the guards and spoke with him quietly, before focusing once more on us.
“There has been fighting here?” he asked.
“Oh, no,” I said. “We were just being friendly.”
Lord Temur surveyed the scene before him once more, then looked to us again for some explanation.
“I tried to keep him out,” Alcibiades said gruffly, as though I were a wayward kitten that had to be kept out of the room lest I get at the drapes. It was dreadfully unfair of him. His neck was red, and I could see his pulse pounding at his temple, but at least, finally, he did put down the chair. I was glad. It was frightfully embarrassing to be in the palace with a companion who insisted on using furniture as bludgeons. What would Yana Berger have said?
“Ah,” Lord Temur replied, as though this had explained everything. “I see. Yes.”
Alcibiades breathed a slight sigh of relief. “Sorry for, ah,” he attempted, “any disturbance we might have caused.”
“It is a lucky thing I was passing by,” Lord Temur said, waving a dismissive hand at the guards, who bowed low to us, then to him, and filed out of the room one after the other. “Else who knows how long this… misunderstanding… would have continued.”
“The inkwell was mine,” Alcibiades added, rubbing the back of his neck. “And the—No furniture was broken. I don’t think.”
“No need to apologize,” Lord Temur assured him. I wanted to point out that Alcibiades had very nearly ruined my new clothes in his fit of pique, as well, but it didn’t seem to be the time. “We will send for someone to take care of the mess. Should we instruct the maids to leave things as they are”—he gestured toward the barricade—“or return things to their usual place?”
“Might as well return them,” Alcibiades said. All the anger had drained from his voice, leaving it hoarse and almost demure. “Didn’t work, anyway.”
“I can see that it did not,” Lord Temur agreed. “I was in fact just coming to call upon your companion, Lord Alcibiades, though now that I find you together I will extend the offer to both of you.”
“I’m not a lord,” Alcibiades said, managing to make it sound almost like a gentle correction and not something gravely rude. It must have been my influence. Or perhaps it was merely the reminder of dear Yana so close at hand.
Lord Temur bowed. He cut a very fine figure in his dark robes, but it was not a color that I could wear with my complexion. “My apologies,” he said. “We have a title for diplomats in our language, but there is none for it in yours. ‘Lord’ was the closest approximation I could think of, and therein lies my mistake.”
“Oh! No offense has been taken,” I assured him, coming round to stand beside Alcibiades now that the guards had left. “That’s merely Alcibiades’ face when he’s happy; one grows accustomed to it. You mentioned an invitation, Lord Temur?”
“It was an offer,” Alcibiades muttered, but he fell silent after that.
Lord Temur smiled cautiously, as though unsure of the resulting expression it would leave on his face. “Yes. I was under the impression that Lord Caius was interested in learning more about our culture. I might recommend the libraries as a place to start, but the artists’ district within the capital is something to behold.”
“The artists’ district!” I clung to Alcibiades’ arm with excitement. “We’ll go at once, won’t we? The scholars didn’t teach us anything about that.”
Lord Temur bowed again. “They might not have found any merit in the teaching. The artists’ district is not for the… upper class, the people of the palace. But it has many fine works of art, and it is a place full of entertainment, despite its reputation for scandal. If we are to share our culture, we cannot merely offer tours of the palace. It is…” He paused, searching for the proper words. “… one-dimensional.”
It was as though he’d known exactly what I’d been thirsting for. Perhaps the delicate network of servants had relayed such information to him, or maybe it had been one of our fellow diplomats. Whatever the reason, Alcibiades and I were about to be escorted to a place of questionable repute by one of the seven warlords.
Josette would simply die when she found out.
“Sounds all right,” said Alcibiades, though I caught him casting a longing look back at the desk and his unfinished letter. It was all right, I wanted to assure him; he could tell Yana