I finished slipping on the shoes—they fit perfectly—and straightened to regard the woman in the mirror. I didn’t recognize her. “It’s beautiful,” I said.
The Watcher smiled. “It only enhances the wearer. Now, put this crystal through Trix’s collar.”
“I could leave her with Kitani,” I suggested.
“No, it is time she learned to stick with you, regardless of where you go,” Cara stated. “She is part of your team.”
I regarded her with surprise. I hadn’t considered Trix to be part of the team, not really.
She noted my expression. “Animals often go unnoticed, especially in non-virgin realms, where residents keep all kinds of pets. Trix can be your eyes and ears when you need her to be. That can be an invaluable asset.”
“But—wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
She raised a brow. “That is your responsibility. To keep her, as well as your teammates, safe.”
I swallowed.
“If you asked her,” Cara said more gently, “she will tell you where she wants to be.”
Trix had followed Cara into the washroom, and I looked down at her. Both eyes were now a pure blue. I crouched in front of her.
How to express the dangers of coming with me? I imagined a battle with swords flashing. The sounds and smells.
Her ears pricked up, and her head tilted.
I put myself into the mix, slashing with Talakai’s sword as I battled imaginary foes.
Trix growled, and then she barked and wagged her tail.
Tears pricked my eyes as I stroked her, reassuring her that it wasn’t a battle we were visiting today. To Cara, I said, “How do I know that she isn’t just following me because she’s compelled to do so?”
Cara snorted. “Last I looked, she lacks the necessary appendage. No, she’s coming of her own free will. Your dog has a warrior’s heart. She tried to save the twins all on her own.”
She had. I straightened and faced Cara. “So where are we going?”
The Watcher smiled. “To visit a queen.”
* * *
Cara gated us through into the City of Ketamit.
I glanced around to the cobblestone streets and stone-bricked buildings, but neither Cara nor I were cloaked. “Is this a virgin realm?” I asked.
“No. We are fine as we are.”
The gate guardians moved in on us after we passed through, but now bowed respectfully to Cara. She nodded and smiled at them as she guided me out of the alleyway.
“So—we are here to visit who, exactly?”
The Watcher led us along a major thoroughfare. “The Satyr royal family—they serve a largely diplomatic function now—has had its summer residence here for almost two thousand years.”
My mouth was hanging open, and I closed it. Focused on Trix, who hugged my knee and elevated her nose as she madly sniffed the air. “Feels like I should put her on a leash.”
“She’s got a mental string connecting her to you. She’ll be fine.”
It was true that I was getting little pulses of imagery from Trix, asking clear questions about the world in which she found herself. I did my best to reassure, although some of her connections—a scent she thought smelled like something round and red like a tomato or an apple—were confusing to my non-scent-oriented brain.
She’d make a good Dire.
