The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,160
Elluvian or An’Tellarus; they were shouting at each other, and their voices were carried by the acoustics of An’Sennarin’s rooms.
He must have grimaced, because Ybelline chuckled. “It is seldom that Barrani are so...demonstrative. There must be some trust between them.”
“If this is trust, I’d rather be suspicious of everyone for the rest of my life.”
She laughed, as Severn had intended. “What will you do?”
“I doubt the decision will be up to me.”
She stopped. “I don’t.”
“Do you believe that the witnesses we pieced together from the Halls of Laws Records were part of the mob that committed those murders?”
She nodded.
“And you’ve no desire to confirm it.”
“An’Sennarin is not wrong. It will damage us, and we have not yet recovered from Timorri’s discovery. We will be better prepared,” she added. “The information won’t come as a surprise. I would be the one sent to deal with the interview of the remaining survivor.”
“If we release him, will he survive?”
She was silent.
“Adellos could stop him.”
“He won’t. He might argue, but he will not stop him.”
“Because he doesn’t disagree?”
“Because he doesn’t disagree. We are perhaps at our worst when we make decisions on behalf of others. The desire to protect others can drive us to places we would never otherwise dare to walk.” She held his gaze.
It was Severn who looked away.
“I could not have done what you did to preserve Elianne’s life. Adellos could. And for the same reasons. But—I think I could have done it had Tessa been alive and by doing so I might save her.”
He shook his head.
“You don’t believe it?”
“I do,” he whispered. “But I was Tessa, too, for a while. I think the guilt would have destroyed her had she ever understood the why.”
“And Elianne?”
“I don’t know.”
Ybelline nodded. She then turned a corner and walked into a much more lavishly furnished room. The shouting that had filled the hall before her arrival dropped instantly into a frosty silence. Or perhaps a heated one. Both pairs of Barrani eyes were a marked, dark blue.
“Thank you,” Ybelline said, in almost flawless Barrani, “for your escort. I would avail myself of that escort again.”
“You are finished here?”
She nodded.
“And you see no reason to return?”
“No. Everything we desired to know, we now know.”
An’Tellarus’s eyes had lightened, although the predominant color remained blue. Elluvian’s, however, darkened. “What will you do with the boy?” Glancing at Severn, she added, “An’Sennarin.”
“He is An’Sennarin. The decision is not mine to make.”
An’Tellarus smiled almost fondly as she met Ybelline’s gaze. “And will you leave the decision in the hands of those who can?”
“Yes.”
“In my experience, that is not always the most practical way of getting things done.”
Ybelline smiled. “No. But I will never have the breadth and depth of your experience. Nor will that be expected of me. My kin and yours almost never interact.”
“And you now understand why.”
“I am Tha’alanari,” Ybelline replied. “I have always understood why.”
* * *
They returned to An’Tellarus’s carriage, which then returned to the Halls of Law. No words were spoken, but the texture of the silences that crowded this carriage were different. Elluvian was angry. An’Tellarus was content. Ybelline was introspective. Severn observed.
Neither Severn nor Elluvian had killed in pursuit of the Emperor’s target; there would be no Tha’alani summoned to review the events. This much, Severn understood.
An’Tellarus did not leave her carriage again. Her silence persisted for the duration of the ride to the Halls of Law’s coach yard. Severn and Elluvian exited, Elluvian with more grace but far more speed.
Ybelline began to disembark. An’Tellarus shook her head. “Not you. You shall remain in my carriage until we reach the Tha’alani quarter.”
“We’re her escort,” Severn began. He fell silent at the lift of a dismissive, imperious hand.
“I will take her.”
Elluvian was not pleased. He turned to Ybelline. “If the Tha’alanari gives the requisite permissions, we will allow this; if they do not, we will escort you. Without An’Tellarus.”
“The requisite permission has been granted by the castelord,” she finally replied. “He is willing to entrust An’Tellarus with my safety at the present time.” She then turned to the Barrani noble. “It is not necessary, An’Tellarus.”
“Perhaps not for you. But I gave my solemn word—and you may ask Elluvian how rare that is—that I would see you to the quarter.”
Ybelline turned to face Severn through the open door. Her eyes were hazel, not green, but she looked exhausted. “We will accept any decision you choose to make.”
“Decisions,” Elluvian almost snapped, “of any relevance are not made by probationary Wolves.”