But he had no Imperial Palace Guards with him, and for that, she was profoundly grateful.
“Dinner,” Helen came in to announce, “is served. If you would follow me?”
Chapter 13
The parlor was not the only room in the house that had undergone transformation; the dining room had also been changed. Although the shape and size of the room was roughly the same as it had been at breakfast this very distant morning, the ceilings had sprouted a few feet of height, and the windows had grown to match them. They’d also gained both width and stained glass. The table, however, had shrunk, and the chairs had been replaced; they were darker, heavier, and flawless.
Helen did not tell people where to sit, and that was slightly awkward, because both Kaylin and Bellusdeo attempted to take the seat farthest from the Emperor. They would have collided had it not been for Severn, who slid a hand to Kaylin’s elbow.
She felt a little shock of warmth as his palm touched her skin. He guided her to a chair and pulled it out for her. What she really wanted was to sit Teela-style—with the chair back against the table, while her arms were draped over the top rail.
The top rail ofthesechairs, however, would have been too much of a stretch. She sat. Severn sat beside her. Bellusdeo sat opposite the Emperor, but this table was short enough that she wasn’t halfway across the room. The Arkon sat to one side of the golden Dragon. The Hawklord sat between the Arkon and the Emperor.
As a dinner, it felt a lot like an awkward council of war.
“Lord Grammayre,” the Emperor said. “It has been some small while since you have graced my presence in person.”
“I was surprised to hear that you were kind enough to join Kaylin for dinner. I have been, as you must imagine, embroiled in racial difficulties. I would never otherwise forgo the pleasure of your company.” The Hawklord said this with a completely straight face. Kaylin thought he sounded sincere. It wasn’t the first time she’d had questions about his sanity—he’d taken her on, after all—but it was close.
Bellusdeo’s eyes were orange-tinged gold, but they were as gold as they ever got when she was in the presence of the Emperor. Kaylin prayed—in that nonspecific way that people did who weren’t religious—that they’d remain that way.
The Arkon snorted smoke. “We are then to turn dinner into a political discussion?”
“Hush, Lannagaros,” Bellusdeo said. “For some of us, politicsispolite dinner conversation.”
Although the Arkon grimaced, his eyes remained pure gold. He frowned—deeply—at Bellusdeo, who surprised Kaylin by laughing. She considered approaching the Arkon’s disapproval the same way, and decided against it; if Bellusdeo ever misread the situation, the fire that resulted wouldn’t turnherto ash.
But she felt herself relaxing as she watched the two Dragons, and she reminded herself that the Arkon was family to Bellusdeo, inasmuch as Dragons ever claimed any.
“And you’re involving yourself in the politics of the realm now, are you?” the Arkon said.
Bellusdeo’s smile was almost feline. “Only so far as the politics affect my home.”
“Meaning?”
“Sergeant dar Carafel is living with us, as I imagine you know.”
The Emperor said, “I did mention it. He was, however, deeply involved in the study of something long dead; it may have escaped his hearing.”
“I’m surprised you’d interrupt him when his concentration was that intense.”
“Had I not, we would not have arrived for dinner within a week of its actual time.”
Bellusdeo chuckled.
The Emperor’s eyes, Kaylin noted, were the darkest shade of orange in the dining room—but they lightened at her obvious amusement.
“He has always been like that. I was told he was like that when he emerged from the egg. Did they ever tell you about his shell?”
The Arkon actually flushed, which in a man of his apparent age was almost shocking. “Bellusdeo, please. I was a hatchling; it is not relevant now.”
“No. I was not privileged to speak with those who had known him from birth. What did they say?”
“He very carefully collected all the pieces he could find of his own shell, and put them into a tidy pile. He also bit anyone who came near them—and that would include the clutch workers. They were all,” she added, to the non-Dragons in the room, “significantly larger than he was.”
“I see now,” the Arkon said, “why my presence was deemed necessary.”
Kaylin almost laughed at his expression. But she understood, watching, that itwasnecessary. Bellusdeo was mocking him—but she was mocking him the way she mocked Maggaron. There was no edge in it, just affection and the expectation that she would be forgiven.
