“Perhaps. But Alsanis is fond of the cohort, as you call them, and it is my belief that the cohort, if they sought escape, sought to do so without damaging their caretaker; the fondness was reciprocated.”

Kaylin saw no reason not to agree; she nodded. “Toward the end, he couldn’t completely contain them.”

“Yes. Terrano has spoken, with an almost childish glee, of his successes. To the Avatar,” she added, with a fond smile. “Sometimes he recounts Terrano’s tales.” The smile slipped away. “But there is no similar fondness for the woman we assumed was long dead.

“Chosen. An’Teela. Find her if she exists. Give us as much warning as you can. She would be older than Terrano, and if she was likewise entrapped, may have learned similar tricks or skills.”

“She was nothing like Terrano,” the Avatar said. This time, given the direction the Consort looked, other people could hear him. “I was very angry with Terrano when I heard of what he had attempted, but his regret was genuine, and as with you, I owe him a great debt. He is...not what she was. Perhaps his time with the Hallionne preserved some innate youthfulness; I cannot say.

“But I would trust him with the Consort and the Lake.”

“And not her.”

“No, Chosen. You have asked how my powers may have been used; I will, if you desire it, allow you to enter what would have been her chambers, had she survived.”

“But—they’ll be in use.”

“Ah, you misunderstand. Your Helen could re-create any room that any tenant who has accepted her hospitality has occupied. When I was forced to withdraw the greater measure of my power and functionality to prevent the Shadow from destroying the heart of the Barrani, changes to the building did not occur. But she lived within my walls for the better part of what we assume was her life. As did An’Berranin.

“When you are finished, I will return for you, and I will lead you to that suite.”

“No,” the Consort said, standing so swiftly she would have knocked a chair over had they been seated in individual chairs. “I would examine these chambers myself. Kaylin is Chosen, and An’Teela is perceptive, but this now encompasses those responsibilities that are mine in their entirety.”

Ynpharion did not interrupt their somber passage through the forest.

“I do not think it wise if the Chosen is to examine anything,” the Avatar said. Kaylin glanced at him, and then at the Consort.

It was Teela who said, “The Avatar can create portals that move us from one section of the Halls to their destination; he is explaining the reason we are walking. Your inability to walk through a portal is well-known.”