Amaldi, hearing all of this, moved to follow Kaylin toward that west-of-fountain spot; Kaylin had chosen it because it was mostly deserted, and the presence of two Hawks—one Barrani—would make sure that mostly became completely in short order. Darreno followed Amaldi as she moved.

Hope’s wing remained firmly attached to Kaylin’s face as she turned toward the two people Teela couldn’t see. Terrano and Mandoran were waiting with Teela, and they watched as Kaylin approached. Mandoran shrugged and shook his head: no. He was willing to believe that the two existed—he did trust Kaylin, in spite of Sedarias’s best efforts—but he couldn’t pierce the veil that separated them from the rest of the world.

Terrano, however, was frowning.

“Can you make yourself invisible?” Kaylin’s voice was a quiet hiss, sort of like a whisper but with more urgency.

“Why?”

Because his face—especially his eyes—were starting to transform. Serralyn had been right. It made Kaylin more than queasy, in part because she couldn’t be certain it wasn’t visual artifacts that came with portal vertigo.

“But I can see them now,” Terrano said, with a note of smug mixed in with triumph. “It’s going to give me a bit of a headache.”

“Fair—you’re giving me a worse one.”

Amaldi took a step back—a large one—when she saw Terrano—but he was facing her, so the elongation of eyes and the shifting color were front and center. Darreno placed a steadying arm around her shoulders, but he was now grim.

“Terrano has that effect on people,” Kaylin said, keeping her voice low.

It was Darreno who said, “We’ve seen that before. The eyes. The...color.”

Kaylin stiffened before she exhaled. “We have a few questions for you, if you’re willing to answer them. We’d obviously like to ask them when we’re not in the middle of the street and we won’t look like we’re talking to ourselves—I’m a Hawk, and no one wants Hawks to be less than perfectly sane.”

Amaldi nodded; she had stepped toward Kaylin and away from Terrano.

“We’ve been offered the use of the High Halls, if you’re willing to have the discussion there.”

“We?”

“The person beside me, who can’t see you, is An’Teela, a Lord of the High Court.”

“But she’s a Hawk!”

“Yes. It isn’t really complicated; she was bored and thought it might be fun for a few decades.”

Darreno rolled his eyes. Clearly he was familiar with the concept of Barrani boredom, and An’Teela, while in possession of a significant title, couldn’t see him or otherwise use him to alleviate said boredom.

“Would you be willing to come with us to the High Halls?”

Amaldi hesitated. Darreno, however, said, “They can’t see us. They have no way of hurting us. Kaylin’s Mrs. Erickson’s friend.”