"All the more reason for you to do it," she said. "The only way you will feel at ease with the Aristals is if you mingle with them. I assure you there is nothing to be intimidated about."
That was easy for her to say with her millennia old bloodline and her eternal presence among the high aristocracy. He wondered if she really had the slightest idea of what it was like to be him, and decided that she did not. Still she was right in one way. Putting himself into the situation was the only way he would ever become comfortable with it, and he needed to be so if he was ever going to fulfil his ambitions in this world.
"I believe I will take your advice."
"Good. Just one thing…"
"Yes."
"It would probably be for the best if you did not mention all the training you have undergone. Let them think you enjoy a life of ease. And try not to mention our recent hair-raising escapades in Harven.” Her smile showed him that she knew he could be trusted not to bring the matter up in conversation.
"I will do my best."
"I am sure that will be more than adequate. You will be a credit to everything I have taught you."
Her smile widened a fraction. What was she up to, Rik wondered?
Lord Sardontine's mansion was near the Palace. High white walls tipped with spikes surrounded it. Burly footmen waited by the gates. The coach rumbled up the long driveway, under arches of dragon-trees. More servants waited to greet him as he descended. He felt odd, almost as nervous as he had done before infiltrating the Serpent Tower. He told himself that this would be much less dangerous but could not quite bring himself to believe it. The voices whimpered nervously in the back of his mind.
From inside came the strains of complex chamber music. He paused for a moment, breathing in the scented air. There were many blooms here of a type he had never smelled before. Apparently Lord Sardontine or his wife was a keen gardener. He took a deep breath, composed his face into the cold mask he had seen Terrarch officers wear, and strode up the steps.
A human butler showed him through the corridors and he was ushered into a finely furnished chamber. Panels embossed with golden Elder Signs covered the white painted walls. A massive chandelier full of glowglobes descended from the ceiling. A small chamber orchestra played on a raised dais. Groups of people stood around chatting in the corners. As he entered, Lady Sardontine rose from her seat and moved to greet him.
"Ah, here is the hero of the Serpent Tower," she said. Her voice was low and breathy. Her hand lingered on his arm for longer than was strictly necessary. She met his gaze boldly and with a mischievous glitter in her eye. "Come, let me introduce you."
Rik looked around the chamber for her husband but the elderly Terrarch was nowhere visible. He was moved in a whirl from group to group, bowing to the ladies and gentlemen alike, speaking in the courtly formal way Asea had impressed on him. He did his best to memorise the names, a process that was not helped by the strong liquor in the goblet Lady Sardontine pressed into his hand from a tray carried by a liveried footman.
"You do look handsome tonight," she said as they moved between groups.
"And you look extraordinarily beautiful." It seemed like the easiest thing to say. Her face brightened at the simple praise. She tilted her head to one side as she studied him. “You have changed. You seem a little more seasoned.”
“That was an interesting choice of words.”
"I heard you have added a new skill to your repertoire — you are now an aeronaut." Here it comes, thought Rik, the first few questions of the Inquisition.
This was overheard by a tall, golden-haired Terrarch in the uniform of a Captain of one of the Kharadrean regiments. "It cannot possibly compare to dragon-riding," he said, butting into the conversation.
"I am surprised you are in a position to compare," said Rik lightly. "I had thought ballooning was still a novelty."
"One does not need to wield a club to know that it cannot compare to a rapier." The Terrarch's voice had a dangerous edge. Rik wondered at the way he had so smoothly manoeuvred the conversation into talk of weapons. Would there be talk of a duel next? He doubted it; he was not the sort of person a Terrarch noble would deign to fight with.
"You have a point," Rik said, gesturing to the captain's own sword. To his surprise the Terrarch laughed, as did Lady Sardontine.
"You did well at the Serpent Tower," said the Captain. "I have heard the Queen plans to reward you."
"No reward is necessary," said Rik. "It was a privilege to serve her majesty."
He found himself falling into his pre-ordained role of suitably humble hero a little too easily for his own liking, but it seemed the best way to be. He was out of his depth here amid these glitteringly beautiful people, and he reckoned it would be wise to present them with the front they expected to see. The voices whispered that it was always best for people to see what they expected. He kept the smile on his face with an effort.
"Nonetheless," said the Captain, "far as it is from my part to second guess our Queen, I suspect that she will show truly regal gratitude."
The officer and Lady Sardontine exchanged secretive smiles and he wondered if he was being mocked, or the Queen was.
"We have not been introduced, sir?" Rik said. Lady Sardontine touched his hand intimately again.
"I am remiss in my duties as hostess, Captain Talarion, this is Rik. Rik this is Captain Talarion." They bowed to each other and the Captain helped himself to another drink from a passing tray.
"I understand you used to serve in the same unit as Lieutenant Sardec?"
Rik sensed a trap here but was uncertain how he could avoid it. Surely they all knew he had been an enlisted man, and Sardec an officer. Was Talarion reminding him of that? "That is the case," Rik said.
"I hear he fought a duel over some wench," Talarion said. His smile widened a fraction. It was like watching a sword being slowly drawn from a sheath.
"That sounds very romantic," said Lady Sardontine.
"A human wench," said Talarion. There was silence for a moment and an exchange of smirks. Talarion waited for a heartbeat and finished his attack. Rik saw it coming. "It seems that taking human lovers is all the rage in Talorea these days."
Rik looked from him to Lady Sardontine and smiled back as coldly. He held the woman's gaze as he said; "Perhaps it will become fashionable here in Halim as well. You never know."
She smiled back at him. "You never know," she said.
Seeing something pass between them, Talarion raised his eyes to the ceiling. A small pulse of what might have been anger beat on his forehead. "If you will excuse us, Captain," said Lady Sardontine, "I must introduce our young hero to my other guests."
"By all means, my dear, I can see I have wasted enough of your time already."
"Ignore the good Captain," Lady Sardontine said, once he was safely in their wake. "He is of the old school and can be something of a boor. Do not judge us all by him. Some of us in Kharadrea understand that the world is changing."
There was a note of apology in her voice, and something else, perhaps it was fear. He realised that Lady Sardontine very much wanted to stay on his good side, or more likely that of Lady Asea. Or perhaps she is simply trying to be friendly, he thought, and discounted the possibility immediately.
The voices told him that was wise.
They entered the orbit of another group. This one consisted mostly of women surrounding a tall Terrarch male so slim that he looked positively sickly, an impression reinforced by his constant coughing into a handkerchief. He was unusual in that he was not wearing a military uniform but a dress coat of heavy purple velvet, and a number of silk scarves.