“They’remypeople, not hers,” he snapped.
“Yes, and some of them are the people who sentenced you—sentencedus—to the green,” Teela interjected. Her eyes were blue and her voice was ice.
“Aren’t most of them dead yet?”
Teela said, “You’ve spent far too much time recently with the mortals. We are going. You are staying. There’s enough instability in the present situation that I will go Leontine if anythingelsebreaks. Understood?”
Mandoran’s brows rose. After a brief pause, he surprised Kaylin; he grinned. “I think I’d like to see that.”
“You really, really wouldn’t—not at this distance,” Kaylin told him. Tain relaxed slightly, and Kaylin took that as a good sign. She’d known Teela for over a third of her life, but she didn’t know Teela the way Tain did, and she’d always found Teela’s temper unpredictable.
* * *
Severn appeared at the front door dressed for Court.
Kaylin had one dress that was appropriate, and had no luck arguing her way out of wearing it; she did, however, get a jacket from Bellusdeo that more or less covered the exposed skin. It was too large, but it was vastly better than nothing, in Kaylin’s opinion. Helen didn’t entirely share that opinion, but Kaylin put her foot down. If she couldn’t wear the jacket, she was going in her patrolling clothing, and that was final.
“It’s not like I haven’t met Evarrim before,” she told Helen. “And I wasn’t wearing a fancy dress for any of those meetings.”
“No. But I believe you did have appropriate clothing when you visited the High Halls.”
“Yes. And it got destroyed, and the quartermaster hated my guts out for months afterwards. We’re only barely speaking now, and I amneverrequisitioning clothing from him again.”
“Then you will have to spend some of your pay on appropriate clothing. The Emperor has indicated that he will visit again.”
Some of her pay was not the same as all of her pay, and all of her pay was pretty much what would be required. Kaylin didn’t bother to say this out loud; Helen could hear what she was thinking.
* * *
Since she had to be dress inspected before leaving, she made Teela promise that they would hire a carriage. Contending with stupid clothing was bad enough; she was certain nothing would survive Teela’s driving. Teela sourly pointed out that Kaylin had demonstrably survived her driving on previous occasions, but agreed.
“Why Evarrim?”
“He is the least untrustworthy Arcanist we could speak with on short notice.”
“And on longer notice?”
“Short is relative. I believe I could find another if we had between three and five years.”
Tain’s brows rose, and Teela gave him a look. “You can’t mean—”
“No, clearly I can’t. Leave it alone.”
Unlike Mandoran, Tain did.
“What do you expect him to tell us?”
“I don’t know. The Aerian Caste Court—or at least the dar Carafel flight—clearly has fingers in the upper echelons of many of the Caste Courts. The remand to the human Caste Court must have been a barter decision. I’m fine with that. But therequestwas not delivered by humans. It was delivered by a Barrani Hawk. The Barrani Hawk in question was not, by the by, breaking any laws. He, however, was given the message to carry—”
“By someone Barrani.”
“Indeed.”
“Someone with power.”
“Yes, Kaylin. A Lord of the High Court.”
“But that wouldn’t be Evarrim.”