The Splinter in the Sky

Enitan is a linguistics scholar and tea hobbyist from Koriko, a province occupied by the Holy Vaalbaran Empire. When she returns home to find her sibling Xiang missing, she turns to Koriko's half-Vaalbaran governor, her former lover, for help. Instead, imperial forces sweep Enitan away to Vaalbara's floating capital, the Splinter, as a scapegoat for an assassination. Made a political prisoner in the newly crowned God-Emperor's court, she is recruited as a spy by emissaries of the empire's greatest rival. Armed with patience, wit, and a talent for reading people, Enitan sets out to find her sibling, survive the court, and strike a blow against the empire that swallowed her home.