In the waxing light of approaching dawn, Reyn stood near a patch of desert bramble she learned was called scalethorn. A pungent sort of briar, woodier than similar plants she'd seen and with larger and crueler thorns. Her Espallan escorts combed over the scalethorn patch, harvesting lengths of the plant and tapping black, tar-like sap from the older growth. Reyn furrowed her brow over why they would bother. It was clearly inedible, and even if it wasn't, Reyn would have to be far hungrier than she ever remembered being to give it a try.

"Scale lion repellant," Josy explained for Reyn's apparent confusion. "Gotta say, I'm a little ticked off my old coterie never thought of taking some scalethorn along with us when we went into the desert."

"Things often look obvious in hindsight, Duchess," Reyn said. "In the moment, we rarely have the luxury of analysis."

Josy raised an eyebrow.

"The Espallans have had many years to develop their methods of traversing the dunes," Reyn said.

"Sure," Josy said with a shrug, "but I was more thinking about how it didn't sound like you were talking about gardening anymore."

Reyn interpreted that as Josy making sport of her. Payback for embarrassing her the day before, perhaps. Though, there was more truth to Josy's barb than Reyn would've liked. "I take it you are ready to depart?"

"Just about. I don't have much to do in the way of goodbyes. Only one thing I want to take care of first."

"Which would be?"

Josy winked at her. "Not telling, but you'll see soon enough."

She plastered on an aggravatingly smug smirk and walked off towards Enfri's homestead, which left Reyn with little to do but stand around and watch Espallans cut at briars and suck their thumbs when they pricked themselves on the thorns.

The rest of the Aleesh delegation was mostly gathered, a group of fifteen in total. They loaded travel packs of supplies onto camels leant to them by the Amak'talan. If nothing else about this excursion seemed palatable, Reyn did find herself looking forward to getting to know these animals a little better. They were more pungent than the scalethorn, but adorable.

Reyn clucked her tongue as she stood alongside her camel and gave its neck a thorough scratching. She'd been told her camel's name was Lazza, a distinguished matron and a prized dam for breeding caravan stock. Of course, Reyn's first question had been why a useful breeder was being used for everyday errands, and she'd been told that camel temperaments didn't mix well with indolence. Camels wanted to work. That is, they wanted to work until they didn't, and then it was an entirely different trial getting them to start moving again.

"A dromedary," a woman said as she approached Reyn. It was Lita of the Harkh'alash. Lita's urgent and husky voice was unmistakable even while she wore her concealing scarf and hat. She was easily understood despite her thick accent. "Swift with much stamina, the ideal mount for the hallah. There is a larger, two-hump breed, the Charran. Sturdier. Stronger. And a smaller breed, the Ashakhra. Wild and difficult to tame. Respect the Ashakhra should you encounter her, First Minister, for she is capricious, yet a gift from the goddess should she lend her aid to those lost on the dunes."

"The goddess," Reyn prompted. "You speak of the Celestial Maiden, Ruhali."

Lita turned her head slightly north, where the bright point of the north star could still be seen in the pre-dawn light. "She is both guide and penultimate destination, amah. All who walk the dunes depend upon the goddess' light. All who seek to pass Beyond approach her, the final gatekeeper, as the Lord of Bones shepherds them onward."

Reyn had heard similar dogmas, though this was the first one she heard of centered around Ruhali as presiding over the final passage into the Beyond. Most spiritual traditions ascribed death to be the sole domain of the Lord of Bones. Reyn supposed that when gods and goddesses were, more often than not, an observable aspect of nature, there was little room for variance when it came to religion.

When Lita turned back to Reyn, it was difficult to miss the hooked sword she wore beneath her duster coat. Its blue-hued blade was definitely orichalcum, a rare and precious metal. Shan Alee had access to only the small amounts pulled from the Ulthred's mine in western Altier Nashal, so Reyn wondered where the Espallans acquired enough to forge a sword for each of the hallah'ha she'd met.

Lita noticed where Reyn's attention was. She patted the pommel of her weapon. "Emerald's Wrath, in your tongue. The ancestral blade of my tribe."

"I will be the first to admit I am not familiar with weaponry, but it looks to be finely made."

"She, amah. And yes, she is very finely made. Emerald's Wrath was spellwrought by the sword sages before their elder magic left this world to follow Ruhali's light."

Reyn was intrigued by mention of the Espallan elder magic— Krayson would've pounced on that subject like a hound attacking a lamb shank— but she was more presently concerned by a bell ringing within the intuitive sense she'd developed over the years since she came of age. The nearly imperceptible manner in which Lita's brown eyes touched upon Reyn's waist and legs left little doubt in her mind.

Lita likes girls, she deduced. Keeping herself from smiling at the realization became difficult. It always felt like a victory when Reyn managed to figure it out before it came up in conversation.

A second hidden sense, one even more deeply engrained, yanked on Reyn's conscience. It warned her away from giving over her trust so readily to a stranger. Paranoia was only a vice when it was wrong, and Reyn's was battle-hardened.

"You did not come to educate me on camels and blades, my lady."

Lita tilted her head back in consideration. "The Dragon Empress discussed the composition of your party with Hagen. It has not been discussed with me, and it will be Harkh'alash territory we ride through for the greater portion of the journey."

"Of course, my lady. I am at your disposal."

"You, First Minister, come to speak in the Jade Empire on the behalf of Empress Enfri. Are these others your retainers?"

Reyn glanced towards the others of her delegation. "Ten armsmen as a personal guard, selected from the veterans of House Yora. I was told Hagen of the Amak'talan agreed to us being allowed an armed escort."

"The executor is not against it," Lita said, "therefore I am not against it."

Interesting, that an Espallan would defer like that to a foreigner. Reyn wondered if it was out of respect or subservience, but it would probably be unwise to ask that directly. Instead, Reyn continued with her explanation. "These others are candidates for the Arcane Knights, learned men and women who shall serve as my advisors. Of particular note is Lord Vash Tryson, formerly of Temradel and once professor of divination at the Dellish University of the Crown. His assigned task is to develop a diplomatic codex for translation between Althandi and the Tongue of Jade. Fulfilling a life's ambition of his, I believe."

Lita observed the aged yet still towering man Reyn indicated. Lord Vash may have been pushing sixty, but the Dellish predilection for staggering height was still apparent. "I am curious as to why the empress does not come herself. She has received invitation to marriage from the Glorious Emperor. A great honor. The greatest honor."

Reyn inclined her head. "We are agreed on that. Her Majesty is acutely aware of the magnitude of such an offer. Unfortunately, her marriage is to be to another."

"Princess Jin Algara, but this is immaterial."

Reyn blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected such bluntness. "Her Majesty would disagree. I would also caution against allowing her to hear those same words. She is a kind-hearted young woman, and those often prove to be the most vengeful sort where it concerns whom they love."

Lita lowered her chin and waved her hand in a gesture for clarification. "You misunderstand, amah. Immaterial, not for who she marries, but for how many. Marriage to either is not... the phrase is... mutually exclusive?"

It was truly becoming difficult not to smile. Reyn started thinking she should take a greater interest in Espallan culture. There appeared to be some striking points of similarity between her worldview and theirs. Reyn tried to explain the facts diplomatically.

"In Althandi culture— true, in most of the Five Kingdoms— a marriage is defined as a union of two. More than that is taboo at best."

She could tell Lita was wrinkling her nose beneath her scarf. "Sun's light, the same here? I gave hope to that bizarre notion being exclusive to the People of Jade."

"The dominant notion, my lady, not the sole one. I myself am inclined to multiple lovers, but I am afraid the laws of the land would only allow me a marriage to one."

Reyn hadn't meant to think about it, but she began imagining the details of a potential wedding for herself. Would it be held in this area, where Shan Alee was meant to grow, or would Starra insist it take place in Japax? Gods, but why in Hell did Reyn immediately assume her wedding would be to Starra?

Because you love her, you twit, Reyn reprimanded herself. Her instinct to push away anyone who grew too close to her heart was proving useless. Those she loved were supposed to remain unattainable, not burrow in and make a nest as if they meant to stay forever. Starra was almost like a tick in that way. She'd latched on to Reyn and wouldn't let go. Apparently, a common trait of blood drinkers.

Once again, it appeared that invoking demons was all it took to summon them. Reyn felt Starra's approach before she saw it, as one could often feel the charge in the air before a lightning strike. Whether Reyn loved the woman or not, she felt the need to brace herself for Starra's particular brand of inventing problems.

It didn't turn out to be a problem so much as a heart attack. For one dreadful moment, Reyn thought there were three Starras strolling her way.

"There she is! That's my dear one. Do be kind to her, Sisters. She's awfully skittish when she's flustered."

Reyn felt her jaw drop, and Lita's eyes looked ready to pop out of her head. Hard to say what detail caused Lita's reaction, but for Reyn, it wasn't just because of the sudden arrival of House Nolaas. She couldn't process what her eyes told her Starra was wearing.

It was a commoner's outfit. A commoner's, and that was something she'd only heard of Starra wearing under extreme duress. It was a... gods, but it was that dratted cropped green blouse again. Reyn thought she'd seen the last of it when she gave it to Rippling Moon. Over the blouse, Starra wore a leather half-vest. Her skirt went only to just above the knee, but the leggings underneath held the outfit back from being vulgar. What caught Reyn's eye most was the black fedora. A man's hat? On a woman? Starra either intended further illusions to conceal her gender, or she meant to turn the fashion world on its head.

The Espallan women got away with it. They were foreigners, and it could be argued that their hats were part of a uniform. What was Starra thinking? Most distressing about Starra's outfit was that it worked some manner of enchantment on Reyn. Undeniably, it had to be spellcraft to get her hot under the bodice like this. Starra had no right to be so... attractive! Reyn was dumbstruck and didn't snap out of it until she felt something drip from her nostril. She touched at her upper lip, and her fingertips came back red.

Sweet merciful spirits, the dratted vampire gave me a nosebleed!

Starra sighed in sublime satisfaction. "Oh, dear one. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I'll never forget that reaction."

"And you will not allow me to forget it, I expect." Reyn fished in her pockets for a hanky to clean herself up with.

Starra waved away Reyn's grousing with a flick of her wrist. "Now's not the time for being acerbic, dear one. I've brought some people to meet you."

Reyn chuckled and shook her head. Once she was certain her nose had stopped, she tucked away the hanky and held out her hands to receive her paramour. Starra took them and stood on her toes to kiss Reyn on the cheek.

"Bloody hell," Starra murmured alongside a self-conscious laugh. She dropped back to the flats of her feet and readjusted her hat. "Why must you be so tall? It's infuriating, you spire of a woman."

Reyn did her best to hide how pleased she was that she could inspire such a reaction from Starra as readily as the other way around. "You have met Lita of the Harkh'alash?"

"Briefly," Starra said, turning to Lita. "Forgive this shameless display, hallah'ha."

Lita bowed to Starra before nodding to Reyn. "By your leave, First Minister. Give your farewells, and we may continue later."

Once Lita was gone, Reyn could give Starra's family her undivided attention. Starra made the introductions. She presented her elder sister, Lady Shaan Nolaas, and Lady Suuri Nolaas, the youngest. It suddenly made perfect sense to Reyn why Starra was the way she was. She was the middle child.

Unlike Starra, both sisters were dressed according to their stations. They had on dark blue riding dresses, high collars, lace at the wrists and neckline, and stiff bodices that were likely to have whale-bone corsets underneath. While Starra rarely concealed her red eyes while among the legion anymore, both of her sisters wore dark veils covering the upper halves of their faces.

Shaan the eldest had a regal bearing that could give queens a run for their money. She had to be around thirty, elegant, poised, and beautiful in the way that made her difficult to look at directly. Lady Shaan stood with her back straight and hands folded neatly in front of her. An especially wide-brimmed ladies' hat shielded her ghostly gray skin from the sun, but her most striking feature had to be the most glorious head of hair Reyn could ever recall seeing. A cascade of pure white and perfectly teased locks tumbled over her shoulders and down her back, reaching nearly to her hips. It was voluminous yet appeared light as a feather. Reyn doubted even Empress Enfri's famously beautiful hair could match Shaan's.

Starra's younger sister, Suuri, was a hand shorter than Starra and perhaps a full foot shorter than Reyn. She was also a little broader at the shoulders and wider at the hips, yet daintier about the waist. Her stunning hourglass figure would turn heads in any company. Suuri chose to not even try competing with Shaan's hair and chose to wear it tied back into a tight ponytail.

"A pleasure to meet you both," Reyn said once the introductions were made. "I am surprised you were able to catch up with the legion so soon after our arrival."

"There was no difficulty," Shaan said. The Gaulatian accent in her speech was heavier than Starra's, but it was still clearly that of someone who developed the inflection rather than a native speaker. "From the onset, our journey took us through the City of Althandor. Once there, our sister merely directed us towards where she expected Shan Alee to arrive."

Reyn nodded. "I trust the journey was safe?"

"Sufficiently."

"Rougher as it went on," Suuri added. "We were lucky to get out of the east ahead of the Teulites coming through Elwyn Pass, but the train guards just got spikier the further west we went. Lots of gossip about young houses turning to banditry the further you go from cities."

Reyn heard no hint of Gaulatia in Suuri. Not quite rustic, but there was a rough edge to her choice of words. Reyn deduced that unlike her two elder sisters, Suuri hadn't studied in Parnaia. Her Japaxian accent remained pure, demonstrating clipped vowel sounds and enunciated consonants.

"We have seen little of robber barons in this region despite the breakdown of order throughout the Five Kingdoms," Reyn said. "I credit the presence of the Imperial and Crescent Legions. Her Majesty has made a point of tasking the Arcane Knights to suppress any bandits we learn of."

Shaan produced a folding fan from her sleeve and deftly unfurled it. She peered over the top of it at Reyn. It was hard to tell through her veil, but it looked as if she'd lidded her eyes into a searching expression "My sister tells us you are a minister within Shan Alee's governing body."

"First minister," Starra interjected. "But bloody hell, Shaan, you don't waste time before starting the interview, do you?"

"Sister, enough," Suuri said while giving Starra a playful shove. "Shaan's only curious. It's not like you've ever wanted us to meet one of your paramours before."

"Meet," Starra said. "Not drive off."

Shaan kept her expression hidden, though she changed which side of her fan was facing outward. The tone of her voice grew cold. "I doubt you would need much assistance with the latter."

"Bloody hell! Uncalled for, you insufferable shrew."

Shaan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Uncultured slattern."

"Myopic governess."

"Swaggering popinjay."

"Unimaginative harridan."

"Unimaginative is a synonym of myopic, making your discourtesies ironic. But of course, you should know that, vapid harlot."

"At least I'm not destined to be stepmother to children twenty years my senior, you cold-hearted termagant."

Shaan snapped her fan closed, and her lips formed a cruel smile that could've frozen the blood of a demon. "Fashion disaster."

Starra crouched low for a pounce. "Oh!"

The hurled insults continued with renewed vigor, and both sisters were baring their vampire fangs.

Reyn didn't know what she was supposed to do in this situation. Fortunately, she was rescued from the dilemma when Suuri took her by the arm and led her away from the inevitable scuffle that was brewing. Reyn guided Lazza to follow along, as she was unsure if the camel's dispassionate demeanor would abide through an internal war within House Nolaas. It seemed wisest to remove a known spitter from the equation entirely.

"Should we not try to..." Reyn murmured with a backward glance over her shoulder.

"We should not," Suuri said with a weary sigh.

"Is this common?"

"Sorry to say, but Shaan really should have kept it to herself until later. She's awful at first impressions. The worst, in fact, but I promise you she'll be nothing but sweet once this is out of her system." She smiled in response to Reyn's dubious expression. "Really, I swear. She comes off so terribly, people tend to believe the rumors that circle around her."

"Rumors?"

Suuri covered her impish grin with her free hand. "Back home, they call Shaan the White Widow. She's been married twice. Once to Baron Kendal Otherian, fourth cousin to the king of Japax, but he died the morning after the wedding when he drunkenly wandered into the estate garden during winter and froze to death. Second, to Lord Wan the Keema of Hondo. He didn't even make it all the way home from the cathedral. Insisted on leaping from the steam carriage when there was some trouble with the engine, tried to fix the problem on his own, and wound up exploding himself when he neglected to release the pressure valve before opening the boiler."

Reyn blinked in stupefaction. "That's... horrible."

"Awful men, the both of them. I'll certainly shed no tears. Unmannerly boors who thought nothing of groping the house maids when Shaan and Daddy both were there to see. Unfortunately, rather than as deserved divine judgment, the other houses chose to see what happened to them as evidence that Shaan was either murdering her husbands, or worse, a jinx. With her chastity intact, they took to calling her the White Widow. I'm sure with us being from an old Irdish family, the locals must've thought themselves terrifically witty, and as a result, Shaan's seen as quite unmarriageable now. At least to eligible bachelors. She enjoys a great number of suitors who think she must be so desperate for a match, she'll consent to marry any graybeard who makes an offer. Why, she's inherited enough holdings and letters of credit from her late husbands that some of the men asking for her hand might simply be hoping to get their mitts on her ledgers. But enough about that. I'd like to learn more about you."

It was all delivered at such a rapid pace that Reyn felt as if she suffered whiplash when Suuri changed the subject. The youngest Nolaas sister was, without a doubt, the most enthusiastic gossip Reyn had ever come across.

Is there a Nolaas out there who isn't an eccentric? Reyn wondered. "I am afraid there is little to tell about me."

"Oh, posh, I don't believe that for a minute. It doesn't seem possible that a boring young woman would become the first minister of a resurrected empire." Suuri's eyes sparkled. "And you're a selkie. I've only met two or three. Our house has had dealings with the Japaxian harpy enclaves, and Father's valet is a kits, but you don't see many selkies in Japax. I just don't get a chance to socialize with many other shifters at all. Is Starra right that the Dragon Empress has promised lawful status to shifters?"

Reyn wasn't even sure what subject they were on anymore. It felt like they passed over three in the span of two heartbeats. She could only assume Suuri's pause was in expectation for an answer to the last question asked. Either that or she needed a moment to take a breath before starting up again.

"She has, my lady," Reyn said, then she tried to get in her question before Suuri took the answer and ran away with it. "I was under the impression the Lord Nolaas was also coming. Has he not?"

"Daddy? Oh, he has. I mean to say, he's here. We came into Sandharbor by carriage via the eastern road late last evening. Had some dreadful misunderstanding with the Melcians, but that was settled by a few marks passed to the sergeant. Then, however, we had it from a lovely, young blacksmith apprentice that Empress Enfri planned to leave again before first light. Daddy made sure to stick close to her for when Her Majesty leaves, so he can get this swearing of fealty out of the way and start establishing the new Nolaas holdings."

Reyn was having a terrible time with following what Suuri said. Something between her rapid delivery and her Japaxian diction was making it go fuzzy in Reyn's ears. She began to fantasize about a giant stocking she could cram into Suuri's mouth to stifle her jabber for a few moments. Gods, but Reyn's ears were about to bleed in addition to her nose.

Also, daddy? Was that supposed to be a term of endearment for a father? Reyn hadn't a clue. It sounded exceedingly juvenile to her, but maybe a little sweet, too.

There was something else in all that twaddle, however, that gave Reyn something to consider. Until then, she hadn't had much cause to give thought towards the future of the houses who swore fealty to Enfri. Where, exactly, would they wind up? Most had holdings from here to the Southern Sea, inside the borders of other kingdoms more often than not. While the powers of government in Shan Alee would rest more upon knighthoods than established families, it was still unheard of for a kingdom to lack resident houses. Nobles formed the economic backbone of a nation, and without affluent support close at hand, Shan Alee would never last.

We need nobles to set roots here, Reyn realized, and House Nolaas won't be enough on their own. Spirits take me, I should've seen that sooner.

Suuri had taken note of Reyn's preoccupation. "Ah, I see it now."

"See what?" Reyn asked once she snapped herself back to the present.

"What my sister sees in you." She spoke at a more measured rate, and the pitch of her voice dropped half an octave. "The hair, that jawline, and these amazing legs, those might be what attracted her, but what I'm sure Starra loves is the way you can see clockworks turning behind your eyes." Suuri smiled again, not impish or conniving, but a genuine one. "I think we'll get along."

"I... think so, too." Reyn glanced towards the camels. "Unfortunately, it may be some time before we learn if that is so for certain."

"So I hear. Most unfortunate, but at the least, our house can rest assured that Starra has chosen someone interesting to finally court in earnest. I mean, the Jade Empire. It sounds so very wonderfully adventurous."

"To be frank, I hope it will prove uneventful. In my experiences, adventures tend to involve far too much terror and heartache. I long for an extended period where I need think of neither legions or finances."

Suuri slowed before coming to a halt. "If I might ask in all seriousness, would such an extended period include my sister?"

"I would find that ideal," Reyn replied. "Starra... has made herself indispensable to me."

"And you are not at all put off by her..."

"Vivaciousness?"

Suuri laughed. "I've never heard it put so kindly."

"I cannot take credit. That was how a dear friend first described her to me. While you are here, you must have Starra introduce you to Brother Joshuan. I am certain he will be willing and able to provide you any number of insights into Starra's character."

The volume of Starra and Shaan's squabbling became too great for Reyn to ignore any further. She turned around and called out in a loud voice. "Lady Starra, there is no more need to keep on with the charade. I have admitted to your sister I am amenable to your overtures."

"Charade?" Starra's manner changed abruptly to that of a child caught in the midst of some mischief. "Whatever do you mean?"

Shaan smoothed the fabric of her skirt and recomposed her regal bearing. "Quite enough, Starra. I believe she saw through us."

Reyn planted her fists on her hips. "Pretending to argue so to distract me while I am plied for my intentions toward you? If I were not about to leave, I would be cross about this. Luckily for you, I do not have the heart to leave angry."

"How could you tell it was a farce?" Suuri asked, looking impressed.

Reyn nodded in indication towards Shaan. "The fan. Gaulatian courtiers have mastered the art of communicating with subtlety using fans. Before Lady Shaan began quarreling with Starra, she gave the signal that nothing she said should be taken at face value."

Starra gasped and leveled an accusing glare at Shaan. "You are an insufferable shrew. You gave me away on purpose!"

"Oh come now," Shaan scoffed. "Mine was a much more succinct test of her abilities than whatever this pageantry you've contrived is. If she can read fans, a skill ladies of great houses often find difficult, then there is little else I feel would be out of her ability." She reopened her fan and held it against her heart as she curtsied to Reyn. "I do apologize for the crass display and for the deception. Starra insisted."

Reyn returned the curtsy. "I suppose you are not actually known as the White Widow, then."

Shaan stopped halfway through straightening from her curtsy. Her smile hadn't left, but she now looked like it was a strain to maintain it. Starra merely covered her mouth and looked much too pleased as her eyes darted between Shaan and Suuri. The youngest sister turned on her heels and whistled nonchalantly as she moseyed away.

"You beast!" Shaan shrieked as she hiked up her skirt and stormed off in pursuit of Suuri. "Eleven years I've tried to put that dreadful name to rest and you blab it to Starra's paramour?"

Starra held her sides and fought valiantly against her laughter. She wiped a mirthful tear from her eye as Reyn came beside her leading Lazza.

"Gods, but I didn't mean to reopen any old wounds. Your poor sister and her late husbands..."

Starra puffed out her cheeks with the effort of holding it all in. "Was that the story this time? Forgive us, dear one, but all a fabrication. Shaan is happily married, for years now."

"But her reaction to the name."

"Long story, dear one, and you don't want to know. Suffice it to say, it involves a trashy production in the Parnaia opera, a flamboyant composer, and a pear transmuted into crystal."

"That does not suffice to say anything at all," Reyn protested. "Or, far too much."

"Bloody hell, but Shaan's liable to chase Suuri all the way back to Japax, the rate they're scurrying." She sighed and lowered her eyes. "I am sorry, dear one. This was all awfully childish of me, I know, but I wanted very much to... I suppose... have some manner of assurance you wouldn't lose interest in what we have by the time you return."

Reyn patted Lazza's neck. "Lose interest? In you? Mon trésor, you should know me a little better than that by now." She leaned closer to whisper in Starra's ear. "Never. Especially not after last night."

Starra blushed. "I might have been feeling a touch possessive once you came back to me with stories of this Darian person being so forward. He sounds an absolute brute."

"I thought you beyond possessiveness and jealousy," Reyn said with a smirk.

"Only a touch, I said. Besides, more protective than possessive. I'll make no apologies for that."

"You have no need to," Reyn assured her.

Shaan and Suuri chose that moment to return, neither looking all that pleased with the other. Reyn sighed and rubbed at her temples. She felt that once she returned from the west, she'd need to meet Starra's sisters for the first time all over again. This first attempt hadn't really given her anything to go on as to who Lady Shaan and Lady Suuri really were. Maddening. Absolutely maddening, and Reyn could only cower in terror over what sort of character Starra's father would prove to be.

"All forgiven?" Starra asked the two of them.

"Only because she said nothing of the pear incident," Shaan said petulantly.

"And she won't," Starra said firmly while pointing at Suuri. "No one wants to know about that."

"Damnation, are you joking? I wish I didn't know."

Sincerity. That was what the three Nolaas sisters shared. Beneath whatever eccentric affectations they wore as camouflage, underneath it all lay sincerity. Reyn looked forward to learning more of House Nolaas.

Because, there may soon come a time when she'd need to be more familiar with their house. Reyn had yet to adopt a surname, after all. Something to consider, at least.

More might have been said, or an attempt to get to know the Nolaas sisters in truth might have been made. Unfortunately, Reyn wasn't allowed to have a calm, untarnished moment. A dark cloud seemed to fall over her, and it appeared to be felt by everyone. The Aleesh delegation, the Espallans, and the Japaxian noblewomen all took notice of a fetid presence that engulfed them like a poisonous miasma.

"And so the cockroach arrives," Starra growled. "In the west, may he rot."

Garret was being led by two armsmen, handlers dedicated to nothing on this mission save for keeping the disgraced lord in custody. His eyes were open wide and stared at the ground just in front of his feet, his lips curled back into a rictus snarl, and a low and dark muttering came from his throat as he passed where they gathered..

"Was mine. It was mine. How dare they take what's mine? A daanman? A blustering daanman? Oh, I'll get it back. I'll bleed it from that pretty princess if I have to, but I'll get it back. It's mine. Then she'll be mine, then the sweetling will be mine, then all these wretches will be mine, and I'll find my dove again and she'll be mine, too. Can't they tell that it's all mine. I deserve it. I deserve it all to be mine!"

Shaan and Suuri startled at how Garret shouted that final word. Reyn and Starra were used to Garret's apparent madness. They'd both presided over his sentence and saw to his accommodations for the night. Reyn's fear had been that the loss of his bloodsong would drive him to action and another escape attempt, also that the traitor embedded within Shan Alee would work their treachery once more and assist him. So far, Garret seemed content with ravings, but no one expected it to stay at that forever. Sooner or later, Garret would try to escape. Reyn was certain of it.

"Keep him quiet," Josy commanded Garret's handlers. "Gag him if you have to, but we're not going to annoy our hosts with his griping."

Starra tore her eyes away from Garret to look towards Josy. "Duchess, so good to... oh ho ho, I love it. It suits you to a tee."

Reyn was thrown off balance by that and looked Josy's way to see what was being referred to. She blinked when she realized what Josy had meant when she said there was one thing more for her to do.

The duchess had shorn off most of her hair. What remained was less than an inch in length, a short and almost boyish cut that somehow managed to suit Josy's face and bone structure better than any of the many hairstyles she'd worn before.

Josy ran the fingers of her gauntlet over her scalp and blushed at Starra's compliment. "You think so? Doesn't look stupid?"

"Not in the least," Starra exclaimed. "Short hair is just as feminine as long, and you prove that remarkably well."

Lady Shaan touched at her own luxuriously long hair as if someone was about to take it away. "Most becoming, Duchess," she said.

"Damnation, but your neck looks much longer," Suuri agreed. "I might have to try doing my hair like that."

Shaan's protective grip on her hair tightened.

Josy laughed self-consciously, but the way her face turned red showed how pleased she was by the attention. She might have been most interested by what Starra thought of her hair.

Come to think of it, Josy had seemed to be somewhat attached to Starra ever since they first arrived at the legion together. Some manner of puppy crush, perhaps? Reyn found herself reevaluating every interaction she'd had with Josy up until then, wondering if what she took as flirting to be, in actuality, her way of sizing up a romantic rival.

Too late, Reyn realized she was staring. Josy met her eyes, and something like defiance came into her expression.

"Not a fan, Legs?"

Reyn swallowed before speaking so she wouldn't stumble over her own tongue. It occurred to her the very moment she saw what Josy had done, but she was yet to find the words. Josy hadn't cut her hair on a whim. There was a reason, and it had everything to do with Garret and the choices Josy made to arrive where she was now. "On the contrary. I find myself admiring you more and more, my lady. You look very... alive."

"Well, shucks, Legs. That got me a little choked up."

"In that case, forget it," Reyn scoffed. "Now that all who are going are here, we should not delay our departure any further."

Josy made a disgruntled noise and made a dismissive gesture in Reyn's direction as she followed after Garret and his handlers.

"We should take our leave as well," Lady Shaan said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Minister Reyn, and we will offer prayers for a safe journey."

"And a successful one," Suuri added. "Come back soon. Daddy won't be able to sleep well until he gets the chance to meet Starra's girl."

Once Josy and Starra's sisters were out of earshot, Reyn turned to face Starra more directly.

Starra was giving Reyn a quizzical look. "Admiring you more and more?"

She replied with a tiny shrug. "Referring to a previous conversation."

"Well, if anything comes of you two, I expect to be kept informed. I will be giving sendings when I have the chance, so be ready for them. Tell me all the details. You could do far worse for a traveling companion than Josy Algara."

Reyn grimaced. "It is not like that."

"I give it three days of missing me before you start to reconsider. I've already admitted to some slight jealousy, but that doesn't mean you're forbidden from enjoying yourself when you can."

Reyn doubted it would come to that. Jin aside, Reyn didn't have it in her to pine for Algaras. If she did pursue a rendezvous, it was more likely to be with Lita. "And you? Any unattainable women you plan to torment in my absence?"

"Not really," Starra sighed. "I might seek out a brief dalliance if I get too lonely. Nothing serious, I think." Her expression turned grim. "Be careful out there, dear one, and I don't mean of just the desert wildlife. Josy is competent, but she's not the arcanist you are. Spare an eye for what Garret's doing whenever you're able."

"I will take it to heart. And Starra, I expect to know who the traitor is by the time I get back." Reyn frowned. "Keep an eye on Darian. Garret's escape was the first sign of a traitor in our midst, and that happened after Darian arrived."

Starra averted her eyes and sniffled. She looked as if she were holding back sudden and strong emotions. "I will," she said hoarsely. "You have my word, dear one. You'll know everything by the time you're in my arms again."

Reyn cupped her cheek.

"Forgive me," Starra whimpered. "I've never had to do this before."

"Say goodbye?"

Starra nodded. "Say goodbye to someone I'm in love with."

"Then it will not be goodbye," Reyn said. She leaned in to kiss Starra, and when she pulled away, she made Starra's somatic gesture over her heart. "Until next time."

Nothing more was said. Reyn didn't think anything else needed to be said. She climbed up onto Lazza's back and got herself situated. She looked down at her paramour one last time and found Starra fighting back tears as she held the somatic to her heart.

"Until next time, dear one."