No.
Teela is.
Of course she is. An’Tellarus would not attempt to harm the Consort. But An’Tellarus may be no friend to Sedarias. She is powerful. She is—as the Avatar said—prickly. But she is also often unpredictable. Ah, he added as An’Tellarus indicated her guests should sit,please take no offense at anything she might say to me.
To you?
He offered An’Tellarus a perfect bow, as graceful in execution as any Barrani’s would have been.
“I have always said you have such pretty manners, child. ButI see you are no longer a child. Why have you come to visit your aunt so seldom?”
Silence descended. An’Tellarus’s words were a large ship’s anchor tossed into the ocean of social visitation; the boat was almost pulled under.
Teela recovered first. “Aunt?” Kaylin didn’t need to remember etiquette lessons to know this wasn’t the right way to break an awkward silence. Not among the Barrani.
“Has he not mentioned me?” An’Tellarus replied, smiling. A hint of blue appeared in her eyes. She moved toward Severn and linked her arm around his.
He met her gaze and exhaled. “You know very well this is not a casual subject.”
“Better, perhaps, than you. But surely she has seen the weapon you wield?” Her gaze fell to Severn’s waist.
“She’s seen it wielded, yes.”
“And she asked no questions?”
“There are no questions to ask,” Teela replied. “The weapon chooses. It has chosen Corporal Handred. The test, the manner of its passing, is oft private.”
“Indeed, indeed. Yvonne?”
A Barrani woman entered the room. She was modestly dressed in comparison to Kaylin. But her expression brightened considerably the minute she laid eyes on Severn; she rushed to the table to set down her tray.
An’Tellarus grimaced openly, her exhalation matching Severn’s in tone. “Whathave I told you about guests?” she demanded, releasing Severn’s arm.
Yvonne’s eyes darkened to blue—but it was a lighter color than Teela’s had been since they’d turned down the hall that led to the Tellarus rooms.
“I see you are being somewhat politically vexing,” An’Tellarussaid, once again turning her attention to Severn. “Your clothing is not what is usually worn within these Halls. You have never been a fool, and I must assume that your choice is deliberate and necessary.
“Won’t you introduce me to your friends?”
“They are my colleagues,” Severn replied. “An’Teela does not require an introduction.”
“No. It is still considered polite. And before you point out that I have not bothered to introduce myself, I remind you that you have come tomyterritory.”
“We are all officers of the Halls of Law. An’Teela, you know. Lord Kaylin is my partner in the office.”
“In the office, hmmm?” An’Tellarus turned her gaze toward Kaylin, who would have been just as happy with no introduction. And food. “Lord Kaylin, is it?”
“Yes. If it helps, he’s Lord Severn when he wants to be. We both entered—and passed—the Tower’s test before the High Halls fully awoke.”
“You would not be granted that title, now.”
Kaylin said nothing because it was irrelevant. If she could retake that test and have the title stripped from her, she’d’ve done it in a hot minute.
“May I ask where you acquired the mark on your cheek?”
Kaylin stopped herself from offering a fief shrug as an answer. “I am not at liberty to discuss its origins.” The words were stiff High Barrani.
“Oh, very well. I can see we started off on the wrong foot, as it were. It is very hard to dance competently when one’s first step is suspect. Yvonne, please stop hovering. You can sit with Severn. Learn from his decorum where possible.”