and watching the moon rise outside her window, letting her thoughts drain away like bathwater.
It felt like playing human.
But ever since Kinok had returned to the palace, Crier had found it more and more difficult to empty her mind enough to sleep.
The serving boy filled Crier’s cup last. The liquid he poured was a deep, dark red, the color of heartstone dust steeped in water. It was less concentrated in this form but easier to consume, and besides, Hesod took pleasure in mimicking human customs such as drinking tea in the morning. Unlike some other members of the Red Council, he thought Automae could stand to learn from humans. Human culture had been, after all, the basis of stabilization across Rabu: Organization, System, Family. Hesod’s core values. We must never forget, he said, that for thousands of years the kings of this land were all human. And the human kings began their days with tea.
Crier reached for the cup, but in her haste, her hand shook. A splash of the liquid spilled.
“Apologies,” she murmured, picking up her napkin to wipe it away.
Hesod’s hand came over hers, stopping her. “Don’t. This is what they’re here for.” He snapped his fingers at the serving boy.
Crier lowered her eyes.
When he was done, she picked up her cup again, careful to balance it. One sip of liquid heartstone, and Crier felt power spread through her. It was like stepping into a patch of sunlight, slipping into a hot bath—a slow, pleasing sensation that warmed her from head to foot. Any negative side effects from the lack of sleep were gone now. Crier felt stronger all over, like she could run straight out of the great hall and not stop until she hit the Aderos Mountains five hundred leagues away. Even her brain felt stronger, clearer. She hid a satisfied smile behind her teacup.
“Is there something you find amusing, Lady Crier?” Kinok said, staring at her curiously.
Of course Kinok had noticed. He noticed everything. He was looking at her now over the rim of his own teacup, his lips stained slightly red.
“It is not important,” Crier said, a little flustered by Kinok’s unwavering gaze. “I merely thought of a book I was reading last night.”
“Ah. Which book?”
“A collection of essays on economic structure,” she said. “Specifically, the intersection of market structure with physical or geographical environment.”
Kinok’s eyebrows lifted. “I see.” To Hesod, he said, “Such inherent curiosity. Perhaps it is best that she has not yet attended a meeting of the council. I think, given an hour, she would take over as head.”
Crier preened, until she saw Hesod’s jaw tighten.
“On the contrary,” he said. “I believe attending next week’s meeting will be an invaluable experience for her. Perhaps it will give her pause the next time she is tempted to voice her own opinions on how to run a nation.”
Crier glanced at Kinok. He gave her a small, crooked smile. “It will be an honor to have her there.”
Which meant he would be in attendance as well.
She remembered what her father had told her: that Kinok was not a threat to Hesod’s hold on Rabu and the other territories. Not if he joined a family. Not if he submitted to Traditionalism.
It seemed Hesod trusted him enough to include him in the affairs of the Red Council now.
In the nearly fifty years since the War of Kinds, Crier’s father had made great efforts to coexist peacefully with the humans of Zulla. With the formation of the Red Council, he had successfully gained control of all the human settlements not just in Rabu, the main territory of Zulla, where they lived, but even in the tiniest fishing villages dotting the coast of Tarreen.
Zulla was like an Automa’s heart, he’d once explained to her—it had four layers, the same way Automae had the four pillars of Reason, Calculation, Organics, and Intellect. In Zulla, the layers were, from the north down: the Far North, Rabu, Varn, and Tarreen. Along the western coast of Rabu and winding up into the north stood the Aderos Mountains, which hid the Iron Heart somewhere in their jagged peaks. A few leagues off the eastern coast: the Golden Isles, neutral territory, populated mainly by seabirds and wild pigs.
The queendom of Varn blocked access between Rabu, to its north, and Tarreen, to its south. As a result, Tarreen was known for being a lawless wilderness, not structured and civilized like Rabu. Hesod’s efforts to control it, to govern its people and make use of its