Oh?
You can pass on the message.
He radiated frustration through the bond that connected them—a bond he despised and would happily remove. Sadly, the only sure way to remove it was to kill Kaylin. Or himself. And Ynpharion certainly didn’t consider his own life to be of so little value.
You fail to understand, and I must assume that failure is deliberate. You may pester me—and do—at your leisure. You holdmyname.
She hadn’t noticed that Ynpharion failed to pester her in return.
You could prevent that if you had an ounce more will and determination. You do not. The Consort, however, is not as weak as you are, and she does not lack will. She will speak to me when she decides she must; she will allow me to pass on messages that are considered dire emergencies. But even then, she commands me. The discretion is not my own.
But I can’t get a message to her any other way!
Ah. And you feel this is somehow some oversight?
She didn’t. Not really. But she held on to faint hope.
Ynpharion wasn’t big on any hope that wasn’t his own or the Consort’s.She will not receive the message no matter how often you send it. No one will accept that message, either. Her orders arequiteclear on that subject, and even were they not, theHigh Lordhas made his will known. Anyone fool enough to accept the Imperial message is not long for the Court.
You invited her to dinner. Live with the consequences.Ynpharion’s tone made clear that he wanted Kaylin to go away.
I invited her to dinner, Kaylin said, grinding her teeth because she didn’t need to open her mouth to speak to him,before she attempted to imprison my friends.My homeistheir home in the immediate future. It would be beyond awkward to have her here now, and I can’t even guarantee that it would be safe.
You can.
No, actually,I can’t. If you’d like to haul your butt here and speak to my house in person, you’d understand that. There’s some risk, if things aren’t handled very, very carefully. The cohort isn’t like the rest of the Court. Maybe Hallionne Alsanis could host, but given what almost happened to him, I doubt it.
Then perhaps you could convince your friends to forgo the Test of Name. Should they choose to do so, I am certain the Consort would be willing to alter her plans. If you cannot convince your friends to forgo that test, how can you possibly expect that I, or anyone else, could convince theConsortto forgo her one opportunity to meet the cohort and assess the threat they pose in person?
“If you don’t stop making that face, we’re going to assume Helen’s food has been poisoned,” Bellusdeo said. “If you honestly feel it will pose that much of a danger, just fail to open the door when she arrives.”
The silence around the table was an entirely different silence.
“I have oft wondered,” Sedarias said, breaking it, “what form Dragon hospitality might take.”
“This is where I live, but it is not my home. I am therefore not free to refuse a guest entry. Were I, I believe I would.”
“Liar,” Mandoran said quite cheerfully.
“You clearly don’t spend enough time with Kaylin when she’s in this mood. Satisfying base curiosity is possibly—just possibly—not worth it. As for Dragon hospitality in general, it is, as you suspect, somewhat different. If someone shows up at the heart of my Aerie with no invitation, we do not consider that a visit. We consider it an attack.” Her smile had teeth in it. “I’m sure you can imagine the rest.”
“I’m not sure I can,” Sedarias replied, although she was grinning.
“Dear,” Helen’s voice said, “I’m not certain the table—or the room—will survive draconic transformation.”
“Then let’s hope it’s not necessary.” Bellusdeo was almost golden-eyed as she pushed herself up from the table. “If it makes you feel any better,” she said to Kaylin, which was almost a guarantee that whatever followed wouldn’t, “the Arkon isalsocoming to dinner.”
To Kaylin’s surprise, the Imperial messenger service delivered a parcel to her door. In it were two things. The first, a very, very thick pile of papers. The second, a letter written in a bold but tidy hand that made clear that if she lostthisversion of important information, dire consequences would be forthcoming. Given that the letter came from Lord Diarmat, Kaylin was left to imagine what those consequences were.
But shehadlost the previous packet about the Barrani High Court, somewhere between Evanton’s storefront on Elani street and the West March; she’d barely had time to panic about the loss, the threat of the Consort’s visit loomed so large.
Mandoran had made his way to the door just as Kaylin was intercepting the package, and stared at it with bright-eyed curiosity. Had it not, in fact, been in Helen’s hands, it would likely have been in his. The cohort didn’t understand the concept of privacy. No, that was unfair. Teela understood it pretty well.
“What is it?” Mandoran asked, looming over Kaylin’s left shoulder.
None of his business. But she could barely think that with a straight face; saying it was out of the question. “The Consort,” she said, “is coming to dinner. This is a Dragon’s concept of what I need to learn in order not to offend her.”
Mandoran eyed the stack dubiously. “Dragons are weird. Sedarias wants to know what’s actually in it.”
