Darreno and Amaldi stared at the offered chairs; it was Amaldi who chose to attempt to sit in one. Her brows rose into her hairline as she swiveled in that chair, looking at her only companion. His brows rose as well, but he immediately chose to take the chair beside hers.

“I didn’t fall through,” he whispered.

“No,” the Avatar said quietly. “As I said, I have made some adjustments based on Terrano’s attempts. I cannot make you entirely visible to other people while you visit, but I will see you.”

“Can we visit whenever we want?” Amaldi asked.

“Yes, for now. And no, Mrs. Erickson would not feel at home or welcome here. If you are visible to me, you will not be visible to the Barrani; she would.”

Both Amaldi and Darreno nodded emphatically; it made Kaylin smile. Yes, they were attached to the old woman for pragmatic reasons—they were lonely, she could see and talk with them. But Mrs. Erickson was a gentle person; she was kind. She understood the pain of the invisible and she reached out in all the ways she could. And they responded, just as the Hawks did, frustration and disbelief giving way to affection.

“Lord Kaylin?”

Amaldi and Darreno exchanged a confused glance before they both turned to look at Kaylin, who reddened. She really hated that title; in the office it was used to mock her. Technically it was accurate, and this was perhaps the only place it could be considered necessary. Ugh.

Kaylin exhaled. Inhaled. “You won’t enter Mrs. Erickson’s house. Why?”

The two exchanged another glance. It was longer, and it wasn’t followed by words.

“Okay, let’s move on. Did Azoria Berranin ever paint portraits of you?”

Amaldi said, “Yes. I think half a dozen, at least of me.”

Darreno said, “I only sat for two. Why are you asking?”

“Because we found two paintings, one of each of you. No, actually, we found dozens of paintings of various Barrani. Some, however, were hung in the walls of her gallery—it’s those that are the biggest concern. Your paintings—one each—were in that gallery as well.”

Darreno frowned, but nodded. Amaldi began to stiffen. The reactions were different.

“Why is this important?” It was Darreno who asked.

“We think that she created powerful enchantments around the paintings she made: they’re a type of magical cage. The cages made of Barrani portraits were, we think, perfected.”

“What did they do?”

“They trapped the Barrani within the painting itself, and then slowly leeched them of life force. All of the Barrani portraits contained dead Barrani.”

Amaldi looked down at the surface of the table; Darreno looked at Kaylin. “You think she was attempting to do that with...us?”

“It honestly doesn’t make sense to me, either—whatever it was she hoped to do with the two of you—”

“She said it was to protect us,” Amaldi whispered.