me. They all do, eventually."
Davos moved then, fast as a striking snake. His blade flashed in the lamplight, aimed for the Chief Eunuch's throat. But the Chief Eunuch was faster. He caught Davos's wrist mid-strike, twisted, and Yuna heard the bone snap.
Davos screamed.
The sound broke something in Yuna. She lunged forward, poison needle in hand, but the Chief Eunuch was already moving. His free hand caught her throat, lifted her off the ground. She clawed at his fingers, felt her vision start to darken.
"Sleep now," he whispered. "When you wake, everything will be different."
The world tilted. Yuna felt herself falling, felt Davos's broken wrist, felt the Empress's calculating gaze, felt the weight of eleven years of lies and blood and survival pressing down on her chest until she couldn't breathe.
She thought about the girl she'd been at twelve.
She thought about the monster she'd become.
She thought about the thing she might be turning into.
And then the Chief Eunuch's grip tightened, and the world went black.
Yuna woke to the smell of incense and old blood.
Her head throbbed. Her throat ached where the Chief Eunuch had grabbed her. She tried to move and found her wrists bound to a chair with silk rope, the kind that tightened the more you struggled.
The laboratory. She was in the Chief Eunuch's laboratory.
The room was circular, carved from black stone that seemed to absorb light. Symbols covered the walls, glowing faintly with the same amber light as the Chief Eunuch's eyes. In the center of the room stood a table, and on the table lay—
Yuna's stomach lurched.
Davos.
He was unconscious, his broken wrist splinted and bound. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Alive, but for how long?
"You're awake." The Chief Eunuch emerged from the shadows. He'd changed into ceremonial robes, deep purple embroidered with silver thread. "Good. I was beginning to worry I'd used too much pressure. You're more fragile than the others."
"Let him go." Yuna's voice came out hoarse. "This is between us."
"Is it?" The Chief Eunuch moved to the table, ran one finger along Davos's jaw. "I think he's become rather important to you. A weakness. A liability." He looked at Yuna. "Or perhaps a motivation. We'll see."
"What do you want?"
"I want to see what you can do." He gestured to the walls, to the glowing symbols. "This room is designed to amplify natural abilities. To draw out what's hidden. For most people, it does nothing. But for someone like you, someone with power in their blood..." He smiled. "It should be quite spectacular."
Yuna pulled against the ropes. They tightened, cutting into her wrists. "I don't have power. I don't know what you think you saw, but—"
"Don't lie to me." The Chief Eunuch's voice hardened. "I've spent thirty years studying this. I know what I saw. You have the gift, just like I do. Just like the others before you." He moved closer. "The question is, how strong is it? How far can you push it before you break?"
"Others?" Yuna's mind raced. "What others?"
"The ones who came before. The ones I've been collecting, training, studying." His eyes gleamed. "Most of them died, of course. The power consumed them. But a few survived. A few learned to control it. And you..." He reached out, touched her cheek. "You're going to be my masterpiece."
Yuna jerked away from his touch. "You're insane."
"I'm visionary." He turned back to Davos. "Now. Let's begin with a simple test. I'm going to hurt him. And you're going to try to stop me. Let's see what happens when you're properly motivated, yes?"
"No. Please—"
The Chief Eunuch raised his hand, and Davos's body arched off the table, his back bending at an impossible angle. His eyes snapped open, and he screamed.
"Stop!" Yuna pulled against the ropes hard enough to feel blood on her wrists. "Stop, please, I'll do whatever you want—"
"I know you will." The Chief Eunuch's voice was gentle. "But first, I need to see what you're capable of. I need to know if you're worth the investment."
Davos's screams filled the laboratory. Yuna felt something building in her chest, the same pressure she'd felt in the corridor. The same crack in the dam. She tried to push it down, tried to control it, but it was too strong,