“He clearly has a very thick skull. Yes, he’ll be okay. I’m going to take Kaylin home. We both have work in—two hours? Maybe three.” To Kaylin, she said, “I better understand why our superiors tolerate your tardiness.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you do this often?”
“Probably not often enough. They only call me in when they know for certain things are going to get ugly—and sometimes, the call comes too late. I can’t get there in time. I try,” she added. “But—I don’t normally have Aerians on hand.”
“But you do.”
“I’ve been called while at work maybe three times. And yes, I did get a ride, but in one of those cases, I actually needed it.”
“You went to the Aeries?”
Kaylin nodded. Hesitating, she said, “How do your wings feel?”
“The injured one hurts—but it made no difference. I could fly. I flew.” She spoke the last two words with a kind of bemused wonder.
* * *
She flew them back, as well. Kaylin was too exhausted to argue with her, but healing always had that effect on her when the injuries were severe. There had been no assassins, no magical attacks. It had been stupid to let Moran fly her out to the emergency—but Moran had been awake and ready. And if Kaylin had legged it the old-fashioned way, she wouldn’t have made it on time.
Even a carriage driven by Teela wouldn’t have made it on time.
Moran clearly wanted to stay outside in the night air, testing her wings. Using them. But Moran knew what the risks were and chose not to take them. From her expression, it was a close thing.
Moran, bright-eyed, was conversing with Helen when Kaylin dragged her butt up the stairs and deposited it heavily on her bed. The Aerian sergeant wasn’t going to get a lot of sleep tonight, one way or the other.
Kaylin, on the other hand, couldn’t keep her eyes open. Sleep mugged her, and she let it.
* * *
In the morning, Moran was once again colorfully dressed. She wore the bracelet. She spoke with Bellusdeo, who disappeared into the mirror room, which, in Kaylin’s opinion, most resembled the holding cells in the Halls, and returned. Kaylin’s face was an inch away from her plate, her eyes were circled so darkly she looked hungover, and she could barely force food into her mouth.
“I really think you should stay home,” Moran told her.
“I’m awake. I’ll work.”
“Fine.”Finedid not mean that Moran was content to let it go, which Kaylin discovered when Teela and Tain showed up at the front door.
“Kitling,” Teela said, with obvious disapproval. “You went out drinking without us?”
“I went on a call for the midwives’ guild.” At Teela’s shift in expression, Kaylin added, “We made it on time.”
“We?”
Moran said, “I flew her out.”
Discussion stopped—not that there was much of it—as the Barrani turned to Moran. “Did you, now?”
Moran nodded.
“Courtesy of the Keeper?”
“Indirectly, yes. But if you mean courtesy of his power or the blessing of the elements he both jails and serves, no.”
“The meeting went well, then?”
Moran exhaled. “It went well.” She flexed her wing—her injured wing—and grimaced.