Cast In Courtlight by Michelle Sagara Page B

into the wall.
    Her brain caught up with her body, and she forced herself to relax, or to mimic it. It was hard when the door was full of bristling Leontine.
    Sanabalis, however, had not moved an inch. As Kaylin stilled, as she took in Marcus in full fury, he lifted his chin an inch or two. “Sergeant Kassan?” The inquiry was about as friendly as a rabid feral, but a whole lot politer.
    “You’re wanted,” Marcus said to Kaylin, ignoring the mage he’d told
her
not to offend. “Tower. Now.”
    “The Hawklord?”
    “No, the tooth fairy.
Go
.”
    “I believe the lesson will have to wait,” Sanabalis said, rising.
    On any other day, that would have been a good thing. But Kaylin had to walk past Marcus, and Marcus seemed disinclined to actually move his bulk out of the door. His fangs were prominent.
    “Marcus?” she dared as she approached him.
    He turned red eyes on her, and she flinched – which was always a bad thing to do around a Leontine. But his eyes lost their deep flare of red as he saw her expression. “No,” he said curtly, the single word a raw growl. “It’s not about you. Yet.” He stepped aside then, and she ran past him. The office seemed quiet, which was usually a bad sign – but not when Marcus was in a mood. When that happened, the word that best described the room was
empty
. This wasn’t, quite.
    She caught Caitlin’s expression; it was frozen on her face. The rest of her had retreated to a safe distance. It was an art that Kaylin could appreciate and couldn’t master; she didn’t try.
    “How bad is it?” she asked.
    Caitlin only pointed to the far door, the tower door, and shook her head.
    Kaylin practically flew up the stairs. Fear did that; it shoved exhaustion into a small corner for later use. Given the previous night, it was going to see a lot of use.
    The door, thank whatever gods the Hawklord worshipped – if he did – was already open; he was waiting for her.
    Standing beside him was a tall, elegant stranger in a fine, dark dress the color of mythic forest. She wore a small tiara, with an emerald that would beggar small houses to own, and her slender arms were gloved in a pale green that echoed the dress.
    Her hair, Barrani black, was loose; it fell past Kaylin’s immediate vision. Barrani hair wasn’t worth noticing; eyes were. Hers were blue. But they were an odd shade of blue, not the dark, deep sapphire that marked so many of the Barrani; these were almost teal.
    Kaylin couldn’t recall seeing that shade before, and it made her nervous.
    The Hawklord, however, was grim, and that was perversely calming. Kaylin started to bow, and he cut her off with a gesture. Formality was out.
    “Kaylin,” he said, his voice a shade grimmer than his expression, “your services are required.”
    She stared at him blankly. Something about the woman was familiar. Something – “Teela?”
    “She hasn’t gotten any faster on the uptake, has she?” Teela said to the Hawklord.
    “Nor has she become more punctual. Teela will take you where you need to go.” He paused. “Do
exactly
as she says. No more. No less.”
    “Where are we going?”
    “Definitely not faster,” Teela said, her Elantran jarringly at odds with her appearance. “We go,” she added, sliding into High Barrani, “to the Court of the castelord.”
    “But you said – ”
    “I know what I said. But we don’t have time.”
    “What – you don’t need me as a Hawk.”
    “Smart girl. Slow, but smart.”
    “Teela – what’s happened?”
    “There has been a minor difficulty at Court,” Teela replied, reaching out for
    Kaylin’s arm. Kaylin was too stunned to move out of the way. “If we do not repair to the Court in time, it will become a major difficulty.”
    “How major?”
    “War.”
    That was major. Kaylin looked down at her pants, hating Nightshade.
    “Severn is waiting below,” the Hawklord told her quietly. “I’ve summoned a carriage. It’s an Imperial carriage.”
    Teela began to