The Dragons of Heaven by Alyc Helms

Author:Alyc Helms [Helms, Alyc]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-85766-434-1
Publisher: Watkins Media Ltd
Published: 2015-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

The preparations that followed could never be termed frenetic – they were too meticulous for that – but there was a sense of harried urgency to them. Si Wei was in her element.

First, she declared that my clothes and hair were too casual for such an occasion. I tried to argue that the dragons were only minutes away, but Si Wei shushed me and told me that since they had kept us waiting, it was permissible for us to keep them waiting. Si Wei whisked me away to my rooms to dress me, roping in Jiu Wei and Song Yulan to help out. Between the three of them, they lectured me thoroughly on how not to insult the gods knocking at our gate.

Thus it was that an hour later, swathed in brocade robes of green, red, and gold; red hair hidden by an elaborate headdress; face whitened with rice powder and features limned with black, I picked my way down the steps into the garden. My headdress wobbled with every step. I would have been embarrassed by my hanfu, but I was too busy concentrating on not falling down the long flight. Splatting at the feet of your guests was not in the standard greeting protocol.

At least I’d done this twice already. As Lady of Jian Huo’s house, it would be my duty to acknowledge the new arrivals. Until I did they would not be considered guests of the house. Paying attention to Si Wei’s subtle gestures, I maneuvered toward Lung Wang, the eldest among the dragons and the true Guardian of the East. Lung Wang had an agelessness that transcended gender. Of all Jian Huo’s siblings, she looked the least human. Her face was a porcelain mask, her eyes deep pools of turbulent water, or maybe storm clouds chasing across the sky. I bowed low, awe replacing my nervous jitters. I’d grown so accustomed to Jian Huo that I forgot how striking and terrifying he had been on our first meeting. Now I remembered.

My fancy hat didn’t go tumbling across the dragon’s feet, which I took as a good omen. I parroted the lines of the formal greeting, and Lung Wang nodded her acceptance. I couldn’t tell if she approved or disapproved. I’d learned to read Jian Huo, but my dragon was an open book compared to his eldest sibling. Whatever the case, Lung Wang stepped aside, and I moved on to greet Jian Huo’s other siblings, so I suppose it didn’t go too badly.

It was good that I had Lung Wang’s acceptance, because my next greeting was to Lung Tian, and his disapproval was plain as anything. Everything about the Celestial Dragon was martial and masculine – in-your-face masculine. He sneered at my greeting, forcing me into more docile and feminine speech forms to assuage him. I got the feeling that he’d been hoping to get a rise out of me so that he could denounce me. Even Si Wei was bristling by the time Lung Tian accepted my greeting and moved aside for his younger siblings.

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