The first rays of morning light were creeping round the edges of the curtains as Felitïa stood up and tip-toed across the room. Someone had collected her clothes from the floor. And Maneshka’s.

Marna.

Poor Marna was curled up in a corner of the room. When had she come in? Was it after Felitïa and Maneshka? Had she been there the whole time? Felitïa blushed. She hadn’t been paying attention to that sort of thing. Even with Marna waiting on her for a couple months now, Felitïa still hadn’t gotten used to having a servant. She hadn’t even thought of Marna last night.

Felitïa had been letting Marna share her bed since servants didn’t get their own, but last night...it just wouldn’t have been an option, even if Felitïa had remembered her. She wondered what Marna had been thinking when she’d lain down on the floor to sleep. She hoped the girl would be forgiving.

Felitïa looked back at Maneshka, still fast asleep in the bed, and smiled. And blushed some more. Held back a laugh. Blushed again.

Last night had been...not what she’d expected. Wonderful—unbelievably wonderful—but awkward too. Her inexperience was a large part of that, but the lack of common language was a big part too. Still, not being able to communicate with words meant finding other ways to communicate, and that had had its own rewards.

A part of her felt guilty. There were important things she was supposed to be doing. What was she doing being preoccupied with her own pleasure? What would Quilla think?

Felitïa took a deep breath and reminded herself that Quilla was sleeping with Garet on a regular basis, and she doubted the two of them had put that on hold until Corvinian was found. And Quilla was the first to tell people to rest and relax once in a while.

Felitïa wasn’t certain last night counted as restful, but it had been relaxing.

And it could be counted as productive as well, since Felitïa had learnt something new about herself, about her telepathy. And it was both exciting and terrifying.

As they explored each other’s bodies physically, Felitïa began to explore their minds. At first, it had been instinctive and involuntary. She hadn’t meant to do it, just their minds were so close together. Felitïa could still distinguish between their two selves—indeed, she could distinguish them better than she could sometimes distinguish overpowering feelings—but they were overlapping each other. On the metaphysical plane of the Room, their minds were occupying the same space.

Felitïa couldn’t help but see into Maneshka’s thoughts. It wasn’t a complete view—there was something there blocking full view—but she got flashes of images, memories. Kindanog. Maneshka’s mother. Her pet rats. For a brief moment, Felitïa even saw herself through Maneshka’s eyes.

With her physical eyes, Felitïa saw Maneshka’s widen, saw her gasp. She was aware!

Felitïa pulled back from her. “I’m sorry. It was an accident.” She knew Maneshka couldn’t understand the words, but she hoped she would figure out the meaning. The last thing Felitïa wanted at a time like this was to cross a boundary she shouldn’t.

But Maneshka just nodded, put her hands behind Felitïa’s head, and pulled her back in, kissing her again. Her eyes stared into Felitïa’s, and in the jumbled mess that was their overlapping minds, Felitïa heard an invitation calling her in, so in she went.

The experience magnified the physical sensations a thousandfold as their thoughts and memories mixed together. Whatever barrier had been blocking things before melted away and for a while, they became like one person.

When the night ended, when they separated into two people again, Felitïa spent some time exploring the Room as Maneshka fell asleep. She had never noticed before, but there were walls beyond the walls she raised and lowered herself. They were farther out, dull grey and almost invisible.

And they were not of her own creation.

Somehow, for a brief time, she had broken through those walls, but they were back again, just beyond her reach.

She had fallen asleep shortly after that realisation, exhausted from a long day and their activities, but as Felitïa looked back at Maneshka now, she began to probe at those walls again, and again they remained just beyond her reach. They didn’t obey her directions the way her self-created walls did, but she suspected their overall purpose was similar.

She remembered that day by the well as a girl, when her telepathy had first manifested. For that brief time it was so much stronger than it had ever been since. One of Elderaan’s initial theories had been that it was just a surge caused by the initial manifestation and that her telepathy would settle at a lower power level, and for years, that had seemed correct.

Yet it had never really settled. It wavered all over the place, all the time.

No, something else had happened that day at the well. The barest images were beginning to surface in her head.

She is here with us.

A woman’s voice.

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Zandrue. Rudiger. Borisin. Meleng. Corvinian. Jorvanultumn. Quilla. Kindanog. Nin-Akna...

The same voice as the one constantly in her head.

She is powerful indeed if she can see us in this place.

A man’s voice, that one.

Who are you? she called.

She tried to dig at the memories, probe them, pull them out, but those other walls sprung up in her way.

You are not invulnerable, she said as she tried to push them aside, tried to find a way around them. You fell last night. You can fall again. Get out of my head!

The walls just stood there, intractable, unmoving.

Felitïa.

She felt a hand on her arm.

“Your Highness? Princess Felitïa?”

It was Marna. She carried two of Felitïa’s dressing robes over her other arm. Maneshka was sitting up in the bed, looking at Felitïa.

“Yes, sorry, Marna,” Felitïa said. “I was miles away.”

“It’s okay, your Highness. I understand. I think the way you look at her is very sweet. I wish I had someone I wanted to look at like that. But there is a messenger here for you from the Ninifin delegation.” Marna held out the robes. “You may want these. One for you and one for your friend.”

Felitïa blushed and took the robes. “Thank you, Marna. Tell the messenger I’ll just be a moment.”

Marna curtsied, then hurried over and slipped out the door. Felitïa tossed one of the robes to Maneshka and slipped the other on. Marna returned a moment later, made some adjustments to Felitïa’s hair, and helped with the robe.

“That’ll be fine, Marna,” Felitïa said. “We shouldn’t keep the messenger waiting.”

“Of course, your Highness.”

A couple minutes later, Marna showed a Ninifin girl into the room. No more than fourteen or fifteen, she carried with her a piece of paper, folded and sealed. The girl knelt and bowed her head. “Your Highness, Princess Felitïa of Arnor?”

“Yes.”

The girl held out the paper. “I bear an invitation from her Holiness, Queen Nin-Xoco of Ninifin. She requests you visit her at your earliest convenience.”

Felitïa took the paper and looked at the seal. She had no idea what the seal of the Ninifin Queen looked like, but this one showed a coiled snake. She broke it and opened the letter.

My sister,

A matter of great importance has come to my attention, and I ask that we meet so that we might discuss it. If you are able, please come immediately. The servant who carries this message will bring you before me. If you cannot come at once, then I ask that you delay as short a time as possible.

I would also ask that you do not inform your family of this meeting at this time. I am aware of your brother’s attempts to speak with me, but this matter is not related to that. Nor is it related in any way to the offences committed by the Arnorin delegation against the Ninifin delegation. I hold you in no way responsible for the actions of your mother and father. The matter I wish to discuss pertains to me and to you only. You may bring an attendant if you wish, but I otherwise ask that you come alone.

I swear to you that there is no subterfuge in this invitation and that your safety is assured. I swear this in the name of Eleuia, Prophet of the True Gods, and in the name of her disciple, Nin-Papan.

Your sister,

Nin-Xoco,

12th Queen of Ninifin,

Bearer of the Rod of Nin-Papan,

Voice of Ninussa

Felitïa looked up from the letter and at the messenger who was still on her knees. “I’ll come right away. Just give me fifteen minutes to dress. Wait outside until then.”

“As your Highness wishes,” the messenger said. She stood up and Marna showed her out.

When Marna returned, she said, “Fifteen minutes will not be enough time to prepare you for an audience with a queen, your Highness.”

“Her Holiness doesn’t want me to delay, so I’m sure she’ll be forgiving of my appearance. Just do the best you can in ten minutes, then run and find Meleng and bring him here. Don’t tell anyone else what you’re up to.”

Once Felitïa had finished dressing and Marna had hurried off, Felitïa went back over to where Maneshka was still sitting in the bed, and sat beside her. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” She tried to mime herself leaving.

Maneshka just looked at her and smiled.

“You don’t have to rush away though. You can stay here as long as you like.” She had no idea how to mime that. “Marna will help.” Or that. “I’ll see you later at the library.”

They sat there for a few more moments, staring into each other’s eyes. “Marna should be back with Meleng in a moment,” Felitïa said after a while. “I’d better get going.”

Maneshka nodded, almost as if she had understood Felitïa’s words.

Felitïa leaned over, kissed her, then stood up to leave. She walked a couple of steps before turning back around and kissing Maneshka again, this time holding on longer, not wanting to let go.