“Could I see you again?” Moran asked.
Lillias hesitated. “You should not be seen,” she finally replied, “in the company of an outcaste. It will do you no good.”
“It will domea great deal of good—and as you might imagine, I’m not fond of the Caste Court or the dar Carafel flight at the moment. What they need, I can’t—won’t—give them. What I need, they could never, ever give me.” When Lillias once again fell silent, Moran added, “I ask aspraevolo.”
Lillias bowed her head instantly. Moran caught her hands before she could fully fold to the ground, as Clint had so shockingly done. “Yes,praevolo. If I can be of use to you, even as I am, yes.”
* * *
“That was a bit low, wasn’t it?” Kaylin asked Moran after addresses had been exchanged and the two Aerians had parted.
Moran shrugged. “She would have said no for ‘my own good,’ and actually, I’m pretty sick of that.”
“Maybe she thought it would be forherown good.”
“Do you believe that?”
Kaylin’s shrug was more defensive, a fief shrug.
“I’ll take that as no. I—” She shook her head. “I was happy to see her fly. I know she can’t, when she’s not in Evanton’s garden. How did you meet him?”
“Teela.”
“Why did she introduce you?”
“He’s willing to use magic for practical things, and I wanted daggers that made no noise when I unsheathed them. I thought Teela would know where to go for that. She did. I had no idea what his other job was. Teela obviously did, and couldn’t be bothered to tell me.”
“Do you think he’d let me visit again?”
“You want to fly again?”
Moran nodded. If she caught the shift in Kaylin’s tone, she suspected nothing. Kaylin privately cursed Evanton in three different languages; Leontine was easier on the throat when it wasn’t spoken aloud.
“You can fly.”
Moran said, “Yes. The wind—”
“No. Lillias needed the wind. But Evanton said you didn’t.”
Moran stopped walking. Given the past few days, Kaylin wished she’d left this conversation for home, which was essentially a very welcoming, impregnable fortress. The small dragon was sitting on her shoulder in a state of alertness that didn’t make Kaylin feel any safer.
“What did you say?”
Kaylin began to walk, and Moran caught up with her. Moran wasn’t a groundhawk; she didn’t know how to walk the streets the way groundhawks did. She did, however, know how to march.
“Kaylin.”
“Evanton told me that the only person the wind was carrying was Lillias. You were never dependent on the wind for your flight.”
“But my wing—”
“He said you could still fly even if they cut the wings off your back. I think that’s whatpraevolomeans.”
“I’ve been in charge of the infirmary for years now. I’ve seen all kinds of injuries—Aerian injuries among them. Iknowmy own people.”
“Yes. But Evanton said that the wind wasn’t helping you at all—and I tend to believe him when it comes to the wild elements. He said you were flying under your own power. If you want, we can go wake him up—but he’d likely bite heads off. Probably mine,” she added.
Moran fell silent then. She kept moving. But her thoughts, such as they were, were turned entirely inward. It wasn’t a comfortable silence.
