No, Lord Kaylin, she did not. What conversation you’ve had that I can share, I have been asked to share.“Ask,” in this case, had a very different weight for Ynpharion than it would for any other Barrani lord, because the Consort had his name.I hope you understand what she desires from the cohort, as you call them. It is only because of that desire that she is willing to take this risk—but she will not be turned away from it. The High Lord has tried. The Lord of the West March has tried. No others among the Court have any chance of success where these two failed.
And now, he added,you are almost out of time.The Consort is leaving her quarters.
The Arkon returned with Helen, and once again resumed his seat, pausing only to speak a few quiet words to Emmerian, who remained by the door. Kaylin, who hadn’t heard the draconian, wondered why Helen hadn’t shut Annarion and Nightshade in the same damn room during the endless nights of argument.
The Consort did not arrive before the cohort began to trickle into the parlor. Teela came first. Kaylin had seen Teela in formal court dress before, but it never really got old. She wore a dress of emerald silk—at least Kaylin thought it must be silk—with full, long skirts, and a neckline that was cut in a way that suggested it was meant to set off the emerald necklace that lay flat against her skin. Her hair had been drawn up and away from her back; it was piled on her head, and it glittered, implying either nets or jewelry embedded in its curled, glossy strands.
To Kaylin’s utter surprise, Teela wore a circlet of gold that housed an emerald, as well. Her eyes were a martial blue. The lines of the dress did not imply armor, but she wore a sword, as well. Kaylin didn’t ask if the sword was significant; she already knew the answer.
None of Teela’s clothing, jewelry or weaponry had been created by Helen. Tain was not far behind, and his eyes were bluer. He wore a green that mirrored Teela’s, but no jewelry; he did have a sword, as well. The whole impression he gave was shadowed by Teela’s. Kaylin liked his boots, though.
Teela bowed to the Arkon, who rose when she entered the parlor. “An’Teela,” he said.
“Arkon. It is a pleasure to see you outside of the Imperial Library.”
“I wish I could say it is a pleasure tobeoutside of my own domain. In general, I leave it only during times of possible war.”
Teela’s eyes lightened a shade; there was more green in them. Bellusdeo also relaxed. She eyed the sword that Teela bore, but made no comment about it.
“It is a gesture of respect,” Helen said, which caused the people in the room to look in Kaylin’s direction. “Were Lord Nightshade present, he would no doubt likewise be so armed.”
“How is it respectful to carry a sword that was created—successfully—to kill Dragons?”
The Arkon chuckled. To Helen, he said, “The battles that shaped Kaylin’s life are not the battles that shaped either of our people, and on surface appearance, she might be forgiven for confusion.” To Kaylin, he said, “The wearing of the sword implies that I am a dangerous man, a worthy opponent, instead of a toothless, ancient Dragon.”
“You are hardly toothless, Lannagaros.”
The Arkon smiled. His eyes were almost pure gold. Bellusdeo’s were the orange-gold that implied caution in a dangerous setting. A backward glance at Emmerian surprised Kaylin; his eyes were lighter than even the Arkon’s.
Sedarias arrived with Terrano, although Allaron was not far behind. As Teela was, she was robed in a deep emerald green; her jewelry was different. Rings bound her hands almost ostentatiously, and the necklace she wore was not all pendant; it had a pendant but the chain that bore it was heavy and appeared to be etched or carved in a pattern.
Allaron and Terrano also wore the same green.
In fact, as the cohort came into the parlor in a procession, it was clear that they were all wearing the same colors. Kaylin had assumed that they’d wear colors associated with their family lines, whichmighthelp her remember which lines those were. No. They wore green. And it came to her slowly that she had seen that green before, and had, in fact, worn it herself on the road to the West March, because a closet had appeared in her room, and she’d been fool enough to open it.
They meant to make a statement.
Severn and Kaylin didn’t fit that statement in any way, which was probably for the best. She wondered what it had cost to get Tain to join in, but didn’t ask.
“White suits you,” Sedarias said in her critical drillmaster tone. “It is the Consort’s color. Not her line’s, but her own. Had you not chosen the white, I would have asked you to consider it. It will be a reminder of your value to our people, rather than the lesser consideration of friendship.” The last word was uttered as if she’d meant to sayenmityinstead.
Terrano was the only member of the cohort who did not wear jewelry. He was finely dressed, but Kaylin suspected he’d agreed in the vain hope that he’d blend in. His eyes were blue, but it was an odd shade—light, for the Barrani. He was also the only member of the cohort who looked visibly uncomfortable. Whatever Sedarias had said—and probably was still saying—to the rest had made a visible impact. They were tall, they were straight, they were elegant; they appeared to be almost at ease.
But it was an ease accomplished only by those to whom power was so familiar it was like air. Kaylin often had to temper her resentment of the Barrani: they were eternal, immortal, unafraid of the Ferals and the smaller Shadows that sometimes escapedRavellon. They didn’t have to worry about exhaustion or starvation. They seemed, if she didn’t engage her brain, to have no worries at all. But Sedarias’s sister had tried to kill her. Immortality was no protection against hatred or ambition.
The truth didn’t make Kaylin feel less self-conscious. Mandoran smiled at her. Smiled; it wasn’t his usual grin. But it implied that his usual grin was lurking just beneath this polished, perfect surface. She exhaled and nodded.
“Are you ready?” She spoke softly.
All eyes turned to her then.
“Because I think the Consort is almost here.”
“Is Emmerian just going to stand by the door all evening?”
“Yes. He is not present as a Lord of the Dragon Court; he is here as a guard. I believe he intends to be roughly where the Consort’s guards will be. It is a pity,” Helen added, her voice softening, “that the Arkon does not often leave his library.”
“You like him.”
