“Argue about this later,” Kaylin said, grimacing as the tingling of her skin grew more painful. “Let’s move back into Tiamaris and try to cross the borders further down.”
“Down?”
“TowardRavellon.Now, Terrano.”
“Sorry. Just arguing with Sedarias.”
“Because she thinks I’m right?”
He shrugged, almost sullen. He did, however, follow when they returned to Tiamaris. “She’s only saying that because Tiamaris has caught Bellusdeo’s attention, and they’re now deafening anyone in range.”
The obvious, full-body warning that indicated the presence of magic dimmed as they retreated. “This is probably what led Teela to the border closer toRavellon.”
Terrano nodded; it was followed by a wince and a grimace.
“You should stop doing that,” Severn told the Barrani cohort member.
“Stop what?”
“Asking Sedarias if you can tell Kaylin your True Name.”
Terrano shrugged. “It really is a lot easier. It’d save time, and we can have a full raging argument without making any other noise. I wouldn’t have to talk at all, and I wouldn’t have to try to describe what we’re seeing—or what Teela sees right now. Kaylin could see it all.”
“Could I unsee it?”
“Good question. Doesn’t matter. Sedarias will kill me if I try.”
Kaylin could see the work Tiamaris had done in his fief in the buildings that lined the road they followed toward the Norranir homes. Those homes had once been tents, overcrowded and heavily worn; they were now taller versions of the buildings that otherwise girded the road.
Terrano appeared to be shaking dust off his clothing inannoyance. Hope squawked a few times for good measure, sneezed once, and made his way back to Kaylin’s shoulder.
They continued along the road, jogging rather than sprinting as they approached the Norranir homes. Those homes weren’t occupied, given the number of Norranir who stood outside them, drums in their much larger hands. Terrano was right: it was hard to hear anything but that drumming—like the sounds of a giant’s heart.
The Norranir were accustomed to the much smaller mortals that otherwise occupied the fiefs; those who weren’t beating the drums turned immediately toward Kaylin and Severn. They were armed. Their weapons made greatswords look like long knives.
The Norranir had served Bellusdeo in a world that no longer existed; she had been their queen and their leader. Kaylin was almost surprised to see them here; she’d assumed they would move to Bellusdeo’s fief when Bellusdeo took her Tower.
But it took time to build homes—and Tiamaris had had personal money with which to do it. Bellusdeo didn’t. She’d make changes. Kaylin was certain of that. But those changes would be slower to occur, and trickier to navigate. The previous fieflord, much like Nightshade, hadn’t cared for the people who lived in the fief itself.
“Are we supposed to talk to them?” Terrano asked. He’d once again taken up position behind Kaylin, given he was no longer invisible or half invisible. The Norranir weren’t viscerally terrifying the way a full-grown Dragon was, but they weren’t exactly comforting.
“We need to reach Lord Bellusdeo,” Kaylin said, without preamble.
“She is not here.”
“No—she’s in her fief. But a friend—of both hers and ours—is also in the fief.”
“An’Teela.” An older woman pushed her way through thesword-wielding guards. Her expression was grim, but it didn’t immediately imply death was a sword swing away.
Kaylin’s surprise must have shown. “Yes.”
“She asked our permission to pass through.”
“When?” Terrano asked. It probably looked like Kaylin’s shoulder was talking.
“An hour ago. Perhaps more. She was navigating the gray. Is that why you’ve come this way?”
Kaylin nodded. “We tried to cross the... gray, but it wasn’t safe.”