It was oddly restful, the way Kiem would fill all the awkward spaces just by talking if you let him. Jainan let it wash over him as he sat down, momentarily banishing the ever-present doubts about Taam and Thea. “Mm.”

Kiem waved a hand. “Well, all right, I got Bel to research Thea and send me the important bits. But listen, I was reading up about clans. Your system is really complicated, you know that?”

“Whereas the Imperial family system is very straightforward,” Jainan said.

Kiem’s face cracked into that smile again. “Right! Right. Nothing complicated here. I heard someone once assassinated an Emperor by dropping a full printout of Who’s Who on her.” The corner of Jainan’s mouth quirked with

amusement. Kiem was already away again. “But listen, I read in this thing that it’s traditional to have a clan flag on the wall at home. Is that something people actually do?”

“Most people,” Jainan said. He wasn’t sure where this was going. “It’s not a requirement.”

“I thought maybe … there?” Kiem gestured at the blank wall opposite the desk. “I was going to message your ambassador to get one, but I wanted to check with you. This is Feria’s design, right?” He turned his tablet around to show Jainan.

Emblazoned gold on green filled the screen, bordered with white. Jainan reached out without thinking and took the tablet out of Kiem’s grip. The flag in the image was a standard replica from a big Thean chain, not one you could just buy here. They probably weren’t even exported to Iskat: of all the Empire’s vassal systems, Thea was the least integrated and had the smallest expat community, and besides, most people would bring their clan flags with them in their luggage.

“It’s wrong, isn’t it,” Kiem said, breaking the silence that Jainan didn’t realize had fallen. “Argh. Sorry.”

“No, that’s not—” He was aware he probably owed Kiem some sort of reaction, but it was hard to focus on anything outside the deep, disconcerting lurch he felt, like a foundation pile had cracked and was threatening to shift.

“You don’t need to buy one. I have one.” He rose and went into the bedroom.

Kiem followed him. “You do?” He hesitated on the threshold. Kiem always paused when he came into the bedroom to get something. Every time he did it, Jainan was sharply reminded that no matter how impersonally neat he kept the bed, he had driven Kiem out of his own bedroom.

This time, though, Jainan was focused enough on pulling the box out of the drawer that he just looked over his shoulder and said briskly, “Come in. Don’t hover.”

The moment he said it he wished he could take it back—that was appropriate for other students back in his lab on Thea, not the palace where he was a diplomat. But Kiem didn’t take offense, only grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”