Year of the Lilies

Torrid Season

Somewhere in the Palace

Altsas

Isla

THOUGH I WON'T BE MEETING with the King till tomorrow (says Namir) I'll undergo a cleansing and makeover today. I stare at him blankly as he said the words. This most be a joke.

Namir led me through various passages and corridors and a dozen flights of stairs to this room. I can hardly remember the way here. He gestures for me to sit on a human-sized cushion, the soft cushion sinks under ...