Voices—besides the voice of the Consort, which became distinct and much louder—filled her thoughts in a clamor of sound and emotion. She turned to look at Sedarias, who was carrying a sword that was, even at this distant, red with new blood.
“Terrano,” Sedarias said, the word both a question and command.
“I’m fine.” His voice was muffled.
Kaylin turned to look at him, and so did the more distant Sedarias. Terrano wasnotfine. His skin was livid with what appeared to be bruises, given their color; Kaylin, however, knew better. Looking down at her hand, she saw the frayed ends of what had been a web at the heart of Alsanis, and even as she did, her familiar finally withdrew his wing. He then shifted his head so his nose was pointed at Terrano.
“I know,” Kaylin replied. As the wing left her face, the shadow left her palm; her hands were once again normal hands.
“You arenotfine,” Sedarias said. She returned the sword to Allaron, without pausing to make certain he was in place to take it, and stalked across the forest floor toward Terrano.
Terrano took a step back as she reached for his arm; Kaylin could only see Sedarias’s back. But as Terrano could see her face—which was, by Barrani standards, as expressive as the faces of most of the cohort—he stopped moving and allowed her to touch his wrist.
“We did not teach them this,” she said. She turned to Kaylin, her hand still wrapped around Terrano’s right wrist.
“I think you taught them that words have power,” Kaylin offered.
Sedarias did not looked pleased. She did not, however, look guilty, either. “You understand why.”
Kaylin did. She approached Terrano as well. “Yes. But my understanding—or not—doesn’t change the consequences. It never has.” She held out her palm, and Terrano examined it as if she were holding a live cockroach up for his inspection.
“Just let her examine you,” Sedarias told him; she released his wrist and folded her arms. “We’re about to have company. Significant company.”
He deflated. “I don’t want the Lady to see me.”
“I understand. I am not looking forward to this meeting with any great anticipation, either. She’s going to have questions.”
“Are you two talking about the Consort?Hand, Terrano.”
He grimaced and laid his palm against her own. It felt like a hand—a Barrani hand. “I don’t want you to change anything.”
“That’s not how healing works.”
“I saw what you did to the other Barrani. The Ferals.”
“No you didn’t—you were too busy talking to Teela.”
“Yes,” Sedarias said, “we were speaking of the Consort.”
“There’s no way she could reach us here—not in so little time.”
The two exchanged a glance.
“Not entirely safely, no.”
“Can you reach Mandoran, now?”
Sedarias nodded. “He is not the problem. Annarion is.”
Kaylin, four voices said at once.
Give me a second. I just need to make sure Terrano doesn’t get dissolved by whatever spell it was.She closed her eyes. Hand to hand, she could feel Terrano’s physical form. To the eye, it resembled the Barrani, with a few notable exceptions. She had expected the appearance to be entirely superficial, and was surprised.
“What are youdoing?” he demanded.
“Finding the fire,” she snapped. “If you could shut up for a bit, I might even be able to make certain it doesn’t dissolve you.”
Sedarias repeated the sentence in much more precise—and elegant—Barrani. “Apologies,” she said, dropping into Elantran. “He’s not familiar with your tongue. Teela’s concerned,” she added.