Chapter 7
KOTORI HAD BEEN cautiously happy over the past few days.
The southern woman had moved into the Mother’s House. She had seen the king, and the king appeared happy, and what was more, he was still alive. That had to be a good thing, Kotori surmised.
Never mind that rumours had told him that she had since seen the king twice more—which was highly unusual—and that she had applied to use the Astrology library. The first time he had ignored her application, because she was foreign and a woman to boot, but the second time, it came with a recommendation from the king, and Kotori figured he’d better approve it unless he wanted to lose his head, or, worse, be sent on the boats to see the Mother.
Those boats had signalled a change in the mood in the city, because there were so many of t
