The High Lord of the time liked the idea.
So twelve children were chosen. Teela was one of the twelve. Or maybe there were thirteenthey speak of twelve lost, and Teelas not lost. The children were considered gifted; smarter, faster, that kind of thing. They all came from significant families. She glanced past Teela, and caught a brief glimpse of Nightshade. The children were brought to the West March.
The denizens of the West March were not happy. Because they werent happy, they didnt offer the visitors from the High Halls the hospitality of their homes; the childrenand the Lords they traveled withwere placed in the Hallionne of the West March.
The Hallionne thats considered unsafe by the rest of the Hallionne.
Kaylin nodded. It wasnt considered unsafe at the timebut staying in the Hallionne was the equivalent of being told by family that they dont have room for you and you should go to the nearest Inn.
The Barrani of the West March didnt want the children exposed to the regalia?
No. But most of the Barrani of the West March arent Lords of the High Court, so they didnt have a voice. They couldnt prevent the children from appearing at the recitationbut they tried anyway. They died.
During the recitation?
Kaylin nodded, remembering the cadence of Teelas voice. Teela, who never really talked about anything except drinking and work. One of those Barrani had been her mother. The children listened to the recitation. It wasit was a complicated tale. I think Teela said that a harmoniste and a Teller had been chosen by the heart of the green, and both collapsed the moment it was done. It was considered auspicious; most of the recitations have neither. Just the Lord of the West March.
A harmoniste and Teller have been chosen for the upcoming recitation.
Im the harmoniste. Believe that I noticed.
What happened?
Kaylin shrugged. The children changed. It wasnt obvious during the telling; it became obvious after. Theyd returned to the Hallionne before it became clear how dangerous they were. They didnt apparently feel much loyalty toward the Barrani; I think most of the Lords responsible for their journey died in the Hallionne at their hands.
How did Teela survive unchanged?
That would be the question. She hesitated again. The Ferals that almost killed us
Dont call them Ferals around the Barrani; it annoys them.
They havent come up with a better name. Fine. The Not Ferals that almost killed us are related, somehow, to the lost children the Barrani said were dead. When we were fighting in the forest before we reached Hallionne Bertolle, one of our attackers called Teela by name.
And she answered. She called him by the name he used to use before hebefore. Nightshade recognized the name: Terrano. She hesitated again. She glanced around the smallish clearing; Nightshade wasnt visible. Severn, I think Nightshade wanted me to attend the regalia because of the lost children.
Was one of them his?
Kaylin blinked.
The thought had honestly never occurred to her. Nightshade wasnt married. He had no consort. But when the children had been taken to the West Marchthe same West March she was approachingNightshade had been a Lord of the High Court, and not Outcaste. She literally had no idea what his life had been like before the fiefs. He might have had a consort, a wife, of his own. Barrani loyalty was always situational; if Nightshade was made Outcaste, what were the odds that a wife of any position would choose to accompany him into the dismal exile of the fiefs?
I...I dont know. I have no idea if Nightshade hasor hadchildren. And she wasnt going to ask. But the thought was arresting and disturbing, and she tried, mostly successfully, to push it aside. I dont think the lost children want Teela dead. I think they want her tofinallyjoin them. Its like they think she was left behind, or held back.
And Evarrim is aware of this.
Evarrim is a
Severn cleared his throat, and Kaylin took the hint. The whole High Court is probably aware of it by now. Terrano wasnt exactly subtle. Id guess most, if not all, of the High Court is worried.
They dont trust Teela.
Kaylin rose. Theyre Barrani; they dont trust anyone. The small dragon sneezed in her ear. I think, she added, glaring at the small dragon, were moving again.
The forests of the West March, or its environs, werent exactly light-filled to begin with. The trees were too tall. But when evening began to set in, Kaylin missed the light. Moonlight was barely visible from where she was standingand shed chosen the spot because from here she could see at least one of the moons.
She stayed in range of Teela. She kept Severn more or less in line of sight. But what she wantedwhat she missed about a city that was in theory vastly more crowded and consistently noisywas a bit of privacy. There were no doors in the forest, and no small, enclosed space she could call her own.
But she didnt have that in Elantra anymore, either. The attempt to assassinate Bellusdeo had not only destroyed her flat, it had destroyed a large chunk of the building itself.
The small dragon snapped at something large and chitinous that was crawling up her arm; the damn bug didnt even crunch. Do not breathe on it, she said when he opened his little jaws.
The small dragon snapped its jaws shut and whiffled.
Kitling.
She looked up from a furious attempt to kill a buzzing, flying bloodsucker. The tone of Teelas voice made insect blood loss a triviality. She walked away from the only obviousto mortal visionmoonlight, making a beeline for Teela.
Teela was not the only Barrani to draw weapon; the entire clearing had fallen silent.
Kaylin listened. She heard nothing.
Even the insects were quiet for one long, drawn breath. Severn unwound his weapon chainand to her surprise, that made almost no noise, either.
The Consort lifted her chin. From the north, she said. The Barrani turned.
In the forest, night was spreading across the ground.
Chapter 2
The Lord of the West March spoke three short phrases that Kaylin did not understand. Light flared in the forest, spreading across flattened undergrowth and fallen branches until it hit a wall of darkness it couldnt penetrate.
The Consort was right: the wall of darkness existed only to the north of the group; to the west, east, and south the summoned light faded naturally. As Kaylin reached Teelas side, the small dragon dug claws into her shoulders, throwing his wings wide. He almost dislodged the precariously embedded stick that kept most of her hair out of her eyes. Reaching up, she fixed this. She couldnt afford to be half-blind. She also tried to remove him; in response he batted her hands away with his head.
And a hiss.
His wings, however, were rigidly spread. They were, Kaylin suddenly realized, covering half her faceand her left eye. She stopped trying to remove him, and instead turned to look at the moving, black wall through his wing.
We have Ferals, she said.
The Lord of the West March was less prone to be annoyed by her inaccurate description. Where?
In the wall. When he failed to answer, she added, I see the darkness moving in as a wall. The light doesnt breech it.
Lord Evarrim? Lady?
I see the...wall...that Lord Kaylin describes. I cannot see anything moving in it.
Lord Severn?
Severn held a blade in each hand; he came to stand beside Kaylin, and then took one step forward. He didnt set the chain spinning. I see the shadow. I dont see what it contains.
Neither could Kaylinwith her right eye. But the translucent wing that covered the left eye clearly showed forest Ferals. She frowned. There are three, she said. She spoke softly, squinting. I cant be certain, but I think there are two Barrani behind the Ferals.
Do you recognize them?
This was not a reasonable question to ask of a mortal, even a human Hawk. No. Neither are Iberrienne, if thats what youre asking. I think one is female. Theyre not obviously armed, she added, aware that this didnt mean they were harmless.
AnTeela?
For a long moment, Teela stared into the moving wall; the Barrani shifted formation, drawing into a tighter front line that faced north. I see the shadow, she finally said. Lord Evarrim, can you bring it down?
Evarrim replied tersely, I have been making that attempt. His tone made clear that it wasnt wise to emphasize his failure.
The darkness wasnt a flood; it was slow, but inexorable, and as it moved, it swallowed the edge of the light, changing the shape of safety in the clearing. The Ferals seemed content to move beneath its cover; they didnt snarl, growl, or speak; they didnt charge. Kaylin glanced at Ynpharion. He was instantly aware of her, but for the first time since the Lord of the West March had led this wilderness trek, his loathing and fury were directed at something other than Kaylin.
She didnt ask him what he could see. At the moment, she knew. He saw the moving darkness, and he wanted to obliterate anything that was hidden within its folds. She readjusted the small dragon. Living masks were awkward.
Is the darkness transforming the trees? The Lord of the West March asked.
Kaylin frowned. No, I dont think so.
Does the light continue?
That was what was wrong. Yes. It does. Its why I can see them at all.
She heard a shout and turned; the other Barrani held their ground. Incoming from the west.
The Lord of the West March glanced once at his sister. Call them back, he told her softly.
The Consorts eyes widened, their color darkening. She looked as if she wanted to argue but in the end, she did as he asked. Her commands, Kaylin understood. Lord Kaylin, stand beside me. Under no circumstances are you to now runor fighton your own. She lifted her chin, frowning. Where is Lord Calarnenne?
Kaylin froze. Nightshade was not standing within the boundaries of the Lord of the West Marchs light. When hed chosen to leave, she didnt knowbut she knew where he now was, because she could see him clearly. He had crossed the threshold of moving darkness, to the west of the farthest Feral, and he was now making a silent approach, using the cover of standing trees, toward one of the two Barrani who walked behind those Ferals.