The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Author:Katherine Addison [Addison, Katherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

20

The Proposal of the Clocksmiths of Zhaö

In truth, Maia was not sorry to be late to the Corazhas. Even with Lord Berenar’s help—and Berenar was a better and more patient teacher than Setheris could ever have imagined being—Maia felt as if he were trying to stop the Istandaärtha with a handful of pebbles. He knew some of the history of the Ethuveraz, but his knowledge could hardly be called systematic, and it was in no way a sufficient foundation for the fifty years of policy decisions that Berenar was really trying to teach him to follow. Even with the progress he’d made, he still understood half or less of the Corazhas’ debates, and asking questions was only getting harder—he felt as if he were accusing Berenar with his ignorance, and his increased consciousness of the interwoven responsibilities of the Witnesses meant that he knew how valuable their time was and how much of it was wasted when he asked for an explanation of something everyone else in the room already understood.

He had stopped asking.

He was ashamed, and angry with himself, but the foreknowledge of another humiliation was like a sword, and he could not force himself to fall on it. He had to trust—he did trust—that Csevet would tell him if there was something wrong.

In the middle of an impenetrable debate between the Witness for Foreigners and the Witness for the Parliament about the northern borders, a page brought Maia a note. He recognized Nurevis’s paper and signet before he opened it, and was aware of a slight, guilty tingle of pleasure, enhanced by the deliberate withdrawal of his attention from the Corazhas in order to read what Nurevis had written.

It was an invitation to a private dinner with dancing to follow, and Nurevis had added in his own hand:

We know Your Serenity does not deign to dance, but we thought perhaps your evening’s entertainment would be sufficiently assured by the presence of Min Vechin. She says she is most eager to see you again.

Blushing, partly with embarrassment and partly with delight, Maia wrote across the bottom, We will be pleased to attend, and handed it back to the page to deliver.

After the Corazhas finally closed, the issue between the Witness for Foreigners and the Witness for the Parliament still unresolved, Maia made his way to the Alcethmeret to change from court robes to something suitable for an informal gathering like Nurevis’s.

But he was only just past the great grilles of the Alcethmeret when Beshelar broke stride to catch up with him and said, “Serenity, you must tell Osmer Chavar not to send you party invitations when the Corazhas is in session. It reflects not well on you or on him.”

“Must we?” Maia stopped, turned to face him. “And who are you, Lieutenant Beshelar, to tell us how we must behave toward our friends?”

“Is Osmer Chavar your friend, Serenity? We ourself would not be quick to say so. And you must understand that favoritism toward the Lord Chancellor’s son—”

“Means nothing! Nurevis does not tell us what to do—nor has so much as asked for a favor.

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