“This was the heart of Barrani power, and the Barrani—as you have constantly pointed out—made games of both war and assassination. If the High Halls were created to protect the cradle of our race, they were created with an awareness of the games Barrani play. For the most part, the Consort is considered apolitical because lack of a Consort is lack of progeny, lack of continuity. But do not believe that apolitical, for the Barrani, means what it means for humans.”

“Do you feel less safe?”

“Me? Of course not. But I feel no safer. My safety is not in the hands of the Halls; it is in my own hands. Sedarias is the same. And were the High Halls to be safe—as you use the word—Sedarias’s agents would not now be dead, and Sedarias not girding herself for ugly war.”

“She was girding herself for ugly war before they died,” Kaylin pointed out.

“She was girding herself, as you put it, for ugly war because she expected that she would not be the only claimant for the title. She is An’Mellarionne—but only while she lives, and she expects there are cousins and distant relatives who desire to change that state.

“This, however, is different.” Teela lifted her head to look up at the height of the trees between which they walked. “You like the cohort.”

Kaylin nodded. “I mean, I want to strangle Terrano half the time, I’ve bruised Mandoran’s shins, and when Sedarias is in a mood, I want to huddle under the table with the quieter, sensible members—but...I do.”

“Sedarias would have garnered instant respect at any point in the past. She has it now because the Barrani equate fear with respect, or respect with fear. But she has a flaw that is not entirely obvious to those who consider her either impediment or enemy. What is it?”

“It can’t be her temper.”

Teela chuckled. “As you say, it can’t be her temper.”

Kaylin considered Sedarias and her relationship—or the parts of it Kaylin had seen—with the rest of the cohort. She considered her relationship with her immediate family—brothers and sisters bent on killing her, both in the distant past and in the present. “She doesn’t take it personally if people are trying to kill her,” she finally said. “She expects it. She’ll kill them first because that’s what it takes to survive—but...she expects it.

“She takes it very personally when people attack the people who serve her, or the people she considers hers. And she’s pretty possessive.”

“You are becoming far more perceptive,” Teela replied, nodding. “Most will not notice the difference—ah, no, most Barrani will not mark the difference. You could cause Sedarias great harm should you choose to work against her.”

“She’d kill me.”