I waited until it was close to midnight, then headed downstairs, where Polaire, Lady Mykaela, and Althy waited. We ventured into the scullery, where Kana and Farhi were hard at work cleaning dishes. There were four times the number of visitors calling at the Valerian than was the norm, and so both maids were constantly busy. Mistress Parmina had even dipped into her coffers and hired temporary help to handle the additional workload. The first of them would be arriving in two days, which meant we had little time to act.
The girls looked up with surprise when we entered and both dropped a hurried curtsy despite being up to their elbows in soapy water. “Farhi, we need to talk,” Lady Mykaela’s voice still sounded weak, but with Althy and Polaire at her side, looking grave, it had the desired effect. Farhi visibly gulped, then struggled to dry her hands on the thin apron she wore.
“You, wait in the other room,” Polaire commanded Kana. The girl gave her companion what should have been a comforting, reassuring look but came out frightened and half-relieved that she wasn’t the focus of their ire. She bobbed her head again and fled the scullery.
“You are in trouble, girl,” I heard Lady Mykaela say to Farhi just before I left the kitchen and moved to the room where Kana stood, looking worried. I smiled at her. “Don’t look so scared.”
“It’s just that we’re short of hands as it is, milady,” Kana said, wringing her hands in dismay. She was still warm to the touch from her brief bout of fever, but she insisted she felt better. “We still have a lot of things to do. The extra help won’t come in for another day yet. Did Farhi break something? Did Mistress Parmina learn of the cants you’ve been giving us?”
“It’s a little more serious than that. Lady Mykaela wouldn’t be up for something so trivial as a broken plate. She’ll still need many more months to recover.”
“She shouldn’t be up at all,” Kana agreed. “And Mistress Parmina has ordered the house be cleaned from top to bottom again tomorrow because she said the Empress of Alyx might pay us a visit. The empress!” She tugged hard at her apron for emphasis. “My nana would be thrilled. I asked the mistress if she could come along and watch—only from the street, mind, not even inside the Valerian. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if there was just one more person outside—”
“The empress’s visit is a good reason for causing more mischief,” Zoya said, entering the room. She looked stunning. Her hua glittered golden, and below her waist, white cranes grazed at silver ponds. Her wrap was deceptively simple: a dark-ochre color with no adornments but spun from the softest silk.
“I didn’t think you would come,” I told her.
She shrugged. “Lady Mykaela insisted. I have been to four different parties at four different tearooms tonight, and I needed a break.”
“You also had another motive for coming here, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you could possibly mean, Tea.”
“Kana, there’s some tea boiling over the fireplace. Would you be so kind as to pour a bowl for our guest?”
Kana swallowed nervously, then hurried to do just that.
“I’ve been learning a lot about the Faceless in my history lessons,” I continued.
“That is a requirement for all asha, Tea.”
“Some of us learn better than others. I’ve learned that the Faceless can draw runes just as ably. Unlike us, they have certain stones at their disposal that allow them this feat. The seeking stone, for instance. Another stone allows them to speed up the process of raising a daeva so that they do not need to wait years for their resurrection.”
“I took the same lessons you did, Tea. I do not need the lecture.”
“That’s why Mistress Parmina was so insistent that all asha who could potentially enter the asha-ka had to present themselves to the oracle first. The seeress had told her many years ago that a Faceless would try to enter her household, and so she must be vigilant.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with me.”
“Mistress Parmina rejects all applicants who do not pass the oracle’s test. You were one of them, weren’t you?”
Zoya’s heartsglass made a sudden sputter of blue before fading quickly.
“Passing the oracle’s test isn’t a requirement to be an asha, and so House Imperial took you in. House Imperial has a more lustrous history than House Valerian—it was the first asha-ka, founded by Vernasha of the Roses. But you’ve always nursed a grudge against the Valerian, haven’t you? You were Lady Shadi’s childhood friend. Lady Mykaela saw potential in you both and brought the two of you here. Mistress Parmina accepted her but not you. That’s why you resented Lady Shadi—it felt like she had abandoned you—and it’s why you tried to get me in trouble before I was even considered a novice. You were angry.”
Zoya took a deep breath. “I don’t deny it. Yes, I’ve known Shadi all my life. Yes, it was Lady Mykaela who brought me to the Valerian. Mistress Parmina rejected me because I lied to the oracle. But lying to the seeress doesn’t mean I am one of the Faceless. If that were the case, I’d say roughly a quarter of the asha in the Willows are Faceless.”
“Should I l-leave?” Kana stuttered, pouring the tea so quickly that parts of the liquid slopped over the bowl and onto the table.
“It’s telling, isn’t it? You could have hidden the seeking stone at the Falling Leaf, counting on the fact that I was the nearest Dark asha on hand and would succumb to its effects. You were also on hand when the azi wreaked havoc on the darashi oyun—as I recall, you were angry that Lady Shadi had taken the lead role.”
“All other asha were present at the darashi oyun!”
“But you were the only asha present who volunteered to fight the azi with us, excepting Polaire. You’ve never wanted to help us before. What better way to keep an eye on your daeva than to be there with us to head off any obstacles—Lady Aenah?”
Zoya took a deep breath. When she spoke again, she sounded almost admiring. “You thought this out thoroughly, haven’t you? I’m impressed.”
“I had to. Anyone could easily be a suspect if you make a good enough argument for it. And you were the easiest choice.”
“That’s true. I didn’t think about it that way. What about Lady Mykaela or Polaire?”
“Lady Mykaela could have been pretending sickness. When everyone thinks you’re asleep in bed, it’s easier to move about without being seen. You wouldn’t even need an alibi. And like you, Polaire was on the spot for the most part—she could have followed me to the Falling Leaf without anyone else knowing and planted the seeking stone there. Mistress Parmina could have done it for financial gain. Admittedly, I never really thought about Althy as a suspect.”
“That makes sense. There’s something inherently trustworthy about Altaecia.”
“Miladies?” Kana stammered, confused by the sudden turn our conversation had taken.
“Farhi isn’t in trouble, Kana. Lady Mykaela and Althy are protecting her right now.”
“But I don’t understand.”
“It’s because she’s in danger.”
“In danger? From the empress?”
“No. From you. We are all taught to block our minds from external infiltration by those who can command the Dark and use Compulsion. Even such training may not be successful when facing a strong Faceless, as I had learned. Farhi has no such training, and my sisters are shielding her from you.”