The first of the guests, as Helen had cheerfully pointed out, were actually the first and second. The door opened on the Arkon and Lord Emmerian. Kaylin hadn’t come up with an invitation list; there was already enough panic and stress about dinner, and since she’d spent most of her time leading up to it attempting to cancel, this made sense. But she didn’t remember Emmerian’s name being mentioned at all.
Bellusdeo was still in her room, as were the rest of the cohort; Tain was nowhere in sight.
Severn, however, appeared at the top of the stairs. He, like Kaylin, was dressed for a formal dinner, but unlike Kaylin, his clothing suited him.
“Kaylin,” Helen said, catching Kaylin’s attention and dragging it away from a formal, well-turned-out Severn. “Your guests.”
Kaylin grimaced, but managed to realign the shape of her mouth so it looked like she was smiling. The Arkon grimaced in return, which meant she hadn’t been entirely successful. She then stepped out of the doorway and allowed both men to enter. Lord Emmerian swept her a perfect but elegant bow. The Arkon didn’t bother.
“At my age,” he said, “some gestures are considered too taxing.”
The familiar on Kaylin’s shoulder snorted. Dragons did age, but not the way mortals did; age was considered a sign of strength. That the Arkon had chosen to adopt age as an appearance did not, in fact, mean that something as simple as a bow was beyond his elderly bones.
“If you would care to come this way,” Helen said when Kaylin failed to immediately remember what she was supposed to do as hostess. “You are early, but we are of course delighted to have you.”
The Arkon accepted.
Lord Emmerian, however, did not—not immediately.
“Yes, of course,” Helen said, although neither of the Dragons had spoken. “There are some doors that will remain closed for the entirety of dinner, but if you require entrance for your peace of mind, I will return shortly to supervise. The guest rooms, however, are entirely off-limits.”
“Understood,” Emmerian replied. “Perhaps the corporal will join me?”
“That is, of course, up to the corporal. Severn?”
Severn bowed—to Emmerian. There was no hint at all that he found the task of escorting a member of the Dragon Court annoying. He probably didn’t. But he moved quietly, certainly, and he led Lord Emmerian to Helen’s dining room.
Probably, Kaylin reflected, to get him out of the foyer before Bellusdeo came down the stairs.
“Yes,” Helen said quietly. “It is only natural that the Arkon have an escort, and you are not fond of the palace guard he might otherwise bring. But Bellusdeo can be sensitive about the Dragon Court. Bellusdeo will join the Arkon in the parlor.”
The parlor was a much larger room than it had been the previous day; it was as large—and as richly appointed—as it had been on the night the Emperor had come to dinner. On that night, Lord Emmerian had not come to do a security sweep of the building first.
“Lord Kaylin,” the Arkon said as Kaylin hovered near a chair.
Kaylin bowed.
The Arkon waved a hand. “That is not necessary until Emmerian returns—and possibly not even then. Unless you are doing it to annoy Bellusdeo.”
“I never try to annoy her.”
“Ah, forgive me. I meant, of course, the annoyance of thenecessityof you, personally, doing so. She is not here, regardless; the gesture is therefore wasted.” Helen offered the Arkon a drink; a small amount of amber liquid swirled in the curve of the glass. He raised his brows, both white, both bushy.
“You are very well supplied,” he told the Avatar of Kaylin’s home.
“It was one of my functions. I am not, however, permitted to harm the guests, and you are a guest.”
“Even were you, I have confidence in Lord Kaylin. And, Lord Kaylin? You will cease that cringe.”
“I wasn’t cringing.”
“You cringe every time someone uses the title you haveearnedin the Barrani High Court. Tonight, however, you will hear it when you are addressed. To grimace in that fashion might imply that you hold the title itself in some disdain—and I assure you that is politically unwise.”
It was going to be a long damn evening.
By the time Lord Emmerian and Severn returned to the parlor, Bellusdeo had joined the Arkon.Shedidn’t bother to use a formal title to address Kaylin, and the Arkon didn’t bother to correct her. Of course not.
“You are expecting the Consort, and only the Consort?”
