“If you chose the empire’s future over your father’s ambitions and errors, you could ask me to vow that your sisters would be protected and given a future unbound from your father’s fate.” Deepa swallowed. “I am not a son,” she said. “And I am not an emperor. So what will you do, Lady Deepa?” She looked away. She looked at Lata and Raziya and Sahar; at Swati, watching quietly. Slowly, the panic seemed to bleed from her face. “My father bid me to serve you, and I did not say no. I did not even try to refuse.” She met Malini’s eyes again. “I wanted more. Is it selfish, to want even more than
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