Kaylin, hungry, agreed. She therefore headed to her room to change out of her work clothing and wash up. Her home clothing on most days looked a lot like her work clothing—she didn’t like to fuss about clothing, but made allowance for weather; it was the only time clothing had truly mattered in her childhood.

There was too much information, and it was too tangled to properly assess; she’d reached the point where she needed more in order to untangle the mess. Given all of the reactions to the name Azoria, she hoped that that one thread could be understood and put firmly aside.

Hah. Who was she kidding? She’d never been that lucky.

She dressed and headed back down the stairs to the dining room, where she paused in the doorway. Sedarias was seated to one side of Kaylin’s normal seat, which wasn’t unusual. She was wearing a very elaborate gown—with edges that seemed to be made of solid metal, none of it warm gold—and her eyes, when she turned to meet Kaylin’s, were almost black.

10

A quick glance—when she could tear her gaze away from Sedarias—showed that most of the cohort hadn’t chosen to dress up for dinner. Mandoran and Terrano in particular; Terrano hadn’t bothered to change his clothing. Serralyn hadn’t bothered to change hers, either.

To her surprise, Teela was seated at the table. She wore green, a resplendent, bright color that reminded Kaylin, conversely, of the long, long imprisonment of the rest of Teela’s friends. This didn’t, in Teela’s case, mean Teela supported Sedarias, but it did indicate that she considered Sedarias’s information to be of formal importance.

Allaron wore his usual clothing, but Torrisant was dressed in very similar fashion to Sedarias—as were Fallessian and the usually utterly silent Karian. Torrisant had chosen more formal wear, but it matched Teela’s choice, not Sedarias’s. Clearly battle lines had been drawn before she’d set foot in her home. She was grateful that Serralyn had chosen to stay, and envied Valliant, who remained in the safety of the Academia.

But Severn had chosen to remain as well, and he occupied the seat directly opposite Sedarias’s. Kaylin walked into the dining room, heading toward the chair that was farthest from the door. Teela rolled her eyes. “We are not going to eat you. Sit down.”

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Clothing does not define the meal.”

“No. It just destroys the appetite.” She dragged her chair out and sat in it. Since her ability to eat wasn’t dependent on her appetite, Kaylin decided to clear the air immediately. “So why did you call a meeting?”