The nasturtiums hanging from the walls were not in bloom, but Zelli imagined plucking some and nestling them into Tahlen’s braid. They would probably fall out, he reflected sadly. It was a shame Zelli did not have the sort of funds to have jeweled versions made. Perhaps he could manage colored glass or enamel if he put off his own purchases for a while, but then Grandmother would say something about the discretion he was supposed to be learning.
Putting flowers that reminded Tahlen of Zelli into Tahlen’s hairwasquite indiscreet, actually. Zelli considered it longingly anyway, and what might transpire afterward.
The upper gate and portcullis were not yet closed, and several of the guards on duty there came out to greet Zelli and speak with Tahlen as Tahlen led everyone into the courtyard. Tahlen slipped gracefully from Starfall’s back the moment they were all inside, and asked about Ric and spoke with someone about the borrowed horses.
The Lyralinah guards dismounted after Zelli did, then stood about stiffly as they were observed by an increasing number of guards and servants.
Nya was probably readying for bed as well, so Zelli stopped one of her assistants to mention that the visiting guards would need beds and some food while Ric and Grandmother considered what to do with them.
He also said, to the stoically watchful guards of the Lyralinah, “Providing no one comes looking for you, you might get to stay. You will at least be fed and housed for the night. I’ll come see you in the morning.”
Then he patted Lemon Blossom, smiled somewhat tiredly at Gil, one of the stable hands, and set out with determination to get to Grandmother’s bedside before she fell asleep. Though someone had likely run to her with this information by now.
He took his pack with him. He didn’t hear footsteps at his side, only the faint jingle of mail, and turned to Tahlen in pleased surprise.
“You should go see Esrin,” Zelli whispered nonetheless, not only because he didn’t want Esrin to be angrier with him. “I can face Grandmother alone.”
Tahlen captured Zelli’s hand and kept on, leaving Zelli to stumble over his feet while staring up at him.
“All right,” Zelli allowed at last, “but I will talk first.”
“Yes, Zelli,” Tahlen agreed, not even looking at him.
Zelli’s grandmother was in her nightclothes and a long robe but very much awake, even standing, when a frowning Nya let Zelli and Tahlen into Grandmother’s room before shutting the door behind them.
A cup of tea sat on a table near Grandmother’s favorite chair by the fire. There were letters on the table as well. Zelli tried not to look at them.
Leaning on her cane, Grandmother stared hard at Zelli as though Tahlen wasn’t there. Tahlen had released Zelli’s hand upon entering the room and now stood to the side and a step behind Zelli, silent, his face probably impassive.
Zelli had forgotten the cloak he was wearing and the cloak Tahlen wasn’t wearing. His grandmother’s attention fixed on it the moment the door was closed, and then Zelli’s unbound hair, but all she said was, “Mizel.”
“I’m not sorry that I went,” Zelli said immediately. “But I am sorry that I worried you. Tahlen was with me. I hope that eased your mind, at least a little.” He did not say that this had been Tahlen’s idea because Zelli hadn’t considered it. The knowledge wouldn’t improve her mood.
She might have guessed the truth regardless, because she narrowed her eyes and directed some of her glare at Tahlen.
“I also did not mean to be gone for this long,” Zelli acknowledged. “My intention was to be seen, inspect a few waystations, and let people bring cases to me to pass on to you for your judgment. Which I have notes on!” He shook the pack to demonstrate and did not mention yet that he had issued some judgments anyway. “But then I discovered a situation and it needed dealing with. When you find dampness in the storerooms, you can’t hesitate. You have to act quickly, or at least try to discover the source and how big the problem is.”
“You don’t look well,” Grandmother remarked as if Zelli hadn’t spoken. “And Tahlen looks weary indeed. One guard was not enough, Mizel.”
“Tahlen was more than enough—oh.” Zelli ducked his head. “Yes. He needs rest.”
“He couldn’t have gotten much with no one else to relieve him,” Grandmother added.
Zelli deserved the scolding, even if Tahlen had been the one to insist on accompanying him. “That is my fault,” he admitted, glancing over to Tahlen. “I’m sorry—though you dislike me saying so.”
“Too many beat-of-fours never learn to apologize,” Tahlen said evenly. “You apologize when you’ve no need to.”
Zelli gestured wildly. “But I did keep forcing you into more adventures.”
“Hardly forced.” Tahlen’s attention on him did not waver.Gladlywas unsaid but hung in the air.
Flustered, Zelli swung back around to look at his grandmother, fully aware that his face was flushed and his eyes were no doubt some outlandish color.
In contrast, Grandmother’s dark eyes were nearly black in the fire and candlelight of the room. After a long moment, she angled her head toward Tahlen without taking her gaze from Zelli. “Tahlen, perhaps you should go reassure your sister, who, some whisper where they think I can’t hear, has been in a state these past few days. Rest, if you can, and clean up. I will speak to you when you’re finished.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Zelli saw Tahlen nod. Yet Tahlen stayed where he was. “I believed his intention to be right when he stated it to me, and I went with him without being asked or ordered.”
“Tahlen’s advice was very helpful,” Zelli added quickly.
