The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,88
escorted back to the quarter when my work is done.”
The Tha’alani did not condescend to break the surface of their own silence. Common courtesy was not their priority at the moment.
“I am uncertain how long I will be absent,” she replied. “I will inform Scoros when I am done.”
She stepped away from the guards. For one moment, Elluvian wondered if those guards would obey her inaudible commands. They did, but their eyes never lost their deep green.
Elluvian was accustomed to being given a wider berth when he walked Elantran city streets. With Ybelline as companion, however, the streets were all but emptied; people literally pushed themselves up against nearby walls or windows to avoid even touching her shadow.
If he had thought Severn cautious on their walk to the Tha’alani quarter, he reassessed now. The cub was tense and focused. He did not miss an open window—or a closed one, for that matter. Ybelline’s eyes, unlike those of her guards, were hazel. If she did not want to be here, she was not upset about the necessity.
Still, they proceeded in silence toward the Halls of Law, and did not break the silence until they had passed the guards at the door and made their way to the Wolves’ offices.
There, Severn did one quick scan of the interior before he relaxed. He turned to Ybelline and offered her a bow that was suitable for High Lords, if one was a servant. He held that bow until she touched his shoulder.
“You are certain you wish to do this?” she asked, her voice softer, the doubt in it clearer than it had been when she had stood outside of the quarter she would one day rule.
He nodded. His pallor was off, but a rueful grin eased the effect of his color. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Never say that,” Ybelline replied. “You do what you feel must be done. As do I. A simple apology changes neither fact.” She exhaled. “I have some information to offer from your first request. I have information from your second. The Emperor, however, had to grant his personal permission in the latter case, and the Imperial Service will not be best pleased with Helmat.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I was granted permission, but the Imperial Service bureaucracy is not without spite.”
“You can’t just give me Records access.”
“No. If you wish the information, I must give it to you as if you were a criminal.”
Severn said, “I probably am—I’ve just been lucky enough not to be caught.” He didn’t even look surprised.
“Is there an office we can use for the duration of the interview?”
Elluvian said, “You may use mine. It is seldom used; I dislike the enclosed space.”
* * *
Ybelline entered Elluvian’s office first; Severn followed her.
“Wait one minute,” a familiar—and annoyed—voice said. Severn considered closing the door anyway, but the voice was the Wolflord’s. He therefore held it open as Lord Marlin stopped in its frame.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. The question was aimed in its entirety at Ybelline.
It was Severn who answered. “She has come as a member of the—”
“I can see what she’s wearing, and I didn’t ask you. I’m having more than enough difficulty with an ornery Garadin; I don’t need further complications.”
“The Emperor,” Ybelline said, her voice almost serene, “has given his personal permission for this interview.”
“His personal permission.”
“Yes. It was required. Saidh considered the request unusual.”
Helmat snorted.
“He is very efficient at what he does, and he’s one of the few men the Emperor trusts completely.”
“One could say the same of a corpse.”
“Corpses are not efficient, Helmat.”
“They’re efficient at being dead. Mankev resembles them.”
Ybelline said nothing. Severn thought, from both her words and this silence, that she liked Mankev. But it was Ybelline who finally broke that silence. “Saidh cannot be bribed. He cannot be threatened. He does his job completely without flexibility.”
“He can’t be bribed because he doesn’t have normal, human desires,” Helmat snapped. “And if he called in the Emperor—”
“He did, of course. I explained the need. He agreed that it was possibly necessary, but he didn’t feel he had the authority to step outside of the bounds of the Service. Or perhaps he didn’t feel I had the requisite authority to do so.”
“What, exactly, did the private request?”
“Information.”
“Ybelline, I have had an extremely trying day.”
“If you wish to know, you will have to ask Saidh for that information. I am empowered only to speak to Severn, and only in the manner of my kin.” Her eyes were now almost gold.