‘Mm.’ The Queen smoothed the folds of her robe. Irene couldn’t read her expression. Was she approving this strategy as original and effective? Or was she merely deciding how serious the punishment should be? ‘And the rest of the story?’
‘The woman has it the wrong way round,’ Qing Song said. He smiled coldly at Irene. ‘The man Evariste approached me seeking employment, in order to gain wealth to provide for his child. Apparently their Library does not pay well. He then walked out halfway through his task and tried to blackmail me for more money, threatening to reveal his involvement to bring disgrace upon me. Perhaps I shouldn’t have agreed to his offer in the first place, but he was very persuasive.’
It was a smooth lie. There were no obvious holes in it – apart from the exact location of Evariste’s daughter – and it was indeed coming down to a case of he-said against she-said.
Ya Yu turned her attention to Evariste. ‘It seems the fulcrum of this case lies upon you,’ she said. ‘Speak.’
Evariste’s breath caught in his throat and he swayed on his feet, closing his eyes for a moment. Irene knew exactly how hard it was to stand under the weight of a dragon king or queen’s regard. She wanted to reach out to support him, but she was afraid it might be a breach of protocol.
Then she thought, Damn protocol. It was harder than she’d expected to raise her hand under the weight of the Queen’s gaze, as if she was forcing herself to move through the pressure of multiple gravities. She touched Evariste’s shoulder and felt the warmth of his body under his battered suit. Her squeeze tried to convey to him, Trust me, don’t give up yet.
Evariste swallowed and opened his eyes again. Despair was written on his face. He couldn’t turn away from Ya Yu. ‘Your majesty,’ he said, barely audible, ‘I have nothing to say.’
The murmurs from the bystanders were louder this time. Irene could catch the words put to the question and forced to answer.
The Queen had to raise her hand for silence, and the growing wrath in her gaze suggested that she was displeased by such disorder in her court – and by those who had brought it there. ‘Then we must look to our other witnesses,’ she said, turning to Jin Zhi. ‘What have you to say to these serious allegations?’
‘I know nothing of these accusations,’ Jin Zhi said calmly, but a pulse jumped in her throat. Was she weighing up the benefits of supporting Qing Song against the possibility of her own death, if she lost the challenge? ‘I had been having little success in my own hunt for the book, though I have not yet explored all possible avenues. I chose to call upon Qing Song during my search, and I admit that during a discussion of current events we were both roused to anger. I am ashamed that we required intercession to remind us of proper behaviour.’
So that makes all of us lying so far, or at least eliding the truth, Irene judged. Multiple counts of high treason. But Qing Song and Jin Zhi are hanging together. Or at least she’s not putting a noose around his throat by declaring she knew he’d hired a Librarian . . .
The note of uncertainty Irene had felt earlier finally crystallized. When they met for the very first time, in York, Jin Zhi already knew Qing Song had hired a Librarian. But how did she know – who told her? This was Qing Song’s biggest advantage, his most important secret. If anyone found out about it, he and his family would be disgraced for breaking the challenge’s rules. Were Jin Zhi’s spies really that good? And if they were, why didn’t she also know Evariste had escaped? And why has Jin Zhi been hiding her knowledge, rather than gloating about what she’d found out?
‘And you,’ Ya Yu said, focusing her gaze on Kai. ‘Youngest son of the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean. I trust that you will present my compliments to your father when next you see him.’
Kai bowed again.
The courtesies over, Ya Yu’s tone grew sharper. ‘I am displeased to find you involved in this matter. It borders on interference in another monarch’s realm. Can you explain yourself?’
‘Your majesty, I have taken no sides in this matter!’ Kai protested. ‘I have no reason to reproach myself.’
‘Let us hope not,’ the Queen said. ‘You are old enough to receive an adult’s punishment. Tell me your perspective upon the matter.’
‘I can only comment on events I witnessed myself,’ Kai said carefully. ‘I would not wish to put forward my conjectures and claim they were the truth.’
‘We would expect no less from the son of Ao Guang,’ Ya Yu agreed. ‘Continue.’
‘It is true that the Librarian Irene visited this world because she was concerned about her colleague,’ Kai said. He gave no visible sign of nervousness, affecting the calm of innocent truthfulness. ‘I was present when he told us he’d been blackmailed – by threats to his child, and to his mentor’s reputation. It is true that at the time he accused Qing Song and his servant Hu. I did not personally encounter Qing Song while I was present in that world, except when I intervened in the challenge between him and Jin Zhi.’
‘So you heard the man’s lies as well,’ Qing Song said. ‘That does not make them truth.’
Kai turned to look at Qing Song. ‘It is also true that someone administered a throat-paralysis drug to the Librarian Irene. I would be interested in knowing the facts there.’
Ya Yu tapped her clawed finger against the arm of her throne. ‘No challenge may be given or taken during these proceedings. I desire the truth, not blood. Not yet, in any case . . .’ Her voice rang in the air and hummed in the stone and amber, thickening through the room like an oppressive chord of music. For a moment nobody stirred.
Then Qing Song shrugged. There was an unpleasant gleam in his eyes. ‘I admit that I administered the drug to the woman, after it became clear she had concealed her identity and insulted me.’
‘I admit that I failed to give my true name on first introduction,’ Irene said coldly. ‘I do not recall insulting you. I did refuse your offer of employment.’
‘You misunderstood my words at the time,’ Qing Song said firmly. ‘No doubt because you are already bought and paid for.’ He turned to Kai. ‘Tell me, what do you pay your Librarian? They are clearly for hire. I can see why her majesty wished us to avoid dealing with such petty, venal creatures during this challenge.’
Irene bit back a furious comment justifying their relationship. It wouldn’t be believed anyway. She could feel the other dragons looking at her and Evariste consideringly, assessing their worth. Again she was reminded that they were entirely within Ya Yu’s sphere of power. The Queen could decide to simply hush up the whole business by having all three of them disappear – even Kai. And none of them had the power to stop it.