“Look—Itriedto cancel the dinner. I tried every possible avenue available to anyone!”
“Understood. All I hope you take out of this experience in the future is some measure of control over whether or not you extend an invitation at all.” He turned to Helen. “I have questions of a more technical nature, if you are free to respond.”
“I am free to respond, but also free to choose not to do so.”
“Understood, again.” The Arkon pushed himself out of his chair. “Is there another room in which we may have this discussion?”
“It requires your native tongue?”
“Some of it, yes.”
“Very well. Please follow me.”
The Arkon followed the Avatar, which left a large conversational hole in the room. Emmerian, however, filled it. “You understand the difficulty,” he said to Bellusdeo.
“You are concerned that the spies just beyond the grounds and in all directions are not an actual danger.”
“Yes. To be honest, the method of your return to Elantra has...increased the uncertainty. It has long been understood among Immortals that the portal paths exist between the Hallionne. You did not traverse those paths; there is no such path that leads to Elantra.”
“There is,” Kaylin said.
“I assure you—”
“If I understand anything about Shadow and the heart of the fiefs, there is. But it leads throughRavellon. All things apparently did, once.”
“And telling the Emperor that you followed the path toRavellonis unlikely to induce the calm for which you hope.”
“I don’t want calm based on ignorance. We had help, in the outlands. We had the Hallionne Bertolle’s brothers. They wouldn’t go nearRavellon—but we could see it. In a plane in which there were almost no physical markers, no geography,Ravellonlooked like a...city.”
“You are straying from the topic at hand.”
“Look, Emmerian—Lord Emmerian,” she added when Helen cleared her now-absent throat, “I obviously don’t understand the topic at hand. I’m a private. I’m a Hawk. Tell me what you’re worried about without all the indirection.”
“As you wish. If the Barrani can enter the heart of Hallionne without the Hallionne’s knowledge, they might just as easily enter Helen in the same fashion. If Mellarionne is involved, it would be anadvantageto their line to assassinate the Consort. You would bear the blame, but it would also fall upon your various friends. And Mellarionne’s candidate would be vastly more important, vastly more significant, than she might otherwise be. She has come far in the testing, and if the Consort dies here, it will be imperative that she be brought up to speed.
“She will replace the Consort, and the High Court will agree because otherwise none of the children will awaken.”
“Look—I’m not supposed to be talking about this, but Ihighly doubtthat the Mellarionne candidate would be able to pass the final test if that was the case. And frankly, passing the milestones in between is hand-waving. It’s meaningless. Only the final test counts. If she does pass that last test, she’s not going to be a good little pawn in Mellarionne’s bid for the seat.”
“And you are so certain of that? Lord Kaylin—Kaylin if you prefer and until the Consort arrives—ifMellarionne’s various kin have become adept at fooling the Hallionne, at hiding their intent, why do you feel that such a woman would not pass the tests devised by some ancient and unknown magic?
“We are not currently afraid that your guests will attempt to harm the Consort. The Consort does not fear that, either—or she would not have accepted your invitation. But harm can come from many sources, and information is not currently being easily passed between the Dragon Court and the High Halls.”
Ah, Ynpharion said.Now I understand.
Is it true? Does Mellarionne have a candidate who’s almost there?
I do not know. But Iwillask.
So. What everyone was afraid of was pretty simple: Barrani would try to kill the Consort, and blame it on the cohort—which would almost certainly result in the entire lot being made outcaste. If they couldn’t make that stick—if the Consort was harmed but didn’t die—they could try to pin it on the Dragons, because at the moment, there were three of them under Kaylin’s roof. They wouldn’t need something like actual proof, either.
The Emperor was already almost enraged at what had happened in the West March. He didn’twanta war between the Dragon Court and the High Halls—it would destroy the city, probably literally. Kaylin was certain that the current High Lord didn’t want that, either. But Mellarionne? Mellarionne could use the political tension and the history of the two peoples as a goad to supporters. It was all just ugly.
And she’d invited the Consort.
It pains me greatly to offer you any support whatsoever at this time,Ynpharion said,but you didn’t so much invite her as accede to her very, very obvious desire.
Did she answer?
