Tiamaris came to meet them at the foot of the bridge on his side of the Ablayne. Tara wasn’t with him, and his eyes were a dark orange, but he didn’tseemto be angry. “What are you getting yourself into this time?” On the other hand, his question was aimed directly at Kaylin. He did spare a glance forMandoran and Fallessian, but not Terrano, who’d chosen to shed visibility.
Terrano accepted Bellusdeo, but he was never going to be entirely comfortable around Dragons. It was the downside of perfect memory.
“I’m not getting myself into any trouble, and I’m only passing through to get to the Academia.”
“I was informed that you would require an escort.”
“As you can see, Severn’s here. Fallessian and Mandoran are also here. We won’t be entering the border zone—we’re heading straight to the Academia.”
“Tara is concerned.” Which meant he was going to tag along no matter what Kaylin said. She accepted it. “She wishes to know what you hope to learn at the Academia.”
“It’s too complicated to explain in the streets.”
“She wishes to know if this means you don’t fully understand it yourself.”
Once upon a time, Kaylin would have been furious. If Tara were a different person, she might still be furious. But Tara was the heart of the Tower of Tiamaris, and she was often very literal. “I don’t. But there’s a thing I’ve learned in the Halls of Law: questions—even the wrong ones—can lead to necessary answers. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Does this involve Lord Nightshade?”
Kaylin nodded. “Which is why I’m not supposed to be talking about it.”
“Do you intend to speak with the chancellor?”
“Not if I can avoid it, no. I’m going to speak with the Arbiters.”
“That is good.”
“Why?”
“Because Bellusdeo has practically chosen to camp out in the chancellor’s office since the attack in the border zone. LordEmmerian has attempted to speak with the chancellor, but he was wary of Bellusdeo’s temper.”
“She’s not at her most reasonable when Shadow is involved. And if Barrani are somehow aligned with Shadow—and it’s reasonable to expect some of them are at this point—she’s going to care about very little else. I think the people of the world she couldn’t save might be like the Barrani in this case: they were somehow infected or allied with Shadow, and failure to recognize that in time was catastrophic.
“I mean, it could be something else, but given Bellusdeo, that would be my guess.”
Mandoran added, “Maybe we’ll be lucky and Bellusdeo won’t be in the chancellor’s office.”
Be careful what you wish forwas a phrase Teela had used a lot in Kaylin’s younger years as the Hawks’ official mascot. Being mascot was humiliating, but it was, given her age, the only way she could travel with actual Hawks, those being Teela and Tain. In retrospect, there was less humiliation and more nostalgia. Back then, nothing had been her responsibility, and therefore nothing had been her fault.
She’d had the Marks of the Chosen when she’d first ascended the Hawklord’s Tower. But she hadn’t sworn an oath to the Imperial Law, and she hadn’t been given her own beat and her own investigative duties. She’d been the subject of bitter argument, but even that seemed distant and almost blurry: she knew the facts, but the fear and anger of that time were gone. She couldn’t return to them, couldn’t feel them as viscerally, as completely, as she had when she’d been—at least legally—a child.
She wondered if Barrani memory included the emotions that occurred at the time of the events they could so completely recall.
As it was, Killian met their party at the height of the stairs used by guests and important people—although there was no rule saying students couldn’t use them. Kaylin exhaled as it became clear that Killian wasn’t alone. Standing beside him was an orange-eyed Bellusdeo.
“Lannagaros told me the Arbiters were expecting you.” Her arms were folded, her eyes orange. Flecks of red could be seen from this distance, which wasn’t a good sign, but wasn’t unexpected, either. “Lord Tiamaris. Are you also expected?”
“Kaylin chooses to approach the Academia through the fief of Tiamaris—my fief, as you are well aware. My Tower worries about her and asked that I make certain Kaylin reached her destination safely.”
Bellusdeo considered this. “Very well. I visited Lannagaros with a request that time be made for me in the Arbiters’ schedule. He seemed to feel that this would require a few days. Kaylin, however, alreadyhasan appointment to speak with them.”
“Lord Bellusdeo,” Killian said, voice very quiet but extremely audible regardless.
“I am not playing games, Killianas.”
“No, you are not. But the Arbiters have judged Kaylin’s request to be an emergency.”
“The Academia fellbecause ofShadow. My concerns and my questions involveRavellon. It is clear that some of the Barrani are actively involved with Shadow. How could my request be considered less of an emergency than Kaylin’s?”