eye fell upon her and watched her stride to the center of the room, where she dropped into a bow.
“My lord, King Fa’suh’teln,” she murmured graciously. “You have need of me?”
The king shifted forward in his throne and smiled down at her. “Ag’hana Fiix’emat’teln, thank you for attending the summons. How is your mate, Lli’foren Fiix’teln? You had a child recently, I have heard.”
Ag’hana inclined her head respectfully and smiled. “Lli’foren is well. As you can imagine, Nal’kesh keeps us quite busy.”
“Yes.” The king chuckled. “I have a few myself and recall well how they were when they were small. Do you know the reason you have been summoned?”
“I imagine it has something to do with Rh’ystmal’s human,” she replied with a sweet smile.
Vash growled from the king’s side, and Rhyst wanted to groan. He asked her time and time again not to refer to him that way publicly, and certainly not in front of Vash.
“Impertinent female!” he snapped. “You defile our customs. Speak his name correctly.”
Rhyst’s eyes closed in a pained grimace as his sister flicked a bit of imaginary dirt from the shoulder of her kassan. He opened them again and focused on Vash’s outrage, which grew as his sister spoke.
“As it happens, I am speaking it correctly. You are the ones butchering the honorable name our dam provided him. Our customs strip him and all our a’sankhii from their roots within our community so they can be elevated as protectors without any true stability and connections. Call me impertinent if you wish, but I will never cease to recognize my brother’s place. But this is not why I am here. You wish to question me regarding Cha’lii.”
“Yes, thank you, Ag’hana…”
“…although I would like to formally request a date in which to present my case,” she interjected skillfully.
The king’s mouth thinned, but he dropped his head in a sharp nod of concession and barked an order to the attendant. “Set Ag’hana on the schedule and provide her with the necessary information before she departs.”
“Yes,” the male stuttered, casting a frightened glance toward Vash, who appeared to be on the verge of exploding.
“Does that satisfy you?”
“Yes, my king,” Ag’hana agreed amicably.
“Now tell me what you have observed as this human female.”
“My pleasure,” she said with a satisfied quirk of her lips. “As you are undoubtedly aware, I had my reservations about Cha’lii when Rh’ystmal appeared in the square with the female. I thought, as most did, that he brought our enemy among us. It was not until he defended her—even from me—that I began to have second thoughts on the matter. But I still had some doubts until I spent time with her and saw that she is like most females I know. Well, maybe a bit more outspoken than they are, but that did not disturb me any.”
“I can imagine so,” the king put in dryly. “What of her temperament? Did she seem secretive or easy to anger? Was she unduly aggressive?”
Ag’hana laughed. “I am sorry—you would have to know Cha’lii to know why I laugh. Cha’lii has a soft heart, I think. I imagine she can be roused to anger as easily as any of us, but she also seems understanding and sympathetic, even if it defies what she understands. If I would have to describe her, I would say she is a caring being of charitable nature who abhors cruelty and injustice. She speaks plainly, at times coarsely, but not without passion and a measure of kindness. In this manner, I have found her a better companion than many females I have known.”
To Rhyst’s surprise, a smile tugged at Fa’suh’s lips as he settled back into his chair once more. “That does match the observations made by my queen.” His eyes landed on Rhyst, and he smiled. “From her description, your Cha’lii is eager and inquisitive, but also shows true kindness and depth of character—and a formidable spirit to endure gossiping. While that does not tell us much of the species as a whole, I do not wish to dismiss these traits out of hand, nor potentially bring undue harm to this female while we continue our investigation. She cannot return to the human colony, nor,” he said with a hard look to Vash, “will she be imprisoned or harmed by us.”
Vash’s mouth dropped open. “My king! You cannot mean to allow her to have freedom to roam as she likes unsupervised through our city! If we are wrong about her, the consequences…”