Cast in Honor (Chronicles of Elantra, #11)(42)

“And it’s worth the danger to Kaylin?”

“She is Chosen,” he replied. “She has responsibilities.”

Kaylin frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Do you think the marks that grant you power exist for no reason?”

“I think they exist because the Ancients decided they should—but they didn’t exactly give me commands or training when they placed them on my skin. They didn’t ask my permission, either.”

This appeared to confuse Annarion, who turned to Helen. “Perhaps I am not using the language correctly?”

“You are using it correctly.”

“Ah. Why does she speak of permission?”

Bellusdeo snorted. “Mortals believe in choice.”

“Even when they have so little of it?” Annarion frowned again. “We do not choose to be born. Do mortals?”

“No.”

“We do not choose the names which will govern our lives.”

“No.”

“We do not choose the families or lines into which we are born; we do not choose the language we speak; we do not choose the talents with which we are born.” He waited for Kaylin’s nod before he continued, “Why, then, does your permission matter? You are what you are.”

“Fine. It matters because if they’d had to ask permission, they would have had to explain what the responsibilities of the position actually are.”

Annarion looked to Teela then. “Have you not explained it?”

Teela actually looked uncomfortable. “...No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t understand what you’re talking about when you speak of the Chosen. I can’t understand the words or the images. They make no sense.”

Annarion looked at his feet. After a long, awkward silence, he said, “Kaylin’s used the power of the Chosen multiple times now. It doesn’t matter if she completely understands it—it’s clear that she understands it well enough to use it, if it comes to that.”

Mandoran entered the dining room, as well. “No,” he told everyone, “I am not staying behind.” He looked at Kaylin as he spoke.

She held up both hands. “Don’t look at me like that—I wasn’t even going to suggest it.”

“Teela did.”

“Then glare at Teela. I don’t even like the fiefs. The only one I willingly visit is Tiamaris. Teela has a better chance of survival in the fiefs than I do. She always has.”

“Teela suggested,” Teela said, “that she would stay behind if Mandoran chose to do so.”

Kaylin rolled her eyes. “Like that was ever going to happen. Can we get back to—”

“The important person?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Kaylin exhaled. She did not want to drag Bellusdeo into the fiefs. She didn’t want her anywhere near any fief that wasn’t Tiamaris. She especially didn’t want to have to explain any of this to the Emperor.

The Emperor.

What had she said to the Emperor? What was she doing now? Bellusdeo was a Dragon. Kaylin, marks all over her body, was mortal. She wanted to insist that Bellusdeo stay where it was safe because why? Because the Emperor would be mad at her?

Didn’t that mean she was making the same mistake that the Emperor was making? That she was diminishing Bellusdeo because she was afraid? No, it was worse. Kaylin was afraid of the Emperor’s reaction. She wasn’t afraid for Bellusdeo.

She looked up and met the gold Dragon’s eyes. “Can we just pretend that everything I’ve said in the last half an hour never left my mouth?”

Bellusdeo smiled. The expression made her look younger. Younger and at the same time, more confident. “I think you’re forgetting immortal memory.”

“Because mine is mortal,” Kaylin countered. She turned to Annarion. “I can’t do this during working hours.”

He looked as if he was about to speak, but didn’t. “Does Helen charge you...rent?”

“Actually,” Helen replied, “yes, I do. I do not demand more than Kaylin can currently afford—but rent, such as it is, is a basic responsibility. It is not my intent to turn Kaylin into a walking child who is free from all material consequences.”

Bellusdeo’s smile inverted. “I do not believe you are—”

“You are a guest” was Helen’s serene reply. “Kaylin did not attempt to charge you rent when you lived with her before she moved here. While you were beneath her roof, you were her responsibility.”

Kaylin started to wave her hands in the air to get Helen’s attention.

“You always have my attention.”

“Bellusdeo’s never been my responsibility.”

“She is your friend,” Helen said, her tone making the statement a counter to Kaylin’s.

“Exactly.”

“Friends feel a certain responsibility for each other. Is that not why you are going to Nightshade?”

“I don’t think Annarion considers me a friend, exactly.”

Helen frowned.

“Annarion is Teela’s friend. Teela is my friend. I’m helping because—”

“I consider you a friend,” Annarion said in Elantran. “Even if you are not like Mandoran or Teela. I personally think you could be, but Teela has forbidden it, on pain of death. She’s only partially joking.”