“Not really. But the Arkon has never treated me the way he treats you.” The oldest of the Dragons was, and had always been, fond of Bellusdeo. What he found amusing behavior from her would have been cause to reduce Kaylin to ash.
* * *
Helen informed Kaylin the moment the Emperor reached the gatehouse. “You were correct,” she said. “The Arkon is with him.”
“Does he look happy?”
“Which one, dear?”
“Either of them.” Kaylin tried not to sound glum. She mostly failed. “But I was talking about the Arkon. I can’t imagine the Emperor ever looking happy. His face would break.”
“The Arkon looks irritated.”
Great.
“The Emperor does not.”
“He doesn’t?”
“His face is almost entirely without expression. Ah, I think the Hawklord has also arrived. Did you not tell him to use the tower entrance?”
“He’s used to doors,” Kaylin replied. “And no, I didn’t tell him to use the tower entrance. That’s fine for Dragons in flight form—they can’t get through our doors without destroying them. Aerians can land and walk in. It’s what they do everywhere else in the city.”
“I shall be sure to mention the aperture above. He flew, after all.” Helen cleared her throat, which was entirely an affectation, as she didn’t really have one.
Kaylin understood this to mean that she had to bust her butt to get to the front door before the guests did. The small dragon sat gracefully on the shoulder of the one good dress she owned that she hadn’t destroyed. It was a white dress; it covered a lot less than was ideal—which in this case meant her arms were exposed. She’d considered the other dress she owned, but Helen’s glacial frown made clear that she considered it unsuitable.
“I don’t have a lot of call to wear dresses,” Kaylin had said.
“No, dear. But this one is perfectly serviceable.” And she had lifted a dress that Kaylin had only worn once.
“I’m not sure—”
“I am. If you are to entertain the Emperor in future, you might consider speaking with Lord Grammayre about your rate of pay. The clothing you do possess is perfectly functional—but not for meeting royalty. And while I do not get out of the house much—” By which she meant at all. “—I understand that more appropriate clothingisa not-inconsiderable expense.”
“But he’s not here as royalty—that’s thewhole point, Helen.”
“And if you honestly think that royalty is something that is donned and discarded, as if it were mere clothing, you are making a grave mistake. No matter what he calls himself, he is the Eternal Emperor. You are part of his collective hoard. Most people would consider it an honor—an undreamed-of honor—to entertain him.”
Kaylin considered it a nightmare, but she knew Helen was probably right. “You can’t make dresses? You can make everything else.”
“Yes—but any dress I made for you would vanish the moment you stepped off the property.”
“I’ll be here the entire time.”
“I’m sure you thought that the first night we met as well—and you ended up flying off to fight ancient sorcerers by the side of the Dragons. You would not have been happy to have spent any of your necessary time changing clothing.”
Kaylin surrendered. White dress it was. But she wasn’t particularly comfortable as she ran down the stairs, taking them three at a time. It wasn’t so much the skirt—it was the feeling of exposure. When she was in her normal clothing, even without her tabard, she still felt like a Hawk.
Right now, she mostly felt half-naked and uncertain. She preferred the Hawk. The familiar warbled in her left ear, as if trying to be encouraging. She appreciated it.
“You have very punctual guests,” Helen said, radiating approval. She was waiting beside the closed doors.
“Go figure,” Kaylin replied. Punctuality was an almost mortal enemy, although she’d spent a lot of her life trying to make it a friend. She checked her wrist to make sure her bracer was in place. It had come from the Imperial treasury, and she was required, by equally Imperial command, to wear it At All Times. While the definition ofalwayswas constantly being stretched, the Emperor would be in front of her face for most of the evening, and Dragons weren’t famously forgiving when their commands were flouted.
She inhaled, held her breath, and nodded to Helen. Helen opened the doors, but she did it the normal way: with her hands. She stepped back after smiling at the first visitors at the door.
Kaylin’s smile was more stilted than Helen’s, but it was far better than the smiles on the faces of the two Dragons, since they didn’t even bother to make the attempt. They might have been coming to a funeral.