“Just accept it, sister,” Thomas laughed as Rieka continued to mouth soundlessly, looking for the words she needed to express herself. “You really have been dodging the celebrations for the last few years, but not this year. Mother has you, and you’ll join the rest of us in being paraded for your successes for the other nobles.”

  Rieka’s look of outrage faded slightly at that, but her irritation still hung heavy about her.

  “You didn’t have to spring it on me like this,” Rieka grumbled quietly, her ears folding back in irritation. “I would have preferred it if you had just told me.”

  “And you would have found some way to avoid being in the capital if we did,” Gemma said smugly. “Honestly, Rieka. You act like it’s a great sacrifice to celebrate your birthday. It’s not like we are hosting a cotillion to find you a husband!”

  My tail twitched.

  It was minuscule, and would have been missed by anyone who wasn’t used to the emotive capabilities of such limbs, but unfortunately all but three of the people in the room currently had been dealing with them their entire life.

  Thankfully, only two people reacted. The first was Jane, who twitched one large mouse ear and shot me a sidelong glance, smirking behind her teacup. The mousy scholar was smart enough to guess that I wasn’t happy with that idea, but didn’t say anything.

  The problem wasn’t with Jane, though. It was with the second person in the room who reacted to the unconscious movement of my borrowed limb. A borrowed limb I was beginning to regret not practicing with sooner.

  Thomas was watching me, the young man’s ice blue eyes piercing over the rim of his cup. That gaze held far more depth than someone so young should have, and I had the uneasy sensation that he was reading me far more deeply than he should be able to.

  My relationship with Rieka was an odd one. I didn’t know the specifics of how nobility worked on Cortha, especially about things like inheritance, marriage, and traditions about virginity. Mostly, I’d been operating on historic knowledge from Earth as well as my girls’ own actions. Since the girls hadn’t treated our sexual interludes as a problem, I hadn’t either. They maintained a facade of propriety, so I did as well.

  But Thomas’ intelligent eyes studied me like a pair of sapphires gleaming in the afternoon light, while I tried to give as little away as possible.

  Toward that goal, I focused more intensely on my princess’ muted grumblings and Gemma’s easy reassurances. The queen was just a little smug that she’d managed to get Rieka to the capital for her birthday without her daughter realizing it, and now that she was here, there was no escaping.

  "There will be plenty of entertainment occurring for the night. And it will be good for those noble children who did not go to Juneau to see you for the celebration as well,” Gemma was saying as I started paying attention again.

  “I don’t…” Rieka began before heaving a sigh of irritation. “Mother, regardless of whether you intend to present this as a courtship cotillion, there will be those who do see it that way. I am almost finished with my time at Juneau, and several of the staunch conservatives will see this as the last chance to tame me before I get out into the world.”

  “And those are the same fools that believe you will be too old to bear children after twenty-five,” Jonas said, the twist of disapproval on his lips showing just what he thought of that. “Far too many people are worried about what my daughters are doing when it is none of their concern.”

  “To be fair,” Griselda said, her voice soft but tone firm. “None of us have chosen a spouse yet, though Thomas seems to be the closest.”

  “Not anymore,” Thomas replied without hesitation. “I discovered Claire was only pursuing me because her father was pushing her to in hopes I’d bolster their failing business. Her lover was unhappy about being told to be patient and remain on the sidelines, and got drunk near some of my people.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, brother,” Rieka said, her irritation dissolving into concern for her brother, who shrugged as if to say ‘what can you do?’

  “You know, dear,” Gemma said, leaning forward with a familiar glint of mischief in her eyes. “If the circling suitors are getting to be too much for you and you don’t want to deal with them, you just need to bring a date with you to the party.”

  My heart clenched in my chest, but this time I had control of my body and my Shape-Shifting as well, so my tail remained limp, curling around my leg.

  “Anyone I bring with me would assume too much,” Rieka countered, shooting her mother a firm look. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Mother. But I will figure out something.”

  Gemma’s eyes darted my way and I felt a chill run down my back at the look I saw in her eyes. A chill that turned into a block of ice in my guts when she spoke next.

  “Bring Liam with you, then. His unique abilities can have him masquerading as any number of mysterious young noblemen to infuriate those suitors who circle you.”

  Rieka didn’t react how I expected to her mother’s teasing. I’d honestly expected my princess to sputter, or even blush at the idea of taking me as a date. But she got angry instead.

  “Why, by all the powers of the heavens and the earth, would I have Liam pretend to be someone else like I am ashamed of him?” Rieka snapped, her earlier frustration melting and being replaced with hard anger.

  Rather than recoil, Gemma’s smile only got wider.

  “Then that solves the issue. Take Liam with you as your date. Anyone who bothers you, he can chase off. It also fits with his regular work as your guardian, though this is more of a social-protection than a physical one.”

  “Meaning that you only claw their faces off if they don’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Valda volunteered, interjecting into the conversation finally with a small smile. “You know, that just means that the rest of us will need to find escorts for the event.”

  “Nonsense,” Rieka asserted, still glaring at her mother. “Liam can be the escort for our group if need be, but this is a birthday party. Us going as a group will send the same sort of message that the wise will not misunderstand.”

  “And the fools will reveal themselves as easily as children,” Thomas said with a knowing smile.

  The young prince’s eyes darted from Rieka to me, then to Kassandra, and over the girls in turn before settling onto me once more. That young man’s eyes were sharp, and I knew that he understood far more than he ever said out loud.

  Which makes sense with how his parents talked about him and how he basically acts like something of a spymaster for them, I thought grimly. Nothing I can do if he figures us out, just have to hope that he doesn’t out Rieka or get her in trouble.

  Thomas studied me for several long moments before giving a sharp nod, as if coming to a decision, before he spoke.

  “I am thankful that you aren’t putting up more of a fuss about this, sister,” Thomas said, turning his charm onto Rieka with the practiced smile of someone long-familiar with managing grumpy women—a survival trait given his four sisters and mother, I was sure. “I was so looking forward to celebrating your birthday as well. I really have missed having you in the castle…”

  Rieka’s scowl dimmed further into just a frown and she nodded once, not arguing further.

  “We weren’t sure when you would be arriving,” Gemma said, now better hiding her smugness at the success of her plot. “So we haven’t set things in stone yet. But your birthday isn’t very far off. Until then, your companions are our welcome guests in the castle, and I hope that you will have fun showing off your home to them.”

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  “Oh, I’m sure we can find something interesting to do,” Kassandra piped up, grinning.

  I worried at first that my dwarf lamia would draw some irritation from the queen for her impertinent words, but I should have known better.

  Gemma’s smile brightened even further and she set her cup down on her saucer with a quiet clink.

  “Oh, I’m sure you will. Please, don’t conspire with my son to overturn an entire merchant guild, not this time at least, please?” Gemma asked pointedly, collecting a long, thin cookie from her plate that looked like a biscotti to my untrained eyes.

  The cookie gave a faint crunch when the queen bit into it before flourishing the remainder like a wand.

  “Now, if you wanted to train with some of the royal guards to ensure they are up to the task? That would be something entirely different. Or if you prefer more cerebral activities, the scholars I sent to investigate the first of those ruins you told me about have brought back a whole mess of information that I’m sure they would appreciate help with.”

  Jane immediately perked up, with Kassandra nodding in agreement, not even having to look toward her mousy friend to know that had Jane’s attention.

  “I’d be happy to help with that, in fact I think we all would be able to assist. At the very least, I can lend some assistance in decoding any written texts they’ve found. Or I should say, Liam can lend that hand.”

  “Yes, I suppose an actual human would find it easier trying to discern the ancient language,” Gemma agreed with a nod, leaning back into her seat.

  “It’s more than that,” Kassandra said, her full chest puffing out with pride. “Liam can directly read their language without assistance. It’s been a boon for me in creating a cipher to use for translations.”

  That news got all four of the other Coldeye nobles to sit up, but it was Jonas who spoke first.

  “Really now? But how, I thought that Liam was… well for lack of a better term, a different type of human from another world.”

  “I am,” I answered without hesitation, finally remembering the cup of tea that had been set in front of me. The liquid was sweet with a fruity, almost raspberry note to it that was tasty even cold as it was. “But it is an effect of being a Traveler that allows me to understand the languages of those I interact with.”

  Had I already told them this? I wondered to myself, taking another sip to buy myself time. I swear I did… since it’d be useful for Gemma to know I could interpret captured communications. Huh, I wonder if the Traveler understanding of languages extends to specifically encoded messages, where they use a cipher like it’s a whole language?

  Staring down into the cup in my hands, I gave it some thought, trying to remember how Cariad had described it to me.

  I don’t think code languages would count, I decided after a moment of thought. It only works for actual languages that have natural-born speakers. It has to be a living language that might be used to discuss or broker a contract.

  My mind paused on that thought, working back through the sentence again. There was something there that had more meaning to it, and I found it a moment later.

  The ancient human language was one that I could read and understand as if it was my own, and I assumed I could speak it too since the power naturally extended to hearing and speaking the language. I had gotten used to the native tongue of Cortha, but if I listened close enough I could hear the different words when the girls spoke from what my brain comprehended.

  Does the power extend to languages of extinct species? I wondered, the icy feeling from Gemma’s earlier teasing returning to my gut. Would that mean that the ancient humans aren’t all gone?

  I pushed the thought away almost immediately. There was no way such a thing would be true. There were too many legends here that said the species had died out, and if their technology had been that advanced thousands of years ago, there was no way they wouldn’t have done something to expose themselves before now.

  After all, if they had trains then word would have spread of advanced technology, right? I thought grimly while Kassandra inquired with the queen about what her researchers had found.

  I need to find out if things like Latin would work with the Traveler powers, I decided. As far as I knew, Latin was a dead language, with no native-born speakers to it. It was still actively in use by a whole faction of people, but it wasn’t their recognized first national language.

  Damn the English language and their habit of having multiple, often disparate, meanings for words, I grumbled to myself. The odds are so small they might as well be zero, but if there are actually humans here still—especially if they are as violent and volatile as people back on Earth—then it’s my responsibility to warn them.

  I watched as Kassandra took the opportunity to tease Rieka about being away from school, but still having to work on their studies. My princess fired back that it was just practical experience, and that she couldn’t spend every day inside her room sleeping. From the wicked grin Kassandra sent Rieka, they both knew that sleeping wasn’t what was on Kassandra’s mind.

  Can’t believe I missed this for so long, I growled internally. I’ll double check it when I get home, but there is no reason to panic the girls right now. The only person who could solve this problem right now would be if the System decided to interject and tell me.

  I waited, half hoping that the oddly-nosy extra-dimensional supercomputer would actually pipe up and lay my worries to rest. But no answer was forthcoming.

  Instead, a soft hand on my arm drew my attention to one side and I found Shayla watching me, her pitch-black eyes directed toward me. The liquid darkness of those eyes concealed what exactly she was looking at, but I could feel the weight of her gaze on me.

  The moth woman’s hand rested on the back of my arm, just above the elbow. She didn’t grip or pull, just rested her soft hand there reassuringly.

  Above her head, the downy fronds of her antennae wiggled and flexed, the tips curling in like they wanted to dip down and caress my face, and she had a look of concern to her features.

  Perceptive girl, I thought, feeling the concern settle and sink to the bottom of my heart. It didn’t fade away, but it curled up to wait until I could address it properly.

  “It’s fine,” I murmured, and Shayla’s antennae twitched once, and she nodded faintly.

  Her hand didn’t move, gently resting there and reminding me of how the tall woman clung to my back so easily when we first met. While Rieka and Kassandra had romped through town, Shayla had remained glued to me, almost using me as a shield between herself and the rest of the world.

  My shy moth had grown more confident and strong as the months went by and she could assert herself, but that gentle connection was enough to remind me of those past days, and it was another step toward calming my concerns.

  Regardless of the outcomes, I’ll make sure things work out, I thought quietly. The humans died out in this place, and there are no records of them having been alive for hundreds to thousands of years. I’m likely jumping at shadows and nervous after the time on the front.

  Shayla’s hand on my arm gave a gentle squeeze, and drew me back out of the spiral that had almost caught me up once more.

  Such a perceptive girl, I thought, sneaking her a loving smile that dyed Shayla’s cheeks a faint pink in response.

  “Well, now that we’ve loosened up after that first serious bit of news,” Gemma said, her voice cutting through another bout of Kassandra’s teasing, this time directed at Thomas regarding a failed investment he’d fallen for. “I want to hear a complete report of your time on the front. I’ve got the written ones, but you know me, dear.”

  “You prefer a verbal account, as close to the action as possible,” Rieka answered with a sigh through her nose. “I remember, Mother.”

  “And please, any of you are welcome to chime in to add to this,” Gemma said, turning her gaze to each of my girls in turn. “Yes, I am a queen, but all of you are skilled operatives, scholars, and—most importantly—firsthand observers. You may have spotted something that the others missed, so do not hesitate.”

  Gemma’s eyes landed on me last, and she arched her eyebrows inquisitively. Something about how she said ‘spotted something that the others missed’ made the hair on my arms stand on end for a moment before Shayla’s gentle squeeze got me to relax.

  You have way too many things making you jumpy, Liam, I chastised myself. Stop worrying about what you can’t affect and focus on what you can in the moment.

  “Understood,” I said aloud, giving Gemma a nod and getting a pleased smile in return from the queen.

  “Good. Also, Thomas, I told your sisters already but I want you to form a summoner’s pact with Liam here. He is a dangerous guardian in an emergency, but more importantly, he can carry messages for us and is impossible to intercept while traveling.”

  Thomas’ eyes lit up at that, the young man immediately seeing the potential in those messages. The look of excitement on his young face was so earnest that it blew away the clever image I’d seen earlier when he’d shown wisdom of someone far older than him.

  “No, I’m not going to pass market research to you through Liam,” Kassandra shot in.

  Thomas immediately began to pout, his bottom lip sticking out while his expressive wolf ears fell to either side like a sad puppy.

  “Not unless you return the favor,” Kassandra continued a moment later, a smile creeping onto her face.

  “Done!” exclaimed the young merchant-prince. “Quick information can make a great deal of money, and we can earn quite a bit!”

  He glanced at me, and I saw that same thoughtful look cross his face to be replaced with a friendly smile.

  “Make that all three of us,” Thomas amended, inclining his head to me in a respectful nod, which I returned.

  Cute kid, I thought. He’s gonna be trouble, I just know it…

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