The Galinil was held in the same room the Council Ball had been in, but the atmosphere was much lighter and more playful. The clothing was less ornate, and the people attending looked much more relaxed than they had a few days ago. The musicians over in their alcove on the side of the room were playing soft but lively music.

“This is basically a party to celebrate Council being over,” Kirchel explained as she and Erin made their way over to the table where Arturyn was sitting. “That’s always a relief to everyone who’s involved in it. It’s a very stressful week for them. The Imperial Council only meets once every six months, and they only have a few days to get all their business taken care of. There’s enough of a system established that they usually do a pretty good job, but there are always a few disagreements between different countries. It’s Arturyn’s job to smooth things over and make sure they stay on schedule without any serious arguments breaking out. That’s why he always looks so exhausted by the end of the week.”

Arturyn did look awfully tired. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them as though he hadn’t been getting much sleep. But he, too, was looking more relaxed tonight, and he smiled at them as they approached.

“It looks like you’re going to survive the week after all,” Kirchel told him, also smiling.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Arturyn said. “I’m always a little surprised when I make it through Council. But this time it’s particularly unexpected, considering all the other things that were trying to kill me before Council even started.”

Kirchel sat down next to him, and Erin took the chair next to her.

“How are your leg and hands doing by today?” Arturyn asked Erin, nodding at her still-bandaged hands.

“Much better. I can bend my knee some now, and my hands mostly don't hurt anymore. I only have to keep them bandaged for one more day. How’s your eye?”

“Other than suffering severely from lack of sleep right now, it seems to be doing fine,” Arturyn said with a wry smile.

The three of them were quiet for a few minutes. Erin was watching people entering the room and choosing places to sit. Legan and Kimoja were sitting at a table not far away. Kimoja noticed Erin looking at them, and they exchanged smiles before Kimoja turned back to the conversation she and Legan were having with the Queen of Zerahar.

“Have you spoken to Teral yet?” Erin heard Arturyn say quietly. She turned back in time to see Kirchel nod.

“Yes. This afternoon,” Kirchel said, also keeping her voice low.

“Did you tell him everything?”

“Well…not everything....” Kirchel looked uncomfortable. “I told him about finding out my parents are still alive and that we're planning to leave for Raylmiyr tomorrow to try to see my grandfather before he dies.”

Arturyn was watching her closely. “Did you tell him why?”

Kirchel shook her head, biting her lip. “I thought…well, I thought it would be best to wait and see what happens in Raylmiyr first.” She looked down at the table, absently tracing shapes on it with one of her fingers. “I know it’s probably wrong of me not to tell him the entire truth, but somehow I can’t help feeling that I’ll jinx the whole thing if I say it out loud to anyone. Especially to Teral….”

“I understand,” Arturyn said gently. He sighed. “I haven’t felt up to telling anyone the real reason we’re going either.”

They both stared at the table, looking rather anxious. Kirchel was still tracing patterns with her finger. Watching their faces, Erin knew that despite Edward’s warning not to hope for too much, they were both going to be devastated if they couldn’t persuade Nievar to readopt Kiari and Kirchel.

Glancing around the rest of the room, Erin saw Jechrin and Teral walking in. Jechrin met her gaze and said something to his father. They both came toward the table where Erin and the others were sitting.

Erin nudged Kirchel, who looked up. She bit her lip again when she caught sight of Teral but managed to smile as they came closer. When they reached the table, Teral said something in Silmarith, inclining his head respectfully towards Arturyn.

“Yes, of course,” Arturyn said politely.

Erin started. Arturyn’s words, as well as the hum of talk around them, had suddenly become comprehensible to her. She had gotten used to being able to understand and speak Silmarith with Jechrin by now, but understanding when anyone else spoke it was a little unnerving.

She glanced at Jechrin, who was moving to the chair next to hers, and he gave her a small, amused smile, as though he understood exactly what she was thinking. Teral was sitting down in the chair on Jechrin’s other side, and Erin assumed that he had been asking if he and Jechrin could sit with them.

“The end of another Council Meeting,” Teral said. “Enjoyable as they may be, it’s always something of a relief to have them over.” He smiled at Arturyn. “I’m sure you feel the same way.”

“Much the same, yes,” Arturyn replied. “Especially the relief.”

They spoke in a light and friendly manner, but Erin couldn’t help feeling that there was a certain coldness in both men’s eyes as they looked at each other. Watching Teral’s face as he made polite small talk with Arturyn and Kirchel, she had a sudden suspicion that he did know why they were going to Raylmiyr and that he didn’t like it at all....

Stolen novel; please report.

She and Jechrin both sat quietly, watching and listening to the others and exchanging occasional looks. Judging from the serious expression on Jechrin’s face, he probably sensed the tension between the three adults as well.

After everyone had arrived and was settled in their seats, Arturyn stood up and faced the rest of the tables. This time, Erin could understand what he said to them.

“My friends, we’ve reached the end of another Council Meeting. I feel it has been a very productive week for the entire Council, and I thank you for your hard work and cooperation. Once again, we’ve managed to avoid starting any civil wars.”

Many people in the audience chuckled appreciatively.

“We’re here tonight to celebrate a successful Council and, as always, to take pleasure in each other’s company and in the friendships we've built together. Please relax and enjoy yourselves.”

When Arturyn had sat down again, food appeared on the tables the same way it had last time. Talk and laughter resumed, now mingled with the clinking of dishes. The musicians had stopped while Arturyn was speaking, but they began playing again after the food was served.

“What is that?” Erin asked Jechrin quietly, not wanting to interrupt the three adults, who were now discussing some kind of trade agreement between Aner and Salimeth. She pointed at an object about the size and shape of an orange that was sitting on her plate. It was light grey and looked sort of rubbery.

“It’s a torfin egg,” Jechrin said. “You cut the top off in order to eat it. Here, I’ll show you.” He picked up his knife and carefully cut a circular flap in the top of his own egg. He pushed back the flap with the point of the knife, revealing a slimy-looking brown liquid. “Then you eat it with your spoon, like soup.” He laughed at the look of revulsion on Erin’s face. “It tastes better than it looks, I promise. Just try it.”

Reluctantly, she picked up her knife and cut an opening in the top of her egg. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of its contents.

It looked remarkably like mud.

Erin put her spoon into it and lifted out a small amount. She looked at it dubiously for a moment and then bravely put it into her mouth.

“How is it?” Jechrin asked, still grinning.

Erin swallowed. “It’s…not bad.” The egg had a spicy, meaty flavor to it. "The texture is a little strange, but it tastes pretty good. What's a torfin, anyway?”

“It’s a kind of fish. They live in freshwater, usually at high altitudes. There are some in the lake here.”

Erin suddenly became aware that the rest of their table had fallen silent. Looking up, she saw that the other three were all staring at her. Kirchel looked shocked, and Arturyn and Teral were both frowning.

“That's strange…” Teral said slowly, giving Erin an appraising look. “I could have sworn Kirchel told me you didn’t speak Silmarith….”

“She doesn’t!” Kirchel said in a strangled voice.

Teral glanced at her. “Well, that sounded a lot like Silmarith to me.”

His gaze turned to Jechrin and his eyes narrowed slightly. He regarded his son with a calculating look that made Erin feel inexplicably nervous. Jechrin, however, looked slightly guarded but calm.

Arturyn was watching Erin closely. “You understood everything Jechrin was saying to you? You can understand everything we’re saying now?”

Erin nodded. Was something wrong? Jechrin had made it seem like helping her with the language wasn't a big deal. He'd said it was 'just a little magical trick.' So she'd assumed it was something that lots of people in this world were able to do. But the looks on Teral's and Kirchel's faces told her that wasn't at all the case. And now that she thought about it, all her other interactions with people here had been either in English or through a translator.

Was Jechrin doing something he wasn't supposed to...?

Arturyn didn’t look upset at discovering she was suddenly fluent in Silmarith, though. He simply seemed interested and a little puzzled. That reassured her some.

“How long have you been able to do that?” he went on, speaking gently, as though he realized the sudden attention was making Erin uncomfortable. “I know you didn’t understand or speak Silmarith before. Do you know why it is that you can now?”

“Well…not exactly….”

Erin glanced nervously at Jechrin. He gave a small nod, which she interpreted as permission to tell the others what he had been doing.

“It’s because of Jechrin," she explained. "I can understand Silmarith when I’m with him. I don’t really know how he does it, but that’s how we’ve been able to talk to each other all week.”

“Jechrin?” Kirchel looked bewildered. “But how on earth…?”

They all turned to look at Jechrin. He still looked calm, although his eyes were slightly wary.

“He’s always been very skilled in magic,” Teral said. “And he does like to experiment with new tricks.... I suppose this is something you read about in some book and had to try out, is it? You should be careful, you know. Just because you can usually pull off these little stunts doesn’t mean one of them couldn’t go wrong on you some time.” His voice was pleasant, but his expression looked a bit dark.

“Well...that’s very impressive,” Kirchel said, still looking bemused. “I wouldn’t have thought a fifteen-year-old boy would be able to do anything like that. It seems like very advanced magic.”

“Yes, it does,” Arturyn said thoughtfully. Then he smiled at Jechrin. “I hope you’re planning to apply at Zeiryn in a couple of years. They could use some talent like yours.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jechrin said quietly. “I would like to go to Zeiryn someday, yes.”

“That's right—you’ll be old enough to apply before much longer, won’t you?” Teral smiled fondly at his son, though the smile still didn’t reach his cold eyes. “Amazing how fast the time goes.”

The conversation turned to Zeiryn applications, entrance examinations, and programs of study. Erin listened with interest, eager to learn everything she would need to do if she decided to study at the magical university.

But she couldn’t help keeping part of her attention on Teral. She had the feeling that he had deliberately steered the subject away from Jechrin’s ability to make Erin speak Silmarith, and she wished she knew why.

She remembered Jechrin telling her about he and his father not getting along, and she wondered if Teral could possibly be jealous of his son’s magic talent. She was no psychologist, of course, but it did seem like a reasonable explanation.

She made a mental note to mention the idea to Kirchel or Arturyn later. They both knew Teral better than she did. Maybe they would be able to understand it.