When they had finished eating, the plates and remnants of food disappeared again. It made Erin wonder a little if they had been eating real food at all or if it was only an illusion, like Jechrin’s anaurians. But then she remembered that she hadn’t been able to feel the anaurians—her hand had gone right through them—and the food felt solid. It was probably some kind of teleportation magic, like the fylas.

Erin just hoped the food in her stomach would stay put better than she had been able to back in the eyathar....

The five of them stayed seated at their table after the food and dishes were gone, but most people stood up and moved around the room to chat with each other. There were also a few people who left soon after they’d finished eating.

“Where are they going?” Erin asked Jechrin, watching a small group of people from the Nurin delegation walking out of the ballroom.

“Well, the delegations will be going home tomorrow,” he explained. “And some of them have a longer trip ahead of them than others. Most countries have a portal near their capital, but a few of them aren’t so lucky. Nurin doesn’t have any portals in it at all. It’s just a tiny country. They have to go to a portal in Semir and then travel home from there. So they probably want to go to sleep early so they can get a good start in the morning.”

“Oh. Right.” Erin remembered that she, too, was supposed to be traveling in the morning. “How long do you think it will take to get to Raylmiyr? Is there a portal there that we can use?”

Teral had been listening to their conversation. “There’s only one portal in Raylmiyr that Silmariths are allowed to come through. And it’s on the edge of the mountain range in the southern part of the country. The capital city is to the north—some distance away. It will take you several hours to get there.”

Erin made a face. She didn’t really like the idea of spending that long on a paskjy....

“Have you ever been to Raylmiyr?” she asked Teral.

He shook his head. “Silmariths aren't normally welcome there. But there are a few people who are allowed to visit the country, and I've heard about it from some of them.” He nodded toward Arturyn, who was busy talking with several Council members who had come over to their table. “I know the Emperor has been there several times. Maintaining relations between Silmar and other peoples is one of his primary responsibilities.”

“How many others are there?” Erin asked curiously.

Teral shrugged. “It depends on whether you only count manlike species or include other magical creatures. I believe the Imperial Government currently has official relations with fourteen different species. There are also others, such as the Mataiths, that we are aware of but that either have no organized government or have no wish for a political relationship with us.”

“Fourteen?” Erin's eyes widened in surprise. “That's a lot more than I thought there would be. The human world only has one species that has organized governments.”

“It's not that there's only one. It's that you're only aware of one,” Teral said coolly. “Some of those fourteen are natives of your world. It's just that most magical species prefer to stay hidden from the non-magical human population. Too many humans have the unfortunate tendency to want to either destroy or abuse magical power whenever they come in contact with it.”

“Oh.” Erin couldn’t help flushing a little at the criticism of humans, even though Teral hadn’t directed it specifically at her. And it was hard to disagree with him when so many of the stories she knew about humans encountering magic ended the way he described.

She looked down at the table, fidgeting a little. She didn't feel much like talking about Raylmiyr or other magical species anymore...at least not with Teral there. She wished she could talk to Jechrin alone.

Almost as though he had read her mind, Teral pushed his chair back and stood up.

“Kirchel, could we talk in private for a few minutes?” he said. “I don’t know that I’ll get a chance to see you in the morning, and there are some things I wanted to speak with you about before you leave.”

Kirchel had been listening to Arturyn’s conversation with one of the delegates from Isáril, but she turned to look at Teral with a slightly reluctant expression. “Oh…. Well…all right.” She stood up. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she told Arturyn, who was watching her with a trace of a frown. Turning to Erin, she added, “Don’t stay up too late. We need to leave early tomorrow.”

Erin nodded, and Kirchel left the room, following Teral.

Erin and Jechrin exchanged looks.

“How about a short walk outside before you go upstairs?" Jechrin suggested. "You won't be able to see the night view of the gardens again for a while.” From the look on his face, Erin guessed that he wanted to talk to her in private, too.

“Good idea.” She turned to Arturyn. “You don’t mind if we leave, do you?”

Arturyn shook his head. “Go ahead. There’s no point waiting around for me—I’ll probably be here talking for a few more hours.... I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Neither Erin nor Jechrin spoke as they made their way across the ballroom and out onto the balcony. It wasn’t as crowded outside as it had been the night of the Council Ball, although there were some children playing down on the grass below the stairs and a few people strolling through the garden.

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Jechrin led Erin along the balcony until they reached the same bench she had been sitting on when they first met. No one else seemed to be close by, which meant that they could talk freely without worrying about being overheard.

“What do you think he wanted to talk to her about?” Erin asked as they sat down.

“Who knows?” Jechrin said with a sigh. “He might be asking her more about the trip to Raylmiyr or arranging a time and place for them to see each other after she gets back. It would only half surprise me if he just flat-out asked her to marry him....”

“Does he know about her and Arturyn?” Erin asked, rather alarmed by the idea of Teral proposing that quickly. “Kirchel said she didn’t tell him the real reason we’re going to Raylmiyr. I think she’s scared to let him know that she really wants to marry Arturyn.”

“I’m sure he knows, whether she’s told him or not,” Jechrin said soberly. “It’s not easy to keep secrets from him.” He shook his head. “And I have a feeling he’s not going to give her up without a fight.”

“But why? If he really cares about her, he should want her to do whatever will make her the happiest, shouldn’t he? And if he doesn’t care about her, why would he want to marry her in the first place?”

“It’s hard to say….”

Something in Jechrin’s tone made Erin frown.

“You know, don’t you?” she said accusingly, staring into his grey-blue eyes. “You’ve been worried about your father being interested in Kirchel all along. What is it you know about them that you’re not telling me?”

“I don’t know why he’s interested in her,” Jechrin said quietly. “I only wish I did.”

“But you do know more than you’re telling me.” Erin glared at him. “You must have some idea what he wants from her, even if you don’t know for sure.”

Jechrin was silent, staring down at the stone floor of the balcony.

“Kirchel’s my cousin and my friend,” Erin went on in a pleading tone. “She saved my life, and she helped me get my leg healed. I don’t want her to get hurt. And I owe it to her to try to help her if I can. Please....why won’t you tell me?”

Jechrin still didn't speak. The side of his face that Erin could see looked tense.

“Fine!” she spat at him, anger flaring up inside of her. “If you don’t want to talk to me, then don’t. I’m going to go inside.”

She stood up and started back toward the doors to the ballroom.

“Erin.”

Jechrin’s voice was soft—barely above a whisper, but somehow it made Erin freeze in her tracks, having taken only a few steps. She didn’t turn around, but she didn’t try to keep walking either. She just stood there, staring at the wall of the palace and breathing rather hard.

There was a faint rustle of movement behind her, and a second later, she felt his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her back around. The two of them looked at each other for a long moment, faces only inches apart.

“I want to help you, Erin,” Jechrin said quietly, his expression very serious. “I don’t want Kirchel to be hurt either. But I have to be careful. If I start giving you theories without knowing for sure whether I’m on the right track, it could lead to much bigger problems. There are things I can't explain to you right now. But that doesn't mean I don't care about what's going on.” He moved slightly closer, looking intently into her eyes, and raised his hand to brush his fingertips against her cheek. “Please. Trust me.”

His intense gaze was almost hypnotic, but in a gentle, soothing kind of way. Erin's breathing slowed, and she felt her anger and worry fade away as she stared into his eyes.

She swallowed. “I...I trust you,” she whispered.

“Good.” Jechrin smiled and lowered his hand.

Erin felt like a spell had just been lifted from her. She blinked a few times, feeling slightly dazed.

“You know, you kind of remind me of Wraith,” she said after a minute. “Neither of you like to explain things to me very much.”

Jechrin chuckled a little. “Well, at least you know I’m solid, so you can start throwing things at me if I irritate you too much.” His expression became more serious, and he reached down to take Erin's right hand in both of his. “I thank you for your trust. And I’ll do the best I can to not let you down.”

“I know you will,” Erin said, smiling at him.

They looked at each other in silence for another long moment. Then Jechrin seemed to suddenly realize that he was still holding Erin’s hand, and he let go rather quickly.

“Well...do you still want to go back in?” he asked, looking slightly awkward. “Or would you like to stay out a little longer? It’s still quite early.”

“I don’t know. I guess—”

Erin stopped dead, her words frozen in her open mouth.

“What is it?” Jechrin asked, sounding concerned.

Erin didn’t answer him. She had been glancing up and down the length of the balcony and had just spotted two people down at the far end.

Just visible behind a large potted bush, the man and woman were standing with their arms around each other, in the middle of a rather serious-looking kiss. Erin couldn’t see their faces clearly from that distance, but the light from the lamps along the railing was enough for her to recognize Kirchel’s dark hair and cream-colored dress.

Erin’s mouth went dry. She didn’t know whether to laugh or be sick. She turned to look at Jechrin and saw that he, too, had noticed the couple and was watching them with his eyes narrowed.

"Come on," he said quietly, turning and putting a hand on Erin's arm. "Let's go back inside. I think it's better if we don't let them know we saw anything."

She followed him back toward the doors into the ballroom, resisting the urge to turn and look behind her. They stopped just outside the entrance. Finally glancing back, Erin saw that Kirchel and Teral were out of sight.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Why...?" Erin whispered. "Why is she doing something like that? When she's planning to go to Raylmiyr with Arturyn tomorrow...." She looked helplessly at Jechrin. "She's been so strange the past few days. What's going on...?"

Jechrin sighed. "Let's just say that my father can be...very persuasive when he feels like it," he said quietly. "And Kirchel has been through a lot of emotional upheaval this week. She's probably quite vulnerable right now, so try not to blame her too much." He glanced toward the ballroom. "And...it's probably better if you don't mention this to the Emperor...."

Erin couldn't have agreed more on that last point.