“...meaning we’re all children,” Kaylin said. When it came from Helen she didn’t resent it. Much.
“Severn is, I feel, correct. The only other messenger one could send in safety is Terrano—but given his prior injuries,safetyhas become a relative term.”
“If I deliver the letter, can I do it as a Hawk?”
“If the invitation is to arrive within the Tellarus domicile, yes. An’Tellarus is older than Teela and is known for her foibles and her interest in the strange and exotic. That,” Helen added, “would be you and Severn.”
“We’re exotic?”
“For most of the Barrani, yes. Just as most of the Barrani would be considered exotic by the average human in Elantran streets.”
“Not in the streets of Nightshade, they weren’t,” Kaylin replied. She exhaled.
You’re not going to let this go, are you?Severn’s tone was resigned.
Would you, in my position?
Yes.
Silence.
Finish eating. Write your letter. I’ll be at the house soon.
21
Severn was as good as his word, but he always was.
By the time Kaylin had finished drafting her letter, Severn was at the door. He was dressed for work, which meant he’d come from the Halls of Law.
Kaylin wore her regular street clothing, grateful that she could just bundle her hair up and push a stick through it. Barrani clothing was much simpler than it looked. Barrani hair, which in theory never tangled or died at the ends, wasn’t. She did wish she could just wear the boots Teela had given her, though.
Sedarias, predictably, was having a fit—but she was having a fit in her own rooms. Terrano’s expression made clear that she wasn’t happy with the letter, the courier, or the attire that courier chose to wear.
She’s not wrong; if you were Barrani, this would be a disaster. But she considers you part of her home, if not part of her cohort; you’re entangled in everything.
So... I’m making her lookbad?
Severn chuckled.She’s a bit of a solipsist; the world revolves around Sedarias. Mostly in a bad way. If it were Teela, I might be more supportive. I’m surprised she’s not here.
Kaylin exhaled. “Does Teela intend to meet us there?”
“I am uncertain.” Which wasn’t a no. “There’s only one way to find out.”
What, exactly, are you doing?Ynpharion demanded the minute Kaylin cleared Helen’s property line.
Delivering a letter to the High Halls.
To whom?
Kaylin really wanted to be able to just shut him out.To a servant I met in the High Halls. She’s from the West March, and she hasn’t been here long.She knew he’d take Yvonne’s appearance—and name—from her and regretted coming in person. But she had to leave her house sometime.
Teela clearly intended to meet them at the High Halls; she’d arrived before them and was waiting, with her usual patience, at the height of the impressive stairs. She was, however, dressed as a Hawk, not a Lord of the High Court. Terrano, invisible, whistled. “Sedarias is not going to be happy with this.”
“Did Teela tell her?” Kaylin whispered as they walked—in patrol style—down the road that led to the intimidating entrance of the High Halls.
“No—but I wouldn’t have dressed as a Hawk, myself.”
“Given how little you’re actually seen, it’s a wonder you bother with clothing at all.”