The Nirayl palace was nothing like the one in Katan Jyrat, and Erin had to admit that she preferred the latter.
They entered a long hallway that was elaborately decorated with plant and animal motifs. The walls were lined with wood that had been carved into large panels showing forest scenes that were filled with animals Erin had never seen before. What with those panels and the vines and flowers that decorated the floor and ceiling, it was almost like they had stepped back into the forest.
It was beautiful, but there was also a wildness to it that made her feel uneasy. The carved animals were detailed and realistic enough that it seemed like one of them might leap out of its panel and pounce on her at any moment.
There were no other people in the hall, and there was an unnatural quiet over the entire building. Erin wondered if that was because everyone there knew the king was dying, and they were all in mourning.
She hoped that was all it was....
At the other end of the hallway was a pair of large doors. These were made of carved wood, like the walls. But this wood was a darker color, and the carvings were highlighted with gold. Two uniformed guards stood in front of the doors, blocking their way.
“The party from Silmar here to see King Aieryl,” Chancellor Mieraen said, stopping in front of the guards. “At his request.”
The guards both bowed low and moved aside. The chancellor started forward again, and the doors swung open as he approached. They followed him into the next room, which was magnificent enough to make Erin’s head spin.
Two long, rectangular pools ran along the sides of the room, with large stone animals set on plinths that rose out of the water. Many small, artificial waterfalls trickled down the elaborately carved stone walls into the pools, filling the room with a sound like soft rainfall. A stone pathway between the pools led to a circular dais at the far end, where there was an intricately carved throne made of white stone and decorated with gold.
A Nirayl with jade green wings was seated on the throne, wearing pale gold robes and a golden circlet. Erin didn’t see any guards in the room, but two of the huge, spotted cats were lounging on the dais near the throne. They looked relaxed and nearly asleep, but Erin could see their brilliant green eyes following the group's every move as they walked across the room.
Chancellor Mieraen led them to the edge of the dais, where he stopped and knelt down. “The Silmarith Emperor and his party, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Reliyr,” the Nirayl on the throne said quietly. “You may go.”
The chancellor inclined his head and then stood and walked past the Silmariths without looking at them. Erin could hear his footsteps retreating back down the room and the door closing behind him.
When he was gone, Arturyn stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Nirayl on the throne, saying something in Silmarith as he did so.
“You and your companions are welcome, Emperor Isáran,” the Nirayl said, returning Arturyn’s bow. “I thank you for coming.”
He was still speaking softly, and although Erin wasn’t used to Nirayl voices, she thought he sounded tired. Now that they were closer, she could see that his expression was somber, and he had the same kind of worn out look to him that Arturyn did. But he seemed generally healthy, so she guessed that this must be Seiyan, not Nievar.
Arturyn spoke again in Silmarith. It sounded like a question.
“He is still with us, but not for much longer,” Seiyan said gravely. “The healers declared him unable to reign any longer two nights ago. What strength he has left will only last him a few more days, at most. You will be able to see him this afternoon. We are trying not to overwhelm him with too many visitors at once. In the meantime, I will have someone show you to your rooms, so that you can rest and refresh yourselves after your journey.”
He paused, looking over their group. Erin saw his gaze linger on Kirchel.
“But first, may I ask you to introduce your companions?” Seiyan continued, turning back to Arturyn. “I don’t recognize any of them from your previous visits.”
Arturyn nodded and began speaking again, gesturing to different members of the group as he said their names. The counselors and their wives bowed or curtsied as they were introduced.
Kirchel did the same, and Erin, who was introduced last, imitated her, wishing she could understand exactly what Arturyn was saying and hoping she didn’t look as awkward as she felt. She’d only ever had to curtsy in dance recitals before.
But when she straightened and looked nervously back up at Seiyan, his expression was kind, and she could have sworn she saw him give her a faint smile.
“Welcome to each of you,” Seiyan said when the introductions were finished, inclining his head. “I hope you will all find your stay here comfortable.”
He made a slight gesture with his left hand, and a door on that side of the room opened. A Nirayl man with rust-colored wings entered the room and bowed low.
“If there is anything you need, you may ask the guards stationed outside your rooms. I would ask that you not leave the guest chambers unaccompanied. I will send for you when my father is ready to receive you.” Seiyan turned to the Nirayl who had just entered. “Please show them to their rooms.”
The other Nirayl bowed again and then looked expectantly at the Silmariths.
Following Arturyn’s lead, the group bowed and curtsied to Seiyan again and then followed the rust-colored Nirayl back out of the throne room. He led them partway along the wood-paneled hallway, through a door, and down several more halls.
Just when Erin was starting to feel lost, they came to a stop at the end of a corridor, which opened onto a circular area with four doors leading off of it. Two Nirayl guards stood silently on either side of the entrance.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Your chambers,” the rust-colored Nirayl said, bowing to them. “You will find food and drink prepared for you inside, as well as provisions for your other needs. If you require anything that you do not find available to you, you may speak to the guards.” He spoke very stiffly, as though he thought playing servant to them was beneath him. “If there is no other service you require of me at this time, I shall leave you to rest yourselves.”
Arturyn replied to him in Silmarith, and Erin recognized the words 'thank you.' The Nirayl bowed again, turned, and walked back down the hallway and out of sight.
With a small sigh, Arturyn turned to his counselors and spoke to them briefly. They both nodded, and then they and their wives went to the two doors on the right.
“I only asked for four rooms because I thought you two would be better off sharing one,” Arturyn said, turning to Kirchel and Erin and switching into English. “I hope that’s all right.”
Kirchel nodded. “It’s probably a good idea,” she said, glancing at Erin, who guessed she was thinking of what might happen if Wraith decided to show up while they were here.
“Well, why don’t you go get settled in,” Arturyn said. “Then I’ll join you in a little while for lunch, if you don’t mind.”
“We don’t mind,” Kirchel said with a smile.
They parted, Arturyn going through the door on the far left, and Kirchel and Erin taking the door to the right of his.
Erin had been picturing a bedroom similar to the one she had stayed in while they were in Katan Jyrat, but at first glance the room didn’t even look like a bedroom at all. Like the rest of the palace, it was elaborately decorated with plants and animals. The walls and ceiling had been painted to look like a garden, while the far side of the room opened onto a small, real garden, surrounded by high stone walls. The room was lit by the sunlight coming in from outside. The wooden floor was mostly covered by a thick green rug, patterned with leaves and flowers. In the center of the floor was a kind of shallow stone basin, surrounded by several large, brightly colored cushions. Animal statues were placed around the room, blending in with the painted animals and garden scene.
“Can I talk now?” Erin asked tentatively.
Kirchel laughed. “Yes, I think so. How do you like the room?”
“Well...it’s kind of...different.”
Erin looked up at the ceiling. Several painted tropical birds were peering down at her, looking real enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised to see them spread their wings and start flying around the room.
“Are we supposed to sleep on the floor?” she asked, nodding at the cushions.
Kirchel shook her head. “No, there’s a bed somewhere. We just have to find the right animal.”
Erin stared at her blankly. “The right what?”
“Here, I’ll show you.” Kirchel walked over to the left wall, where there was a small deer-like animal sleeping underneath a tree. “I think it’s this one.”
She touched the painting near the deer and a section of the wall seemed to melt apart and slide to the sides, revealing an alcove set into the wall with a large bed in it.
“Then when you don’t want it, you just pull the curtain back over it,” Kirchel said, reaching out to pull on the heavy curtains now hanging where the wall had disappeared. They slid back across the bed and turned into a wall again. “There should be things behind some of the other animals, too. You can tell where they are because the animal is somehow related to what’s behind it. A sleeping animal in front of the bed, a preening one in front of the closet, a swimming one over the bathroom, and so on.”
Erin looked around the room and saw that on the wall opposite the bed, there was indeed a yellow and black bird sitting on a tree branch preening its feathers. And next to that was the image of a pond with a red fish leaping out of it and several more just visible below the surface.
“Seems like kind of a weird system to me,” Erin said skeptically. “Why do they have to hide everything like that?”
Kirchel shrugged. “Aesthetics, mostly. Nirayls like to make their surroundings as beautiful as they can.”
Erin walked over and tentatively touched the wall over the pond. It slid aside to reveal a doorway leading into what was unmistakably a bathroom.
“So do the walls turn into curtains? Or are they really curtains that look like walls?” she asked, pulling the curtain back across and watching it meld back into the wall.
“They’re really curtains, I think.” Kirchel looked thoughtfully at the wall next to her. “Turning a wall into a curtain would be quite difficult—especially to set it up as trigger magic like this. But making a curtain look like a wall would just take a little illusionary magic, which Nirayls are very good at.”
Erin turned away from the painted pond and fish and walked over to where the wooden floor ended and the grass of the adjoining garden began. Kirchel followed her, and they both stood and looked around.
The garden was small enough that there was only one tree, but in its shadow, there was a wooden bench and a little pool that was edged by rocks and had a fountain in the center. There were flowering shrubs planted all along the walls.
Erin walked out onto the grass and bent over to look more closely at the fountain. It was made of polished grey stone and was in the shape of a leaping fish similar to the painting inside. There were also several live fish drifting lazily through the water.
“I guess you being half Nirayl explains why you like plants so much,” Erin said, looking back at Kirchel. “And why you can make peacocks and sethiens do what you tell them to.”
“Yes, I suppose it does,” Kirchel said slowly. “Funny. You’d think I would have realized that those were Nirayl characteristics. But somehow I just never thought about it….”
Her expression was both thoughtful and slightly troubled. She walked over to the wooden bench and sank down onto it.
“Does it bother you to know that you’re part Nirayl?” Erin asked, moving over to sit next to her. “I mean, most of them don’t seem to be very friendly.”
“No, they don’t,” Kirchel said quietly. She was staring moodily down at the fish pond.
“Your uncle seems all right, though,” Erin went on, trying to sound encouraging. “And your mother must be friendly toward humans and Silmariths if she wanted to live in Katan Jyrat and marry your father.”
Kirchel didn’t answer right away. She was still gazing intently into the water, as though she were seeing something far beyond it.
“I’ll never be accepted here,” she said finally. “Even if my mother is readopted and the king welcomes us with open arms, most Nirayls will always hold my human blood against me.” She sighed. “Something you’ll have to learn, Erin, if you decide to someday live in Silmar—and especially if you ever want to marry a Silmarith—is that it’s very hard to be a part of two different worlds at the same time. Once you learn magic, it’s almost impossible to ever go back to a normal life in the human world. And here in Isil-Gal, there will always be those who look down on you because you’re human. Even Silmariths have their prejudices.” She looked up from the pond and gave Erin a small smile. “It’s not that you won’t be able to manage or have a happy life, of course. But you’ll always be a little bit of an outcast, no matter where you go.”
They both sat in silence for a while. Erin was looking at the flowers all around them, considering what Kirchel had said.
Kirchel must have had quite a lonely life, she realized—what with losing her parents when she was so young and having to grow up surrounded by people who didn’t understand what she was or know anything about the other world she belonged to. Thinking she was half Silmarith all those years would have been hard enough. But finding out she was half Nirayl must make her feel even more isolated.