Theyve been taking the same lessons we have, Mandoran offered. They learn what we learn.
Are they like you or like Annarion?
...Were not sure yet.
Then they are definitely staying where Helen can keep an eye on them.
* * *
By the time Teela arrived at the front door, Tain, Annarion and Kaylin were standing in front of it. Mandoran hung back, but not with any real hope of avoiding a face full of blue-eyed, angry Teela, which is what greeted them when Helen opened the front door.
Her eyes shifted into indigo when she saw Tain. Tain didnt appear to notice, but he wasnt one of the cohort, and hed lived in the real worldnear Teelafor much longer than anyone else had.
What are you doing here? she demanded, with no grace whatsoever.
Tain didnt throw Mandoran to the wolves, which is clearly what Mandoran had been dreading. Ive heard that the cohort, as Kaylin calls them, is coming to stay.
That wouldnt have been Kaylins choice of opening words, but Kaylin was not Teelas partner.
Please come in, Helen said, before Teela could respond. Kaylin hasnt eaten yet.
No one had eaten yet. No one really felt like eating, either, as far as Kaylin could tell.
Teela and Tain quit what might have devolved into a staring contest as Helen ushered everyone into the dining room. They took their chairs as if chairs were weapons or armor. Teela even turned hers around so the back faced the table and she could fold her arms over it.
Why, she said again, are you here?
I told you.
My friends are not your problem.
No.
Teelas eyes narrowed; she turned to glare at Mandoran, who shrugged. Her words, however, continued to be aimed at Tain. I dont want you to endanger yourself needlessly.
Im not. Ive always been far more cautious than you are.
This was arguably true, but Kaylin was not nearly suicidal enough to make the argument. She looked at breakfast as it appeared on her plate, and wondered if it would be safer if breakfast for everyone elseor at least the Barranicould be finger foods for just one day. Teela was giving the cutlery a side-eye that suggested she might use it for something other than food.
You are not taking the Test with them.
I havent taken the Test. I can.
Youve never wanted to be a Lord of the High Court. And babysitting
Hey!
is not nearly a good enough reason to change your mind.
No. Its not.
Tain
The cohort are coming to Elantra. Sedarias is coming to Elantra. The High Court has maintained the polite fiction of joy at the rescue of the cohort.
Teela said nothing.
How long do you think that joy is going to last? Annarion is the bloodline heir. Karian is the bloodline heir. Mandoran isgod help his familythe bloodline heir. And Sedarias is the bloodline heir.
Kaylin turned to Tain. Wait, what do you mean?
Annarion is not the only person present who intends to take back what Nightshade lost. Sedarias, however, would have been the Lord of her line had she not been sent to the green. The others are technically heirs because of politics or deaths due to the wars. He exhaled and turned to her.
Is this really the time for a teachable moment? Kaylin demanded. Tain continued to stare at her, which was his answer. Fine. Their family lineswhat are they, anyway?have been ruled just fine since they were sent to the green. The Lords of those lines probably have no interest at all in being displaced.
I have no interest in reclaiming my family holdings, Mandoran said.
You said your family was gone!
Mandoran shrugged. As far as Im concerned, they are.
The High Court would not agree, Teela said, her voice dry as tinder.
Mandoran made clear what he thought the High Court could do with its disagreement.
You are correct, Tain continued, speaking to Kaylin as if there had been no interruption. Those families have held power for centuries. The children of the green were a mytha sorrowful myth, perhapsone that could be safely used. Now they are a very real fact.
Teela is Lord of her line. She has had centuries to establish her rule. She is secure enough in that rule to be a Hawkan Imperial Hawk. But the alliances shes built to maintain that power are going to shift.
There is no guarantee of that, Teela said.
Tain didnt bother to reply, but his expression made clear just how little he thought of her counterargument. And he took his life in his hands by continuing to address his words to Kaylin. Teela will, therefore, be drawn into the drama of the Test of Name. As long as none of the cohort are Lords of the High Court, everything remains academic. If they are not Lords of that court, they cannot claim their inheritance. Its possible, he said, his emphasis bordering on sarcasm, that the High Court could be talked into believing that Mandoran, Eddorian, and Karian have no interest in ruling. There is nothing in the Empire that could induce the High Court to believe that Sedarias does not.
Sedarias was the name Kaylin heard most often, when Mandoran referred to the members of his cohort who still resided in the Hallionne Alsanis. Her opinion was either valuable or dangerousbut it was never dismissed out of hand.
And this is dangerous to Teela because?
Because some of her allies will be directlyand badlyimpacted should the cohort decide to reclaim what is technically theirs. If Sedarias remained in the green, she could finesse the situation; Sedarias was not Lord of the High Court. If Sedarias is coming to Elantra
Shell become a Lord. If she passed the Test. And shell attempt to secure her place as head of her family. The family that had abandoned her.
Yes. Teela is currently the cohorts only toehold in the High Court; she is a Lord, she is the head of her line, and she carries one of the three weapons that were proof against Dragons. Shes already felt some of that pressure, and the
Tain.
Tain shut up. Kaylin could almost hear his jaws snap.
He didnt give up. He retrenched. This time, however, he spoke to Teela. What you will need, if they set foot outside the Hallionne, are allies at Court. You did not require those allies in that fashion before. I have never had a desire to be a Lord of the Court. It wasnt worth the risk, given my own origins. It is worth that risk to me now. He folded his arms.
Kaylin caught Mandoran by the sleeve before he could vacate his chair and sneak out of the room. You brought him here, she mouthed. You can suffer with the rest of us.
* * *
Kaylin stared at the grim and silent Hawks. She was used to bickering and minor disagreements; shed come to believe it came with the tabard. But this was different, and everyone in the breakfast room knew it. Someone had to interrupt them. One glance at Annarion and Mandoran told her there was no help coming from that quarter.
She was enough of a coward that help was unlikely to come from her, either.
But there was a Dragon in the house, and that Dragon appeared, as if by magic, in the dining room doorway. Kaylin was almost positive that the magic was called by Helen. Bellusdeo cleared her throat; Teela and Tain were probably aware of her presence, but were still glaring at each other across a suffocatingly quiet table. Since Bellusdeo was a Dragon, clearing her throat made a lot of noise.
It was Teela who turned toward her first, but Tain was quick to follow.
Good morning, Teela said, her eyes a martial blue that was only fractionally less dire than it had been when she was glaring at Tain. Although historically the Barrani and the Dragons had been enemies, Teela actually liked Bellusdeo.
The Dragon returned that affection. For Teela. She seemed to approve of Annarion, but Mandoran frequently caused her to exhale smoke. Annarion and Lord Nightshade have only just stopped screaming at each other at the top of their Barrani lungs. Id just as soon have a little bit of peace and quiet before things blow up again.
Lord Nightshade has merely accepted that he cannot change Annarions mind at this point. Do not think he has surrendered. Teela seldom hesitated, but did now. When she started to speak again, she spoke to Helen.
Mandoran has informed you
That your friends are coming to visit? Yes, dear. Helen could get away with calling Teela dear. Anyone else would have been picking up teeth. And Kaylin has already offered you our hospitality at any time you wish to stay. I should, however, ask whether you would like to room with Tain.
Kaylin cringed.
Teela said no at the same time as Tain said yes.
Bellusdeos grimace was exaggerated, but her eyes were gold.
I would just as soon not involve him.
Im involved. Tains voice was curt. He was angry.
Helen rushed in to prevent silence from once again shrouding the table. I will, of course, have rooms for you. You are allowed across my threshold without Kaylins express, explicit permission. She considers you
Family. Yes. I know.
In the mortal sense, not the immortal one. Kaylin knew mortal families that would have fit right in with the Barrani families of Teelas acquaintance, but failed to point this out.
In the Kaylin sense, Teela said.
That is the only one with which I am concerned, Helen replied. You are welcome here.
Bellusdeo took a seat at the table on the other side of Mandoran. The smile she gave him was almost feline. How many other guests will I be sharing a roof with?
Teelas answering grin was humorless. Ten new guests, unless I can convince Annarion to change his bloody mind.
You are not going to convince me to change my mind, Annarion said, finally joining a conversation that both he and Mandoran had managed to steer clear of.
Teela turned to stare at him, and to Kaylins surprise, it was Annarion who looked away. Teela had clearly chosen to reply to the statement in the privacy of their name bond.
It was, strangely enough, Mandoran who broke the silence. Annarion was the youngest, he said, looking at the table. Nightshade was the eldest. Not the firstborn, but the eldest survivor of the war. He went to the Tower, and he returned. He flinched. Im telling her. Its not like she cant find out.
Find out what?
Annarion had a sister. She was the middle surviving child. When it came her time, she went to the Tower to take the Test of Name. He inhaled. Paused. Kaylin thought he was done.
He was. Teela, however, took up the slack his silence left. She was the daughter of an ambitious family. Those who fail the Test, with one possible exception, have never returned. Annarion assumedas we all did at the timethat she had died. He grieved privately; it is not the way of my people to otherwise discuss the failure of their own kin. I therefore know very little about her. If the rest of my cohort has become something other, something larger, than Barrani, they are nonetheless Barrani in thought. Had she died, nothing would change.
This time, Annarion bowed his head. And Kaylin understood, in that moment, that Annarion knew. He knew the fate of those who failed that test.
Teela, seeing her expression, said, Yes. Now he knows. Those who fail do not simply die; they remain where they fell. They will remain there until the creature at the base of the High Halls is destroyed.
Her words almost a whisper, Kaylin said, He intends to free the trapped.
The damned, yes. He intends to destroy the Shadow at the base of the Tower. He intends to free the dead. To be fair, he intends to free his sister.
...So, the reasonthe real reasonhe was so angry at Nightshade... Kaylin lapsed into uncomfortable silence.
No. You are not Barrani. The reason he is angry with his brother has been stated truthfully, and often. His brother chose to reject duty and honor by abandoning his bloodline.
He was made outcaste, Teela. He didnt choose it.
Teela just shook her head and made that youll understand when youre older face that Kaylin hated. Annarion does like you, and I understand why. She held up a hand. I never had any qualms about leaving him in your hands. Or rather, I never worried about what you might do to, or with, him. All of my worry went in the other direction. Annarion is not a fool. Or rather, he understands why the Test exists. He understands that were the Shadow beneath the High Halls to escape, it would be a disaster that would make the previous attack on the High Halls pale to insignificance.
But?
But, yes. My cohort was sent to the green. It was sent to be transformed. The experiment was not successful in the eyes of the High Court of the timebut it is being argued now that it was a success.
By your cohort?
Yes. No one likes to feel that they are a failure, Teela added, with a rueful smile. Shadow does not hold the same terror for Annarion or Mandoran that it does for you or the rest of my kin.
They think they can destroy that Shadow.
They think they have a chance.
And if they dont succeed? If, somehow, that Shadow can subvert them? She turned to Annarion who was still studying his plate as if it fascinated him. If the Shadow takes your name, you can do thingsyou can all do thingsthat no other Barrani can. The Shadows released at least one person we know of into the High Court. She did not mention who, and no one asked. But if it has you and your cohort as its agents...
Teela nodded, grim now. Exactly.
* * *
Kaylin was technically a Lord of the High Court because shed inadvertently taken the Test of Namea test that she couldnt really fail, except by dying, as she hadnt had a name at the time. Shed seen what lay at the base of the Tower. It was a Shadow, and in its folds, it held the names of those who had failed. It held the substance of who they had been in life. Kaylin didnt exactly believe in ghosts, but didnt have a better word to describe it.
It had shaken her.
It had enraged her.
It had, as so many, many things did, brought her face-to-face with her own insignificance, and her helplessness. There was nothing she could do to disperse that particular Shadow, and nothing she could do to free the trapped.
The creature at the base of the High Halls was the reason the High Halls had been erected in the middle of what was otherwise a Dragon-ruled empire. But death wasnt the worst of it, for the Barrani. He could also control those he chose to allow to leave the Tower, because he had their names. He knew them.
For years, for centuries, probably for millennia, the Barrani had been feeding their childrenor themselvesto that Shadow. And Kaylin even understood why. What the Shadow could not take, what the Shadow could not mislead or distract, it could not alter. Those Barrani had a base immunity to the effects of Shadow.