Kaylin winced. She hesitated, and then said, “Liatt’s citizens might consider the Wevaran a fact of life—but no one in any other fief will, and outside of the fiefs, Bakkon walking through the city streets would cause a lot of panic.”

“Ah. Yes, Robin has been attempting to explain the mortal fear of spiders. He brought one here. We have nothing in common; they are small and helpless.”

“Some are venomous,” she pointed out.

“Avoid getting bitten. Robin believes, however, that they will look at us as if we were insects, without pausing to attempt to converse.”

She nodded. “It’s not fair, but fear makes people dangerously stupid. And the Emperor has a rule for Immortal citizens.”

“Oh?”

“He asks that they appear before him, in the throne room, to pledge their oath of allegiance. I’m pretty sure the Wevaran are Immortals—like the Barrani or the Dragons.”

“We are. I am uncertain that Bakkon would desire to offer such an oath. Do the Barrani?”

“Each and every one of them—but it isn’t a blood oath and they don’t take it seriously.”

“The Barrani were ever duplicitous.”

“That is harsh,” Arbiter Androsse said, joining the conversation as if he were a more responsible version of Terrano. His smile, slender, was all edge. “We considered their attempt at duplicity as charmingly transparent.” Androsse looked Barrani, to Kaylin; he was not. He was a member of the race the Barrani called the Ancestors. She knew very little about their civilization and their culture—and had zero desire to learn more.

Ancestors had almost destroyed the High Halls, and far worse in Kaylin’s opinion, had been responsible for the deaths of fellow Hawks.

“Harsh, but not inaccurate,” a rumbling voice added. The third of three Arbiters, Kavallac the Dragon, joined the other two.

Terrano rolled his eyes.

Serralyn, however, did not. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the three Arbiters, as if she could see something Kaylin couldn’t. But her eyes remained green and her gaze drifted toward the shelves that carried the library’s many books. There was no visible end to the shelves; there were alcoves along the sides of the walls that also contained shelves, and therefore books. Books heading into eternity.

Books that Kaylin was almost certain Serralyn couldn’t read. Yet.

“It is delightful,” Kavallac said, the Draconic rumble softened, “to see a student who is so excited. If you wish to peruse the books while we listen to Kaylin, please feel free to do so.”

“But I can’t?” Terrano demanded, clearly annoyed.