“Say that in Elantran.”
“You are here, where I am speaking, and there, where your friends are watching the hall. Usually, these two states are separate. They exist, but you are anchored in only one of them.”
“When you say two states, do you mean only two?”
“No. But it is easiest to explain it that way.”
“So... I’m doing what the cohort does naturally?”
“Absolutely not.” The words were crisp and instant. After a pause, Hope added, “It is possible that you are doing what the cohort’s constituent members believe they are trying to do.”
“And I’m doing it because I have you.”
“Yes.”
“So the Ferals aren’tactuallyhere.”
“If you are not careful, you will be where the Ferals are, yes.”
She opened her mouth to ask Teela a question, but no words came out. Instead of trying again, she accepted that she could not speak to Teela in this place.
Ynpharion.
Lord Kaylin.
Surprise almost caused her eyes to fly open.If I actually move down the hall—physically move, I mean—please let me know.
He did not consider this the stupidest request she had ever made, but felt it was close. Then again, he considered almost all of her requests stupid.
“Why could I see Bellusdeo’s name?”
“You looked.”
“I can’t see the Consort’s. I can’t see Teela’s.”
“No.”
“What’s the difference, if I’m looking for names?”
“You are not specifically looking for either of their names, and they are not calling you.”
“Bellusdeo wasn’t calling me, either.”
“Not literally, no.”
Kaylin stopped moving. “You can see them.”
“I can see the Ferals, yes. My vision is not limited in the fashion yours is. You were not meant to see this way at all. Were it not for the marks you bear, I do not believe you could.”
“The cohort can.”
“No, not like this. They can exist in a much more physical way across various states; they have not learned to fully reintegrate with the lives they were born to. But part of that is the effect of theregalia. They are like miniature centers of gravity; they pull all states into nexus points simply by existing.”
“Terrano?”
“He is the exception; he is far less anchored than any of the rest of the cohort. In their absence, however, he is far more cautious than your Mandoran might be in similar circumstances.”
Kaylin wished she could see the hallway, because the walls would have served as a partial guide; they would have given her one clear indication of both distance and direction. She didn’t lift her arms to touch the wall, because she wasn’t certain her hands would connect with anything. Although her eyes were closed, she could see light. She could hear breathing. She could feel something like stone beneath her feet.
